yOur hEaLtH iNfo

There is no cure per se for cancer, but there are ways to successfully fight and provide cures in individual cases. A number of treatments are typically used. In this article, we take a look at the commonly used radiation therapy.

Radiation therapy is perhaps the most common form of cancer treatment. It is often referred to as the bigger hammer treatment. The idea is to use energy to destroy or damage cancer cells, particularly those found in tumors. The energy is usually in the form of gamma rays, x rays or protons. In theory, this will either slow, stop or destroy the cancer. The key is understanding how cancer cells work.

Cancer cells are mutations of normal, health cells. One of the characteristics of the mutation is they grow and divide much faster than one finds with normal cells. The goal with radiation therapy is to attack this growth process. To do this, the cells are exposed to high doses of radiation. The radiation varies by the type of cancer, but is used with the intention of reeking havoc on the DNA of the cancer cells. If the DNA is broken, the cell cannot reproduce and the cancer is stopped in its tracks. In some cancers, the radiation is enough to not only stop expansion, but destroy all the cancerous cells.

Is radiation therapy the same thing as chemotherapy? The answer is no. Radiation therapy is generally an external application focused on a specific part of the body, ie, the cancerous growths. Chemotherapy is the ingestion of cancer fighting drugs that are absorbed throughout the body. The confusion between the two often comes from the fact that there are limited radiation therapies that are undertaken by the ingestion of radioactive materials, but this is very rare.

Does radiation therapy work? Yes and no. The success rate depends on many factors including the particular type of cancer being addressed. In most cases, this treatment produces the most success when combined with other cancer treatments.