ROCR is back. From accreditation traps to Congressional risks, this episode breaks down the data and delivers six bold fixes to save patient access. Tune in to hear why time’s running out for Radiation Oncology’s underdogs.
OOTB is produced by Photon Media.
Contact: jason@becktamd.com
Strap in for a wild ride through the Medicare mess threatening radiation oncology in 2026. From a bizarre AMA survey that thinks we’re just radiology’s quirky cousin, to ASTRO’s head-scratching distractions, we break down the...break down?
Recorded at midnight in the Vermont Mountain Basements™, this episode unpacks the Byzantine world of CPT codes, RVUs, and a 40% practice expense gut punch that could turn off the lights.
OOTB is produced by Photon Media.
Contact: jason@becktamd.com
In this episode, we step into a historical hornet’s nest, examining the controversial legacy of nasopharyngeal radium treatments once used for ear infections and adenoid issues in children.
We unravel the convoluted data on radiation and cancer risks, hypothesizing about the academic intrigue behind a much-cited 2001 Hopkins study.
Most importantly, we question how narratives - especially "radiation equals danger" narratives - shape research and publication. Join us for a thought-provoking dive into the world of radiation medicine, statistical hijinks, and the pressures of scientific storytelling.
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OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@becktamd.com
Let's takes a deep dive into the flawed foundations of the Linear No-Threshold (LNT) model, a theory that has shaped radiation regulations for decades.
We'll unravel the history of "radiophobia" and explore how fear of radiation, scientific ego, and regulatory inertia cemented the LNT model into public policy. The episode touches on the controversial decisions of Nobel laureate Hermann Muller, who may have let ambition and ideology steer his interpretation of radiation science. In visiting the...questionable...handling of contradicting evidence, we see parallels to modern scientific dogma and the need for transparency.
An episode sure to leave you rethinking everything you thought you knew about radiation.
***
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@becktamd.com
I've got a big HEART - can I have $500 too?
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OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
After the journal evidently had to rediscover, patent, and rebuild the printing press, my ROCR "Letter to the Editor" was finally published:
https://t.co/dGKHQJoMQD
To accompany and expand upon this content, we'll start with framing the entire conversation with a simple "why do we care"?
Since the Supreme Court was feeling feisty and surprisingly overturned Chevron deference, we also discuss how in the world that has anything to do with ROCR.
Don't you just love summer??
***
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
Ever found yourself thinking, "Man, I wish there was a single podcast episode that summarized all the most helpful and practical information on low-dose radiotherapy for osteoarthritis"?
Well, good news!
This episode is your ultimate guide to understanding the science, clinical efficacy, and practicalities of LDRT. We’re distilling the highlights of the entire “Xstrahl Miniseries” into one convenient digital treasure trove. Perfect for those looking to expand their modern practice with a treatment that's been in use for over a century, this capstone experience explores how LDRT can revolutionize not just OA management, but the entire field of Radiation Medicine in America.
Specific highlights include tips on charming skeptical patients and colleagues, as well as navigating the labyrinthine world of insurance claims.
Jam those earbuds into your external acoustic meatuses and discover why LDRT might just be the best-kept secret in Radiation Medicine…because who doesn’t love a good underdog story?
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High Yield - Mechanisms of Action in LDRT for Osteoarthritis
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25918756
***
Brought to you in part by Xstrahl, modern manufacturers of orthovoltage devices.
Visit them at https://xstrahl.com/
***
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
Recently, a video of a physicist eating uranium while delivering a lecture appeared on my social media feed. While I ignored it once or twice, THE ALGORITHM knows me better than I know myself, and I eventually watched it.
However, the short clip contained no information, and I couldn’t tell the context of why someone would do this, let alone if it was even real.
Turns out…it’s very real.
This is the full, unedited version of “The Nuclear Scare Scam”, a talk delivered by a man named Galen Winsor in 1985.
The “uranium eating” takes place around the 1 hour 12 minute mark.
Galen Winsor was a nuclear physicist who served in the Navy during World War II, returning home to help design and operate the first nuclear power plant in Hanford, WA – and many power plants thereafter.
Winsor dismantles the exaggerated fears surrounding nuclear energy, revealing how strategic disinformation and vested interests have perpetuated a culture of radiophobia in America.
