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Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment. It uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and stop them from spreading. About half of all cancer patients receive it. The radiation may be external, from special machines, or internal, from radioactive substances that a doctor places inside your body. The type of radiation therapy you receive depends on many factors, including:

  • The type of cancer
  • The size of the cancer
  • The cancer's location in the body
  • How close the cancer is to normal tissues that are sensitive to radiation
  • How far into the body the radiation needs to travel
  • Your general health and medical history
  • Whether you will have other types of cancer treatment
  • Other factors, such as your age and other medical conditions

Radiation therapy can damage normal cells as well as cancer cells. Treatment must be carefully planned to minimize side effects. Common side effects include skin changes and fatigue. Other side effects depend on the part of your body being treated.

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Results 1 - 10 of 1,741 for radiation therapy
  1. Radiation Therapy (National Library of Medicine)  
    Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment. It uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and stop ... doctor places inside your body. The type of radiation therapy you receive depends on many factors, including: The ...
  2. Radiation therapy uses high-powered radiation (such as x-rays or gamma rays), particles, or radioactive seeds to kill cancer cells.
  3. Whole breast radiation therapy uses high-powered x-rays to kill breast cancer cells. With this type of directed radiation therapy, the ...
  4. ... radiation is most harmful to quickly growing cells, radiation therapy damages cancer cells more easily than normal cells. ... Brachytherapy delivers radiation therapy directly to where cancer ... are located. It may involve placing a radioactive source into ...
  5. Partial breast radiation therapy uses high-powered x-rays to kill breast cancer cells. This type of treatment does not target the ...
  6. ... is tissue swelling and irritation in the mouth. Radiation therapy or chemotherapy may cause mucositis. Follow your health ... takes 2 to 4 weeks. Mucositis caused by radiation therapy usually lasts 6 to 8 weeks, depending on ...
  7. You are having radiation therapy . This is a type of treatment that uses high-powered x-rays or particles to kill cancer cells. You ...
  8. Most types of radiation therapy use x-rays to destroy cancer cells. Proton therapy uses a beam of special particles called protons. Proton beams ...
  9. Radiation Therapy to Treat Cancer From the National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute)  
    Radiation Therapy/Start Here ... Radiation Therapy ... National Cancer Institute ... Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation ...
  10. External Beam Radiation Therapy for Cancer From the National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute)  
    Anal Cancer/Treatments and Therapies ... Anal Cancer ... National Cancer Institute ... External beam radiation therapy is used to treat many types of cancer. it is a ...
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