Radiation treatment

Cancer treatment may vary depending on the following:
1. Type of cancer
2. Stage of cancer
3. Goal of treatment

While it is quite common to use several treatment modalities together or one after the other, this provides the most complete treatment for the patient. This combination treatment is referred to as multi-modality treatment of the cancer. The modalities may include radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy and/or biological therapy. For newly diagnosed cancer patients, the optimal treatment may be a multi-modality approach composed of standard therapies that have been established through extensive medical research. For other patients, the most appropriate therapy may still be under investigation and only available through a clinical trial.

Radiation therapy injures or destroys cells in the area being treated by damaging their genetic material, making it impossible for the cells to continue to grow and divide. Although radiation damages both cancer cells and normal cells, most normal cells are able recover from the effects of radiation and function properly. Radiation therapy aims to damage as many cancer cells as possible, while limiting harm to nearby healthy tissue. Under some circumstances, radiation therapy is also used as palliation, or palliative care, aimed at reducing symptoms but not curing the underlying disease.

Radiation uses a certain type of energy (called ionizing radiation) to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy, unlike chemotherapy, is considered a local treatment. This means that cancer cells are only killed at the location in the body where the radiation is delivered, called the radiation field. If cancer exists outside the radiation field, those cancer cells are not destroyed by radiation therapy.