How Does Radiation Therapy Work For Cancer

This nurse has special training in cancer treatment and can give you information about radiation treatment and managing side effects.

How does radiation therapy work for cancer. Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses beams of intense energy to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy uses high energy rays or particles to kill cancer cells. It shrinks tumors and kills cancer cells. The timing of when radiation therapy is given depends on the type of cancer being treated and whether the goal of radiation therapy is to treat the cancer or ease symptoms.

When a cell splits or divides into 2 cells it s called mitosis. Radiation therapy most often uses x rays but protons or other types of energy also can be used. Other types of energy beams include light and x rays these high energy beams which are invisible to the human eye damage a cell s dna the material that cells use to divide. As the main treatment sometimes along with chemotherapy especially if the lung tumor can t be removed because of its size or location if a person isn t healthy enough for surgery or if a person.

Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for cancer. Radiation therapy may be given before during or after these other treatments to improve the chances that treatment will work. Depending on the stage of the non small cell lung cancer nsclc and other factors radiation therapy might be used. Life cycle of a cell.

Radiation may be used alone or with other treatments such as surgery chemotherapy hormones or targeted therapy. The term radiation therapy most often refers to external beam radiation therapy. You may also need the services of a dietitian physical therapist social worker dentist or dental oncologist pharmacist or other health care providers. Radiation therapy uses a special kind of high energy beam to damage cancer cells.

The cell cycle has 5 phases one of which is the actual splitting of the cell. Learn the types of therapy cancers each treats and side effects. To understand how radiation works as a cancer treatment it helps to know the normal. Radiation therapy treats cancer by using high energy waves to kill tumor cells.

The goal is to destroy or damage the cancer without hurting too many healthy cells. How does radiation work to treat cancer.