Radiation therapy uses energy called ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and reduce the size of tumors. It works by destroying the cells in the area that is being targeting by injuring their genetic material, thereby making it impossible for them to grow and divide. Even though the radiation can damage normal cells along with the cancer cells, most normal cells will be able to recover from the harmful effects of the radiation. Radiation therapy tries to damage as many, if not all, of the cancer cells as possible while limited the harm to the nearby healthy cells and tissue.
The radiation can be delivered in different ways and there are also different types of radiation. Some types of radiation therapy are able to penetrate more deeply into the body than other types to allow them to reach different places. Also, some types of radiation therapy can be tightly controlled so they can treat a small area (like only one inch of tissue) without harming any nearby tissues or organs. And then there are other types of radiation that are better of treating larger areas.
Whenever there is radiation treatment, the doctors always want to save as much healthy tissue as possible. Whether they are trying to destroy an entire tumor or they want to shrink a tumor and relieve the symptoms, their goal is always to save the health tissue.
About half of all cancer patients will have some type of radiation therapy, whether it is being used alone or in combination with another treatment such as surgery or chemotherapy. In some instances, a patient may even receive more than one type of radiation therapy to treat cancer.
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