What is radiation therapy (radiotherapy)?
Radiotherapy (radiation therapy) has been used in medicine for more than a century and scientists believe that it is one of the most effective methods of treating cancer.
During radiation therapy, tumor cells are destroyed by ionizing radiation - radiotherapy is provided to treat oncological disease of various localizations.
As oncologists explain, radiotherapy is characterized by local action, therefore, the patient is protected from systemic side effects.
It should be noted that compared to surgical intervention, external beam therapy is non-invasive! It is through radiation therapy that it is possible to maintain the target organ.
Radiation therapy acts locally on the tumor, destroying cancer cells.
Radiation therapy damages cells by destroying the genetic material that controls how cells grow and divide. While both healthy and cancerous cells are damaged by radiation therapy, the goal of radiation therapy is to destroy as few normal, healthy cells as possible. Normal cells can often repair much of the damage caused by radiation.
More than half of all people with cancer receive radiation therapy as part of their cancer treatment. Doctors use radiation therapy to treat just about every type of cancer. Radiation therapy is also useful in treating some noncancerous (benign) tumors.
How radiation therapy is used in people with cancer
Your doctor may suggest radiation therapy as an option at different times during your cancer treatment and for different reasons, including:
- As the only (primary) treatment for cancer
- Before surgery, to shrink a cancerous tumor (neoadjuvant therapy)
- After surgery, to stop the growth of any remaining cancer cells (adjuvant therapy)
- In combination with other treatments, such as chemotherapy, to destroy cancer cells
- In advanced cancer to alleviate symptoms caused by the cancer
Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/radiation-therapy/about/pac-20385162
