Radiotherapy is a treatment for cancer that employs high-energy beams to fight cancer. X-rays are most commonly utilized in radiation therapy. However, protons or other forms of energy can also be employed. External beam radiation therapy is the most common type of radiation therapy.
The high-energy beams originate from a device outside of the body that targets the beams at a particular place on the body during this sort of radiation. Radiation is delivered within your body during a distinct sort of radiation treatment named brachytherapy.
Radiotherapy causes cell damage by damaging the genetic information that regulates cell growth and division. While radiation therapy damages both normal and cancerous cells, the objective of it is to kill as few typical, normal cells as possible. Radiation-damaged cells can often be repaired by normal cells.
Why Radiotherapy Is Done
Radiation therapy is used in the management of more than half of all persons with cancer. Radiation treatment is used to treat almost every type of cancer. Certain noncancerous (benign) tumors can also be treated with this therapy.
How Radiotherapy Work
Radiation therapy may be suggested by your doctor at various points during your cancer medication and for various reasons, including the following:
- To reduce a malignant tumor before surgery (neoadjuvant therapy).
- To eliminate cancer cells in tandem with other therapies, such as chemo.
- To inhibit the growth of any leftover cancer cells after surgery (adjuvant therapy).
- To relieve cancer-related symptoms.
What Are The Risks
The negative effects of radiotherapy vary depending on which area of your body is subjected to radiation and how much radiation is utilized. It’s possible that you’ll have no side effects or that you’ll have lots. The majority of adverse effects are temporary, manageable, and disappear after therapy is completed.
Later on, some adverse effects may appear. For example, new cancer that is unrelated to the initial one cured with radiation may arise years later in rare cases. Inquire with your doctor about any short- and long-term adverse effects that might occur after treatment.
What Are the Possible Results
If you’re having therapy for a tumor, your physician may want you to have regular scans afterwards to determine how your cancer has reacted to the treatment. Your condition may adapt to treatment straight away in some circumstances. In certain situations, your cancer may take weeks or months to respond. However, it does not help everyone.
