Radiation Therapy (irradiation or radiotherapy) is the use of high energy radiation, primarily x-rays, to kill cancer cells. In high doses, radiation causes damage to cells by interfering with the cell’s ability to grow and reproduce. Cells that are growing and multiplying are very sensitive to the effects of radiation. Because cancer cells reproduce more frequently than normal cells, they are more likely to be damaged by radiation. Normal cells can also be affected by radiation, but normal cells tend to be able to recover from radiation damage. Show
Learn about the importance of individualized radiation treatment. When radiation treatments are given for cancer, special care is taken to spare as much normal tissue as possible from radiation exposure. The radiation dose is carefully measured and aimed at the tumor to kill as many cancer cells with as little damage to normal tissue as possible. Radiation Therapy can be used with surgery, chemotherapy and/or biologic therapy to cure, control or relieve symptoms in patients with cancer. Two kinds of radiation therapyexternal beam: an external beam radiation therapy machine outside your body aims the radiation at your cancer cells. internal or brachytherapy: Sometimes this type of radiation therapy is also called liquid radiation, because the radiation is placed inside your body, near the cancer cells. Most patients receive external beam radiation. Radiation Therapy can be used to treat almost any type of cancer, anywhere in the body. Radiation is also used to treat some benign (non-cancerous) conditions. For some patients, radiation therapy will be the only treatment necessary for their cancer, but very often it is done along with surgery and/or chemotherapy. Radiation Therapy combined with SurgeryWhen radiation is combined with surgery, the radiation treatments may be given before or after surgery. When it is done before surgery it is used to shrink the size of a tumor to make removal easier. More commonly the radiation treatments are given after surgery to reduce the chance that the cancer will come back, among other reasons. Radiation Therapy combined with ChemotherapyRadiation treatments may also be given in combination with chemotherapy treatments, given before, during or after radiation. Chemotherapy is sometimes given weekly, prior to radiation to sensitize the cancer cells to the affects of the radiation. To schedule an appointment with University of Michigan Radiation Oncology, please call 734-936-4300 Our Location: U-M Department of Radiation Oncology back to top We are exposed to radiation every day from sources like the soil, airplane travel, cell phones and televisions, but radiation – a spectrum of energy – can also be used to treat cancer. Radiation is used in two different ways to treat cancer, explains Kim Vu Neisler, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Piedmont:
How therapeutic radiation works“Therapeutic radiation, when it’s exposed to a targeted area in the body, will cause damage to the DNA on a cellular level,” explains Dr. Neisler. “That DNA damage translates to cell death. That is how radiation is effective for cancer treatment.” Radiation can damage both cancer cells and normal, healthy tissue in the area surrounding the cancer site. The good news is normal tissue can repair DNA damage much more effectively than cancer cells can. “Over time, normal tissues are able to survive the radiation treatments and cancer cells – preferentially – will die,” she says. Personalizing radiation treatmentRadiation treatment is highly tailored to each patient based on his or her age, the cancer’s stage, the location of the cancer, and the type of normal tissue near the cancer site. There are different forms of radiation treatment, including:
“Radiation is one of the tools we use to cure cancer, and some cancers are much more effectively cured than other cancers,” explains Dr. Neisler. “We’re always looking for a cure, but right now, these are the best tools we have to treat our cancer patients.” Piedmont offers the most advanced radiation techniques, including:
To learn more about cancer treatment at Piedmont, visit Piedmont Cancer Center. Need to make an appointment with a Piedmont physician? Save time, book online. At what stage of cancer is radiotherapy used?Radiotherapy may be used in the early stages of cancer or after it has started to spread. It can be used to: try to cure the cancer completely (curative radiotherapy) make other treatments more effective – for example, it can be combined with chemotherapy or used before surgery (neo-adjuvant radiotherapy)
Is radiation treatment painful?Radiation does not hurt, sting, or burn when it enters the body. You will hear clicking or buzzing throughout the treatment and there may be a smell from the machine. Typically, people have treatment sessions 5 times per week, Monday through Friday.
What is the success rate of radiation therapy?When it comes to early stages of disease, patients very frequently do well with either brachytherapy or external beam radiation. Success rates of around 90% or higher can be achieved with either approach.
How does radiation therapy work step by step?Radiation works by making small breaks in the DNA inside cells. These breaks keep cancer cells from growing and dividing and cause them to die. Nearby normal cells can also be affected by radiation, but most recover and go back to working the way they should.
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What is radiation therapy and how does it work
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