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What is Cancer?
Cancer is a group of many diseases identified by an uncontrolled
growth and spread of abnormal cells. These abnormal cells can invade
other bodily tissues causing them to malfunction or cause pain.
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How Does Radiation Therapy
Work?
 Radiation
therapy works by damaging the DNA within cancer cells interfering with
the cell’s ability to grow and reproduce. Cells that are growing and
multiplying are especially sensitive to the effects of radiation.
This is why radiation works so well in cancer. Cancer cells reproduce
more frequently than normal cells, so they are more susceptible to the
damage from radiation. Normal cells are also affected by radiation,
but they are able to recover from radiation damage. When radiation is
given for cancer, care is taken to make sure as much normal tissue is
protected as possible.
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Benefits of Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy can be used to treat almost any type of cancer
anywhere in the body. It can be given during any phase of the
treatment process depending on the particular disease and goals of
treatment. Radiation can be used alone or in combination with other
things to treat cancer. It can be used before surgery to shrink the
cancer to provide for a more complete resection. It can be used after
surgery to treat any residual microscopic disease. The effects can be
additive when radiation is given along with chemotherapy. And it can
be consolidative when given after chemotherapy.
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 Risks of Radiation Therapy.
As
with any treatment there are risks involved. This is also true of
radiation therapy. While damaging cancer cells, radiation can also
damage normal tissue. This damage of normal tissue is what causes side
effects. The side effects will vary depending on what part of the body
is treated and the dose that that part of the body receives. Your
radiation oncologist will precisely plan your treatment to kill as
many cancer cells as possible while sparing as much normal tissue as
possible.
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