Radiation therapy :
These are general information on the treatment of tumors by radiation and apply to some and not all cancer patients.

X-Rays are used for radiation therapy and they play a major role in the world of medicine in both the fields of screening and treatment even though their usage has its risks, which are minor in comparison to their medical benefits.

Although the radiations used in therapy are the same used in x-ray pictures of the chest, for example, the equipments used for therapy are different and can produce stronger radiations; and like the radiations used in x-rays, those used in therapy are painless and the patient does not feel them.

Most of the cancer patients are treated with radiation therapy, which could be administered from outside the body and that by placing the patient near the therapy device or from inside the body by placing radiation in the region of the tumor to be treated.

These radiations destroy the cancer cells in the region of treatment and also affect the healthy cells that are distinguished by curing themselves quickly. That is why radiation is divided into daily sessions five days a week, Saturday through Wednesday. This session-policy gives the healthy cells a chance to cure themselves and this contributes in decreasing the side effects of the treatment.

The necessary dosage of treatment and the number of sessions depends on a number of factors such as:

* The type of tumor.
* The age of the patient.
* The location of the tumor.
* The health of the patient in general.

That is why each patient has an individual and personal therapy plan that might differ from the therapy plans of other patients with the same type of tumor.

next