New radiation oncologist revives time-tested osteoarthritis treatment

Lose-dose radiation therapy offers alternative treatment option for OA patients

GREELEY, Colo. (June 19, 2024) – Banner Health has welcomed radiation oncologist Mark Dziemianowicz, MD, MBA, DABR, to the team at the Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center at North Colorado Medical Center (NCMC) in Greeley and McKee Medical Center in Loveland. Dr. Dziemianowicz recently moved to Loveland after working as a radiation oncologist at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center for the past three years.

Dr. Dziemianowicz attended medical school and received his master of business administration from Temple University in Philidelphia. He completed his residency in radiation oncology at the Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Dr. Dziemianowicz was drawn to Northern Colorado, and Banner Health specifically, because of its partnership with MD Anderson Cancer Center.

“I'm not sure our community understands how significant Banner Health’s connection to MD Anderson Cancer Center is,” Dr. Dziemianowicz said. “The partnership means that the treatments we're offering every single patient are state-of-the-art treatments. We have a group of doctors at MD Anderson Cancer Center who are world-renowned experts who review every patient’s radiation treatment to ensure it meets a very high level of quality. This resource is a phenomenal asset to our community. My guiding principle is that I want patients to be treated the same way that we would treat our own family members and we have that here at Banner Health.” 

Aside from his work treating cancer patients, Dr. Dziemianowicz is also making a name for himself in Northern Colorado by reviving the time-tested low-dose radiation therapy (LDRT) for osteoarthritis (OA). A recent article in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology describes how LDRT has been used for over a century to treat non-malignant diseases and is very popular as a treatment for OA in Germany and other countries in Western Europe. German studies show that 60% to 90% of OA patients experience pain relief with LDRT with almost no side effects.

“Low-dose radiation therapy has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. It uses roughly 5% of the dosage of radiation that would be used to treat a cancer patient,” Dr. Dziemianowicz said. “It’s a new application of an old technology. It provides pain relief in most patients, and this pain relief is often long-lasting. It's not invasive, doesn't involve needles into the joints and doesn't involve a big surgery.”

Dr. Dziemianowicz is already doing outreach to primary care providers and orthopedic surgeons in Northern Colorado to inform them of this additional tool for treating OA. For the 32 million Americans with OA, LDRT provides another method to reduce symptoms. The treatments generally include six radiation sessions over two weeks. In contrast to high-dose radiation used to treat cancer, LDRT side effects are very uncommon, with an estimated 1 in 1000 patients seeing a mild skin reaction. 

Patients interested in exploring LDRT for OA can get a referral from their primary care provider or self-refer directly to Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center by calling (970) 810-3894. Dr. Dziemianowicz sees patients at both NCMC in Greeley and Banner McKee Medical Center in Loveland.

About Banner Health
Banner Health is one of the largest, secular nonprofit health care systems in the country. In addition to 33 hospitals, Banner also operates an academic medicine division, Banner – University Medicine, and Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, a partnership with one of the world’s leading cancer programs, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Banner’s array of services includes a health insurance division, employed physician groups, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care locations, home care and hospice services, retail pharmacies, stand-alone imaging centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation, behavioral health services, a research division and a nursing registry. To make health care easier, 100% of Banner-employed doctors are available for virtual visits and patients may also reserve spots at Banner Urgent Care locations and can book appointments online with many Banner-employed doctors. Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health also has locations in California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com.