Category: Insight

More than 20 years ago, RBOI founder Dr. Norman Anderson pioneered a twice-daily radiation protocol for metastatic melanoma. Today, with over 100 patients treated, his approach has eliminated tumors resistant to surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy—often at a fraction of the cost of other advanced treatments.

At RBOI, patient-centered care begins before a diagnosis is ever made. With every specialist in-house and support services offered free of charge, our team walks with you and your loved ones through each step—from screening and consultation to treatment and follow-up—across five Central Florida locations.

Cancer Nation, formerly the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, says you are a cancer survivor from your day of diagnosis through the rest of your life. Not everyone identifies personally with the term “survivor,” but the concept of survivorship is far-ranging and inclusive.

Basal cell carcinoma accounts for about 80 percent of skin cancers. It usually develops on the head and neck but can occur anywhere on the skin. Its main cause is sun exposure. It also develops in people who received radiation therapy as children. It rarely spreads to other parts of the body.

Smoking (including secondhand smoke and smokeless tobacco, sometimes called “chewing tobacco” or “snuff”) is the largest risk factor for getting head and neck cancer.
And people who use both tobacco and alcohol are many times more likely to get head and neck cancer than people with neither habit. Research has also shown that continued smoking by a patient with head and neck cancer may reduce the effectiveness of treatment and increase the chance of a second primary cancer.