Through personal anecdotes and historical context, he argues that the dangers of low-level radiation have been blown out of proportion. He critiques the overly cautious regulations driven by economic and political agendas, suggesting that these fears were deliberately cultivated to hinder the growth of atomic technology.
Winsor makes some…potentially controversial points in this talk. Most notably, his opinion on Three Mile Island. Currently, I am neither supporting nor condemning any of his spicier ideas – that’s for future episodes.
But: in the 1980s, Winsor traveled across America giving this same talk 77 times - and thus snacked on uranium dust 77 times.
Winsor did eventually die…
...in 2008, at the age of 86, more than 20 years after “The Nuclear Scare Scam” was recorded.
It’s hard to argue with the results.
***
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
Episode Four (part...one?) of the “Real World LDRT” miniseries (sponsored by Xstrahl) gets more into the evidence behind LDRT. Specifically, the two RCTs out of the Netherlands published a few years back showing that LDRT had no benefit in osteoarthritis.
So...couple small problems with that. Namely, the trials had less than 30 patients in each arm, used too high of a dose, used only half the standard treatment, and...oh, yeah. In the LDRT arm in one of the trials, 2/3rds of the patients had >5/10 pain for >15/30 days per month despite analgesics/therapy for >5 years. That's VERY severe pain, by any definition.
...and:
One of the primary outcome criteria was "greater than 50% relative improvement in pain/function AND >20 points in absolute improvement" on their specific measurement tool.
...and:
"...both studies were powered to detect a large effect of low-dose radiation therapy. Using the primary outcome, allowing for a 15% dropout rate, [they] aimed to include 27 patients per group, assuming an expected difference of 40% in the proportion of responders between the low-dose radiation therapy and sham intervention groups, 80% power and 5% α level, and that 40% of the sham intervention group would be responders..."
Is there any intervention on Planet Earth that would show a positive signal with a design like this?
Please. Please. Please stop citing these trials.
***
Brought to you in part by Xstrahl, modern manufacturers of orthovoltage devices. Visit them at https://xstrahl.com/
***
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
On April 5th, 2024, ASTRO held an actual, honest-to-goodness "town hall" style virtual meeting with ~200 members of the Radiation Oncology community showing up to make their voices heard.
Yowza. There's a reason this took me over a week to make and clocks in at almost two hours.
Buckle up for a very special Cold Light episode as we "watch the watchers" and explore the topic of virtual supervision discussed in a virtual meeting.
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OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
Episode Three of the “Real World LDRT” miniseries (sponsored by Xstrahl) is everyone's favorite topic: coding and billing!
[insert the sounds of a gleeful studio audience here]
The secret sauce is to remember you can bill it like normal (ideally, 2D or "complex isodose"). The radiotherapy CPT codes are disease agnostic (no, they're not just for cancer - heard that one before).
But importantly - as doctors primarily treating cancer, we don't realize how massive the burden of osteoarthritis is for the American population.
The even more secret sauce? LDRT is, by far, the most economical treatment option to both the patient, and the healthcare system as a whole.
Remember: 3 Gy in 6-every-other-day fractions, assess at 12 weeks, and deliver a second identical course if necessary/desired.
It really is that easy.
***
Brought to you in part by Xstrahl, modern manufacturers of orthovoltage devices. Visit them at https://xstrahl.com/
***
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
Episode Two of the “Real World LDRT” miniseries (sponsored by Xstrahl) is all "meat and potatoes", as the kids used to say (back when FDR was president).
I start with a high-level overview of the laboratory evidence for LDRT, followed by how to get your first patient and what you say to them when they ask "how does this work??"
Hint: it's like NSAIDs and prednisone, just a different pathway.
We then explore my favorite CTSIM setups and target volumes/PTVs.
Remember: 3 Gy in 6-every-other-day fractions, assess at 12 weeks, and deliver a second identical course if necessary/desired.
It really is that easy.
Find the presentation/slides for this episode at:
Beckta, Jason (2024). Getting started with radiation therapy for arthritis - mechanisms, getting your first patients, setups, treatment planning.
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25546417.v1
***
Brought to you in part by Xstrahl, modern manufacturers of orthovoltage devices. Visit them at https://xstrahl.com/
***
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
Episode One, Part Two of the “Real World LDRT” miniseries (sponsored by Xstrahl) circles back to the 1940s and the extraordinary flaws of the "linear no threshold" (LNT) model of radiation risk. We explore backroom deals, handshake science, corporate greed, regulatory capture, hormesis, OSHA violations, putting radium in the throats of 2.5 million children...you know, the regular, everyday stuff.
