Radiation Therapy for Treating Cancer in Texas

Radiation therapy also referred to as radiotherapy, adequately treats cancer by making use of high-energy beams to destroy cancerous cells. Though radiation therapy is much like X-ray, the application of radiation in cancer treatment is much higher and is given for an extended period of time. There are different forms of radiation, which are given according to the kind and stage of cancer. Your oncologist will suggest which therapy to be used depending on the stage, type, and location of your cancer.

With appropriate planning, radiation can be focused on the cancer and away from normal healthy tissues. The treatment can be administered from more than one side of your body or from different angles. Doctors may also suggest more than one type of radiation, which may need more than one machine.

There are two kinds of radiation therapy:

External Beam Radiation makes use of special machines to provide a high dose of radiation directly on the cancer affected site and a little on healthy tissue at the outline of the tumor. Different machines are used for different tumors and different parts of the body.

Internal Radiation, or Brachytherapy, makes use of radioactive material that is placed in the body at the tumor site. These implants are small tubes, capsules, or seeds which are filled with different kinds of radioactive material and sealed. 

Depending on each tumor, doctors will prescribe radiation therapy to fight cancer. However, they may also combine radiation therapy with other forms of treatment and medicines to fight this fatal disease.