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There are four primary methods used by doctors to attack cancer: surgery, chemotherapy, biologic therapy and radiation therapy. Currently, 60 percent of patients with cancer receive some form of radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy is the delivery of a very precise stream (or beam) of electrical and magnetic energy, carried by waves or particles, to the diseased areas of your body. The energy damages the DNA of the cancerous cells and interferes with their ability to grow and spread.
One of the benefits of radiation therapy is the ability to target a very specific area in the body. The technology allows us, in most instances, to focus the radiation only on those areas where cancerous cells are present; thus, fewer healthy cells are exposed to radiation.
External radiation treatment is painless. Similar to having an X-ray taken, there is no sensation at the time of treatment. There may be some side effects depending on the area being treated and the dosage. Your doctor will discuss this with you before treatment.
To maximize the effectiveness of the radiation on the cancerous cells, patients will have 10-minute treatment sessions, five days a week for several weeks. Two-day breaks allow healthy cells to recover. Of course, the schedule may vary depending on the type and severity of the cancer, as well as the specific treatment method used.
Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation), may be placed inside the body (internal radiation). The type of radiation to be given depends on the type of cancer, its location, how far into the body the radiation will need to go, the patient's general health and medical history, whether the patient will have other types of cancer treatment, and other factors.
Most people who receive radiation therapy for cancer have external radiation. Some patients have both external and internal.
External radiation therapy usually is given on an outpatient basis. External radiation therapy is used to treat most types of cancer, including cancer of the bladder, brain, breast, cervix, larynx, lung, prostate, and vagina. In addition, external radiation may be used to relieve pain or ease other problems when cancer spreads to other parts of the body from the primary site.
Internal radiation therapy (also called brachytherapy) uses radiation that is placed very close to or inside the tumor. The radiation source is usually sealed in a small holder called an implant. Implants may be in the form of thin wires, plastic tubes called catheters, ribbons, capsules, or seeds
Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia (RCOG) is also home to a third method of treatment, called ProstRcision®, which was pioneered at RCOG. Specifically for prostate cancer patients, ProstRcision uses radioactive seed implants in conjunction with external radiation to cure men of their cancer. ProstRcision requires minor outpatient surgery, followed by a course of radiation.