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Radiation Therapy
Many patients diagnosed with cancer will receive radiation treatment, or radiotherapy, during their cancer treatment. Based on your unique cancer diagnosis, your radiation oncologist will recommend the best treatment available for your type and stage of cancer. The University of Kansas Cancer Center offers the most advanced technologies available for radiation therapy.
What is radiation therapy?
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation, a type of energy, to kill cancer cells in a targeted region. The radiation used in this treatment is a stronger dose of the radiation that is used to produce X-rays of bones and teeth.
Types of radiation therapy
Some radiation treatment options include:
Who can have radiation therapy?
Radiation is one of the most common treatments for a wide range of cancer types. It may be administered as your only cancer treatment or used in conjunction with other cancer treatments, like surgery and chemotherapy. Radiation therapy may be administered before, during or after surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy or other types of cancer treatments to improve the effectiveness and make successful cancer treatment more likely.
How does radiation therapy work?
Radiation therapy is a common form of cancer treatment that uses beams of intense radiation energy to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Most forms of radiation are delivered from outside of the body using high-energy X-rays. This is called external beam radiation therapy. Internal radiation therapy, also called brachytherapy, places a radioactive material inside the tumor. Radiation therapy is used to cure many types of cancer.
High-dose radiation delivered during radiation therapy damages the DNA inside cancer cells. This damage stops the cells from dividing and thereby kills the cells.
Benefits and risks of radiation therapy
The goal of radiation therapy is to destroy cancer cells without harming nearby healthy tissue. In this case, radiation is very effective in killing cancer cells and is one of the most common forms of cancer treatment.
When it comes to radiation therapy, side effects occur when the radiation damages surrounding healthy tissue. Some patients may experience none, while others may experience more severe side effects. Because radiation therapy is a localized treatment, the side effects you may experience depend on the location of your cancer. Common side effects include:
- Skin problems: You may experience dryness, itching, blistering or peeling of the skin surrounding the affected area. This typically improves after treatment ends.
- Fatigue: This can be worse when your radiation is combined with chemotherapy.
- Head and neck issues: With head and neck radiation, you can experience dry mouth, sore gums, difficulty swallowing, jaw stiffness, nausea and tooth decay.
- Chest problems: Treatment in the chest area can cause difficulty swallowing, shortness of breath, nipple and breast soreness, shoulder stiffness and lung scars known as radiation fibrosis.
- Stomach or abdominal complications: Radiation in this area can cause nausea and vomiting, as well as diarrhea.
- Pelvic side effects: Radiation to the pelvis can cause diarrhea, rectal bleeding, incontinence, bladder irritation, sexual dysfunction, lowered sperm count, changes in menstruation, vaginal itching and burning and infertility.
With advanced technologies available and nationally renowned radiation oncologists at The University of Kansas Cancer Center, we can reduce or eliminate potential side effects. Your care team will work to help you avoid or minimize any possible side effects from radiation therapy.
What happens during radiation therapy?
How your radiation works, and the type of radiation treatment required, depends on your specific cancer. Your care team will decide on the best course of therapy. You will receive more information about what to expect during treatment and how many radiation therapy sessions you will need.
Why choose us
We offer the most advanced radiation technologies at multiple locations throughout the Kansas City region, and our radiation oncologists are specialized experts in the cancers they treat. Many of the radiation treatments available at The University of Kansas Cancer Center are not available anywhere else in the region. Our nationally renowned physicians have authored textbooks on a variety of advanced cancer treatments, serve on national cancer committees and write treatment guidelines for a variety of cancers that are followed by physicians across the country. We also offer many clinical trials for all types of cancer.
Request your appointment today.
To make an appointment at The University of Kansas Cancer Center, call 913-588-1227.