Welcome and Meeting Announcements

Lori Kasuske, President
AAMD

Lee Culp, Annual Conference Committee Chair
AAMD

COVID-19 has changed how we work, live, learn and play in the United States and around the world. Many feel restricted, oppressed, marginalized, and isolated due to the necessary steps that were taken to impose safety restrictions to reduce the spread of this deadly disease. However, COVID-19 has also laid bare many of the long-standing inequities in healthcare systems that have caused entire populations to feel restricted, oppressed, marginalized, and isolated. 

This session will provide a brief overview of the impact that COVID-19 has had on cancer care in America across the continuum. It will reflect the resultant changes in radiation oncology practice with special emphasis on the impact these changes have had on dosimetry and begin a discussion about the implications of healthcare inequities on radiation practices and dosimetry workforce.

Learner Outcomes:
1. Discuss how COVID-19 has affected cancer care in America 
2. Outline 3 changes in the delivery of radiation that impact dosimetry
3. State Implications for dosimetry workforce

CE Credits = 1.0

Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, Executive Director
Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance

Brian Napolitano, MHL, CMD, Senior Manager, Dosimetry and Physics Administration
Massachusetts General Hospital

Sponsored by Elekta

One of the biggest difficulties when treating lung cancer is how one can safely deliver a definitive dose while maintaining healthy tissue constraints.  This year’s Plan Challenge will explore the difficulties of a complex bilateral lung case with supraclavicular involvement.

The objective of this session is to share the knowledge and experience gained from the plan study and to disperse the information to the community. This will allow one to optimize their own performance and make data driven decisions to benefit themselves, their institution, and most importantly the patient.

Learner Outcomes:

1. Review plan metrics and clinical goals for the Thorax plan study
2. Recognize high performers in the treatment plan study
3. Summarize the knowledge and experience gained from advanced and high-scoring participants on optimal treatment planning techniques
4. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of alternative planning methods

CE Credits = 1.0

Zachary Fellows, BS, CMD, RT(T)( R), Senior Medical Dosimetrist
The Johns Hopkins Proton Therapy Center | Sibley Memorial Hospital

Joseph Brock, Chief Dosimetrist
University of Maryland

Rick Scherer, Clinical Applications Specialist
Elekta

Ben Nelms, Co-Founder of ProKnow
ProKnow

As cure rates for pediatric cancers have improved, there are more long-term survivors living with the consequences of their treatment. The late cardiac effects of radiation are not as well described as other late pediatric effects, although there have been recent advances in research. The topic has implications in the treatment of most pediatric cancers outside the central nervous system, as well as craniospinal irradiation. This session will describe the literature related to late cardiac effects in children treated with radiation, as well as treatment techniques to mitigate these risks.  

Learner Outcomes:

1. List three pediatric diseases where late cardiac effects from radiation have been characterized
2. List two dosimetric criteria that can be applied to try to minimize the risk of late cardiac effects
3. Describe three planning techniques to mitigate the risk of late cardiac effects

CE Credits = 1.0

Molly Havard Blau, MD, Resident Physician
University of Washington, Department of Radiation Oncology

Jeffrey Antone, Chief Medical Dosimetrist
Northwell Health System