Why? Because a common hesitation to deploying LDRT for arthritis is the risk of the treatment itself causing cancer.
Spoiler alert: there has never been a case of secondary malignancy from therapeutic radiation below a magical threshold dose.
And LDRT stays below that threshold.
Don’t believe me? That’s why this miniseries exists!
Relevant papers and sources at http://u.pc.cd/OhN
Brought to you in part by Xstrahl, modern manufacturers of orthovoltage devices. Visit them at https://xstrahl.com/
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
Kicking off the “Real World LDRT” miniseries sponsored by Xstrahl, Episode One/Part One takes us all the way back to 1895 and Wilhelm Roentgen aiming his newly discovered “X-rays” at his wife’s hand. Within 3 years, radiotherapy was treating arthritic conditions in Europe before coming to America in 1906. By 1930, the scientific literature contained more than 6,000 patients treated by LDRT for arthritis (and other degenerative inflammatory conditions) - with orthovoltage techniques accounting for most (if not all) reports. Today, a common concern preventing the use of radiotherapy for arthritis in every practice in America is the alleged “lack of evidence”...an odd complaint for one of the only therapies in use for ~125 years with tens of thousands of patients experiencing excellent outcomes.
Don’t believe me? That’s why this miniseries exists!
Relevant papers and sources at http://u.pc.cd/OhN
Brought to you in part by Xstrahl, modern manufacturers of orthovoltage devices. Visit them at https://xstrahl.com/
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
On January 9th, 2024, a blog post announced some groups were interested in protecting Medicare reimbursement.
Neat.
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
"If we are to have any hope of advancing rational beliefs against the riptide of myside bias, primitive intuitions, and mythological thinking, we must safeguard the credibility of these institutions. Experts such as public health officials should be prepared to show their work rather than deliver pronouncements ex cathedra.
Fallibility should be acknowledged: we all start out ignorant about everything, and whenever changing evidence calls for changing advice, that should be touted as a readiness to learn rather than stifled as a concession of weakness."
- Reason To Believe, January 2023
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
Finally. The time has come to discuss "the changes".
On November 1st, 2019, CMS announced that hospital outpatient procedures would be moving to "General Supervision". Of course, this broke our dogma, which...well, we don't deal with that well. Then, the PHE brought us "virtual direct supervision" with real-time A/V communication.
In Episode Three of the Supervision Series, we cover the switch from direct to general, the specious argument that "IGRT is diagnostic", the specious argument that "you can't bill for professional work done off-campus", and the final two supervision cases in Radiation Medicine: the Maryland case (settled for...$300,000) and a previously unknown Kentucky case (technically ongoing, but the judge was kind enough to write lengthy opinions pre-emptively agreeing with everything I've ever said).
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
In Part One, we discussed definitions...for an hour. A literal hour. Yowza.
Now, we're going to talk about the consequences. Specifically, the qui tam ("whistleblower") cases, and my (least) favorite journalist Walt B. over there at that newspaper in NYC.
This is definitely going to take at least one more episode, so...enjoy Part Two of "I want to speak to your supervisor"!
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
Ah, the enigmatic topic of supervision in Radiation Medicine. Are we beholden to direct supervision? General supervision? Virtual direct supervision through the use of real-time audio/visual communication? Is there are problem with site of service? "Incident to" billing?
Does anyone really know? Rather than create another 10-hour monolith, this episode is Part One of...well at least two episodes, exploring one of the most controversial topics in our field.
OOTB, produced by Photon Media, is made possible by Cold Light Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that thrives on community support.
jason@coldlight.org
Have you ever heard the phrase "there's not a supply problem, there's a distribution problem"? Did you grow up in an urban area, go to school in an urban area, perhaps train and practice in an urban area? Have you ever held your head up a little higher talking about how you're a "specialist at the main campus" when trying to get records from an "outside hospital"?
In this special Thanksgiving episode inspired by listening to my Photon Friends interview David Chang, we "pierce the veil" on being in the "small market".
OOTB is produced by Photon Media, a project of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Cold Light Legacy.
jason@coldlight.org