Special clinical interests in brain, spine, head, neck, lung, upper GI and skin cancers, palliative radiation therapy and benign conditions particularly Dupuytren’s contracture & keloids.
Dr Lara Best is based in the Wide Bay area and attends GenesisCare clinics in Hervey Bay and Bundaberg.
Dr Best completed medical school at Queen’s University in Canada (2008) and completed Radiation Oncology training at Western University in Canada in 2013. She completed 2 fellowships, one at Calvary Mater Newcastle and the other at Queens University (Canada).
She went on to work at the Nova Scotia Cancer Center (Canada), where she was the provincial lead for brain & spine tumors, skin cancers and benign conditions. She was also the assistant Registrar training program director and very involved in teaching at the postgraduate level.
She completed a Masters of Education in 2019 focusing on the impact of technology on registrar learning in the Radiation Oncology workplace. This work has been published, and lead to a Governor General’s Gold Medal award.
Dr. Best moved to Australia with family in early 2021 to work as a fellow until successful completion of the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) final exams.
Awards received
- Governor General’s Gold Medal 2019 (highest overall marks in a graduate program, Acadia University, Canada)
- Presentation (international level workshop):Best L, Bowes D, Daigle-Maloney T, Sengupta A. Transition to Practice: Thinking Beyond the Exam. ICRE 2020
- Invited lecturer: CARO annual registrar refresher course: Skin cancers
Research Interests
3D-printed bolus for the treatment of skin cancers and medical education.
Professional memberships
- ASCO
- ASTRO
- CARO
- ESTRO
- TROG
Publications and Affiliations
- Best L, Sengupta A, Murphy RJ, de Metz C, Trotter T, Loewen SK, Ingledew PA, Sargeant J. Transition to practice in radiation oncology: mind the gap. Radiother Oncol 2019; 138: 126-31.2016;8(9);e767.
- Best L, de Metz C, Olivotto IA, Roy I, Whelan T, Arsenault J, Brundage M. Radiation therapy quality indicators for invasive breast cancer. Radiother Oncol 2017;123(2): 288-93.
- Casey S, Best L, Vujovic O, Jordan K, Fisher B, Carey D, Bourdeau D, Yu E. Use of protoporphyrin fluorescence to determine clinical target volume for non-melanotic skin cancers treated with primary radiotherapy. Cureus 2016;8(9);e767.
- Lock M, Best L, Wong E, Bauman G, D’Souza D, Venketesan V, Sexton T, Ahmad B, Rodrigues GB. A phase II trial of arc-based hypofractionated IMRT in localized Prostate Cancer. Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics August 2011; 80(5):1306-1315
- Rodrigues G, Velker V, Best L. Radiation Oncology Primer and Review: Essential Concepts and Protocols. New York: Demos Medical Publishing, 2013.