Dr. Rachael E. Harmon

“I’m Rachael Harmon, I’m a radiation oncologist. I’ve been here at Southern Cancer Center since 2022.

I have a partner Peter and I have two children, Emme and Harmon. On the weekends we like to play soccer, they like to wrestle in the den together and go swimming in the backyard. We enjoy hiking and going to the beach with our children.

When I meet a patient, they typically have their diagnosis already in front of them. I’m one of the last people they meet. I explain to them about radiation oncology. I explain to them that the treatment will not hurt them while they are laying on the table. They hear it but they don’t actually feel it. I talk to them about the side effects they’re going to experience with radiation, and we continue to follow them for years after.

As a radiation oncologist, you get to see the patient every single day for five to six weeks at a time and I think that’s really what develops the relationship. You see their day-to-day struggle and you’re there for them to support them. I enjoy coming to work every day. It’s never a chore for me to get up out of bed.

The thing that brought me over to Southern Cancer Center was the fact that it was a group of physicians who really seem to care about their patients. They were knowledgeable medical oncologists who wanted to work as a team with a radiation oncologist to develop a comprehensive program. That’s really what got me excited, to just work with a group of doctors who were patient-forward thinking.

My strongest piece of advice to patients is for them, even though it’s hard to do, try and forget their diagnosis of cancer. Go home, live their normal life. Let us bear the burden of their diagnosis and take it one day at a time. They’ve done everything they can do, but it’s out of their control after they meet the doctor. It’s up to the doctor to provide good care and to get them through the process.”