Types of radiation therapy explained
Types of radiation therapy explained
Kara Rogers, biomedical sciences editor of Encyclopædia Britannica, discussing radiation therapy.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
Radiation therapy is a type of treatment that makes use of radiation to treat cancer. It's administered in different ways. There's external beam therapy, which is probably the most common in which a particular beam of radiation is generated external to the body and targeted to the tumor site. And then there is a form called brachytherapy, which is radiation implanted into the tumor, the tissue that bears the tumor.
Radiation therapy can be really effective because it can cause a rapid death of cancer cells; but it also causes side effects, most commonly in a form of secondary malignancies or secondary cancers.
Radiation therapy can be really effective because it can cause a rapid death of cancer cells; but it also causes side effects, most commonly in a form of secondary malignancies or secondary cancers.