What is another name for radiation therapy?

What is another name for radiation therapy?

Other names for radiation treatment are radiation therapy, radiotherapy, irradiation, and x-ray therapy.

What are the two types of radiotherapy?

The two main types of radiotherapy are: External radiotherapy – where the radiation comes from a machine outside the body. Internal radiotherapy – where the radiation comes from implants or liquids placed inside the body.

What are the three types of radiation therapy?

Three common types of internal radiation therapy include:

• Brachytherapy involves radioactive material that is implanted in the body.
• Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) is used to treat an exposed tumor during cancer surgery.
• Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is not actually surgery.

Is radiotherapy and chemotherapy the same?

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are both treatments for cancer – the uncontrolled growth and spread of cells to surrounding tissues. Chemotherapy, or “chemo,” uses special drugs to shrink or kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy, or “radiation,” kills these cells with high-energy beams such as X-rays or protons.

Is radiation therapy the same as radiation oncology?

Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy x-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells. A doctor who specializes in giving radiation therapy to treat cancer is called a radiation oncologist.

How many rounds of radiotherapy can you have?

You usually have one treatment (fraction) a day, from Monday to Friday, for between 3 to 6 weeks. This means that you have between 15 and 30 treatments of radiotherapy in total.

What is the name of the machine used for radiation therapy?

What is this equipment used for? A medical linear accelerator (LINAC) is the device most commonly used for external beam radiation treatments for patients with cancer. It delivers high-energy x-rays or electrons to the region of the patient’s tumor.

Is radiotherapy worse than chemotherapy?

Since radiation therapy is focused on one area of your body, you may experience fewer side effects than with chemotherapy. However, it may still affect healthy cells in your body.

Do tumors grow back after radiation?

Normal cells close to the cancer can also become damaged by radiation, but most recover and go back to working normally. If radiotherapy doesn’t kill all of the cancer cells, they will regrow at some point in the future.

Do you lose hair with radiation?

Radiation therapy can also cause hair loss on the part of the body that is being treated. Hair loss is called alopecia. Talk with your health care team to learn if the cancer treatment you will be receiving causes hair loss.

How long does it take to fully recover from radiation therapy?

Even though most radiation treatments only target specific collections of cancer cells, the effects of radiation can easily spread to nearby cells. Most recover within a few weeks, but some injuries develop later or require a longer recovery process.

Which cancers are treated with radiotherapy?

Types of Cancer that Are Treated with Radiation Therapy Brachytherapy is most often used to treat cancers of the head and neck, breast, cervix, prostate, and eye. A systemic radiation therapy called radioactive iodine, or I-131, is most often used to treat certain types of thyroid cancer.