Radiotherapy is a common form of cancer treatment. It uses high energy, ionizing radiation, known as radioactivity. Along with surgery, radiotherapy is another important form of treatment for localized cancer.
Radiotherapy destroys cancer cells and shrinks tumors by damaging the structure of dividing cells. Cancer cells typically divide faster than in normal tissue and so they are particularly vulnerable to radiotherapy.
It is used to destroy malignant tumors, boost the outcomes of surgical or other treatment (adjutant therapy), alleviate symptoms and reduce metastases. About half of cancer patients receive radiotherapy at some stage in their treatment.
Radiotherapy is usually aimed directly at the tumor or metastases. With the treatment of widely distributed cancer, radiotherapy may sometimes be given for the whole of the upper body.
Radiotherapy can be given externally by a machine or internally by introducing a radioactive source into the body in different ways. There are a variety of methods of internal radiotherapy.
With radioisotope therapy or radio pharmaceutical therapy a radioactive medicine is introduced into the body intravenously or orally. The radioactive medicine directly affects the tumor and healthy tissue is harmed only slightly. For instance, radio iodine used to treat thyroid cancer is one form of radioisotope therapy.
If the cancer is localized, the choice between surgery and radiotherapy depends on the effectiveness of the treatment and its drawbacks. The importance of radiotherapy in cancer treatment has increased in particular with the development of conservation treatment methods.
Planning radiotherapy takes into account not only your tumor but also information on the possible spread of the cancer.
Radiotherapy is completely painless and is targeted directly at the tumor or metastases. Radiotherapy is usually divided over a 2 – 8 week period. It is generally provided in small single daily doses five days a week.
Each treatment takes a few minutes. Dividing radiotherapy into several small parts reduces the harm caused to healthy tissue and improves the effectiveness of the therapy.
Patients usually go about their lives as normal during the period of treatment. In some cases accelerated radiotherapy may be given instead of phased radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is often a well-tolerated form of treatment, but it does have side effects.
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