Maria Jacobs, M.D.

Maria Jacobs, M.D.

Maria C.E. Jacobs, M.D., leads Radiation Oncology at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. She places top priority on quality patient care, medical excellence and helping her patients get the best possible radiation therapy treatment. Dr. Jacobs brings passion, enthusiasm and a heart for caring to her patients. In her role as Director of Radiation Oncology at Mercy, Dr. Jacobs oversees all radiation therapy and radiotherapy services for the hospital.

First in Maryland Using IORT

Dr. Maria Jacobs works in close collaboration with the cancer surgeons in The Breast Center at Mercy to coordinate post surgical treatment for breast cancer patients. Intraoperative Radiotherapy (IORT) is a state-of-the-art technology that allows patients to get treated in one single radiation therapy session – a notable advantage over the many multiple visits required prior to IORT.

Patients are afforded other advantages because of the single session IORT treatment. Preservation of more healthy tissue and reduced side effects from the radiation are benefits many patients experience.

Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Neil Friedman, Medical Director at The Breast Center, were the first team of doctors in the state of Maryland to use Intraoperative Radiotherapy (IORT).

Specialized Radiation Therapy Offers Pinpoint Accuracy

Dr. Jacobs and her team of Radiation Oncology specialists also use TrueBeam™ technology for the delivery of targeted radiation. This safe, faster, more precise cancer treatment option represents an immense leap forward in the speed and accuracy in which the radiation can be delivered. Dr. Jacobs sees this as a decided advantage for most patients. Cancer cells are attacked by an aggressive beam of radiation while minimizing the impact on surrounding tissue.

Cancer Care Begins with the Patient

Dr. Jacobs beams with pride when she talks about the advances that have been made in radiation technology, treatment plans and research. But like most top rated doctors, Dr. Jacobs believes treating the patient means more than treating the disease. It’s about caring for the person…that unique, one-of-a-kind individual who has family and friends, hopes and dreams … and a life beyond cancer.

The Mercy spirit surrounds you when you’re anywhere near Dr. Jacobs. She laughs easily, hugs abundantly and shares her vast depth of knowledge with patients and their families in the most engaging way.

Touching Lives with Mercy

Radiation Oncology patients often become a very special part of the Mercy family. After days, weeks and lengthy months of treatment, it is no small wonder Dr. Jacobs and the entire Radiation Oncology staff join in the “ringing of the bell” when a cancer patient completes their therapy.

The Mercy tradition of ringing a small glass (dinner) bell began more than a decade ago. Now the tradition is deeply rooted in the heads and hearts of our patients and staff. So much so that when a long-term cancer patient completed her radiation therapy and was handed the “victory bell”, she rang it with such gusto that it shattered. Believing that every patient should be given the chance to ring that sentimental treasure, the patient returned days later with a brand new, larger, unbreakable brass bell.

Dr. Jacobs will tell you, it isn’t only about ringing the bell. For Dr. Jacobs and the staff of Radiation Oncology at Mercy, it’s about the people they’ve touched and the lives they’ve help save.

Dr. Jacobs is dedicated to pursuing treatment options for cancer patients and has numerous major research interests including:

• Brachytherapy in gynecologic tumors
• Chemo-radiation for advanced head and neck cancers and gynecologic tumors
• Intraoperative radiotherapy
• Chemoprevention of cancer
• Breast Cancer

Awards and Recognition

Dr. Maria Jacobs has been recognized as a "Top Doctor" by Baltimore magazine and as a Health Care Hero by The Daily Record. She also has been invited to participate in various programs for the Brooklyn Leadership School for Young Women in Brooklyn, NY.

Education & Fellowships

• Medical Degree - Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela
  
  

Associations & Memberships

• American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO).