Michael S. Payne, Jr., MD – Director of Radiation Oncology
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“Everyone at CTCA cares about patients and puts their needs first. They make each patient the center of their care,” says Dr. Michael Payne, Director of Radiation Oncology at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Southwestern Regional Medical Center.
A Chicago native, Dr. Payne earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. From there, he went on to earn a medical degree from Rush Medical College, followed by an internship in internal medicine at the University of Illinois.
Dr. Payne then moved to Kansas City and completed a four-year residency in radiation oncology at the University of Kansas. He was named Chief Resident in the last two years of his residency.
Prior to joining CTCA, Dr. Payne served for several years as a radiation oncologist, first at a cancer center in Texas, and then at a hospital in Fresno, California. He used multiple radiation modalities, including IMRT, HDR, IGRT, prostate seed implants, and CyberKnife.
In July 2010, Dr. Payne joined CTCA. Of his decision to come here, he says: “I joined CTCA because of their philosophy of treating patients. I like the idea of treating the whole patient and also making patients the center of their care, instead of the system or the insurer or some other entity. It’s the best treatment model I’ve seen.”
Dr. Payne strives to involve patients in their care at a level they feel comfortable. “My overall goal for patients is that they understand—as much as they want to understand—what’s going on with them. Some patients want to know every single thing that’s going on and other patients don’t want to know anything. I try to gauge how much interest a patient has in knowing about their care to meet their individual needs,” he says.
Dr. Payne is a member of several professional organizations, including the American College of Radiation Oncology, the American College of Radiology, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation and Oncology, the Radiological Society of North America, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Brachytherapy Society.
A Chicago Bears and White Sox fan, Dr. Payne is also a technology buff and likes to travel. So far, his favorite places he’s visited are Amsterdam and St. Maarten.
Other Radiation Oncologists at Southwestern
- James P. Flynn, MD, FACR
National Clinical Director of Oncology Services & Radiation Oncologist - William C. Goad, MD
Radiation Oncologist - Oneita Taylor, MD
Radiation Oncologist
