Treating Cancer with Radiation Therapy

Radiation has been used to treat cancer for about 100 years. During that period, it has been shown to the be one of the best ways to fight many forms of cancer. Many advances have been made to make the treatment safe and effective. Radiation therapy has saved countless lives and has improved the quality of life for many cancer patients.

If you are uncertain about anything you have read here or elsewhere, please ask your doctor. It is our hope that you understand what radiation therapy is and how it may help you. We cannot cover the entire process here, but will attempt to give you a basic understanding.

What is radiation therapy?
About 50 to 60 percent of cancer patients are treated with radiation at some time during the disease process.

Radiation therapy is the careful use of high energy radiation to treat cancer. A Radiation Oncologist may use radiation to cure cancer or to relieve pain caused by the tumors.

Radiation therapy works because it destroys the cancer cells' ability to reproduce. The body naturally gets rid of these cells. A patient may be treated with radiation alone. The prostate and larynx are two such examples.

Sometimes combination therapy may be needed. This could include radiation, surgery and/or chemotherapy. Breast and bladder cancer are examples of areas which may need multiple therapies to be treated effectively.

The Radiation Oncologist uses a Linear Accelerator which generates high energy x-rays (external beam radiation therapy.) Internal radiation therapy involves placing radioactive sources inside or adjacent to the tumor. This is known as Implantation or Brachytherapy.

Who is in charge of the patient's therapy? The Radiation Oncologist is responsible for: Patient treatment planning Accuracy of the treatment Progress of the treatment Identifying and treating side effects Interacting closely with all members of the oncology team At Northern Arizona Tumor Institute, our Radiation Oncologist is Board certified. He has completed 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, 1 year of general medical training and 4 years of residency (specialty training) in Radiation Oncology at the University of Chicago. The American Board of Radiology certifies the doctors and it is important to ask your doctor if he/she is Board certified.

Dr. Sudhakara Dandala, PH.D. Radiological Physicist