How Does Radiation Work

Radiation works by making small breaks in the dna inside cells.

How does radiation work. It uses computer programs to analyze imaging scans and target treatments to the shape of your tumor. When radiation damages the genes of cancer cells they can t grow and divide any more. Radiation therapy treats cancer by using high energy waves to kill tumor cells. It sends radiation to the specific area where there s cancer.

The difference between x rays and visible light rays is the energy level of the individual photons. Radiation therapy does not kill cancer cells right away. Radiation therapy uses a special kind of high energy beam to damage cancer cells. 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.

Both are wavelike forms of electromagnetic energy carried by particles called photons see how light works for details. These breaks keep cancer cells from growing and dividing and cause them to die. When the damaged cells die they are broken down and removed by the body. Nearby normal cells can also be affected by radiation but most recover and go back to working the way they should.

Radiation is energy that travels in the form of waves electromagnetic radiation or high speed particles particulate radiation. Radiation works in two ways to kill cancer cells. 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. Radiation therapy damages cells by destroying the genetic material that controls how cells grow and divide.

Cancer cells whose dna is damaged beyond repair stop dividing or die. Normal cells can often repair much of the damage caused by radiation. This treatment can cause side. Radiation works by damaging the genes dna in cells.

This is also expressed as the wavelength of the rays. Radiation is energy that s carried by waves or a stream of particles. First the energy that makes up the radiation directly damages the dna of any cells that it hits. Electromagnetic em radiation on the other hand has no mass and travels in waves.

Genes control how cells grow and divide. It damages dna in such a way that the cell is no longer able to divide and grow thus it eventually dies. The goal is to destroy or damage the cancer without hurting too many healthy cells.