What is radiation therapy?
Radiation therapy is the use of high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. It works just like a regular X-ray only it uses higher doses of radiation.
How does it work?
Radiation therapy works by damaging cells. Normal cells are able to repair themselves, but the cancer cells cannot.
How is it delivered?
Radiation therapy can be delivered in two ways, externally and internally. The majority of pediatric cancers are treated with external radiation. During external beam radiation therapy, radiation beams come out of a machine called a linear accelerator. The beams are aimed at the tumor (either where it is or where it was before surgery and/or chemotherapy). You don’t see it, feel it, or taste it; it is completely invisible. To minimize side effects, treatments are typically given five days a week, Monday through Friday, for a number of weeks. This allows enough radiation to get into the body to kill the cancer while giving healthy cells time to recover.
Is Radiation Therapy Safe?
Radiation has been used successfully to treat patients for more than 100 years. In that time, many advances have been made to ensure that radiation therapy is safe and effective.
Before your child begins receiving radiation therapy, your radiation oncology team will carefully tailor your plan to make sure you receive safe and accurate treatment. Treatment will be carefully planned to focus on the cancer while avoiding healthy organs in the area. Throughout your treatment, members of your team check and re-check your plan. Special computers are also used to monitor and double-check the treatment machines to make sure the proper treatment is given. Radiation therapy will not make you radioactive after treatment.
Reviewed and edited
CureSearch.org Editorial Board
October 2006