Radiation therapy, available at Evergreen's Radiation Oncology Center, treats cancer with penetrating beams of high-energy waves or streams of particles called radiation, delivered via machines or radioactive substances. Radiation therapy equipment aims specific amounts of the radiation at tumors or areas of the body where cancer is located to keep the cancer cells from growing and dividing.
Evergreen's Radiation Oncology Center leads the nation with a 98 to 99 percent rate of women keeping their breast following a lumpectomy and radiation therapy. A woman's survival and quality of life is largely based on whether they keep their breast.
There are two main types of radiation therapy:
- External - radiation is delivered by a machine from outside the body
- Internal - radioactive materials are placed in the body near the cancer cells; also called implant radiation or brachytherapy
Like surgery, radiation therapy is a local treatment – it affects the cancer cells only in a specific area of the body. Sometimes oncologists add radiation therapy to treatments that reach all parts of the body, such as chemotherapy, to improve treatment results.
The brief high doses of radiation that damage or destroy cancer cells can also injure or kill normal cells. These effects of radiation on normal cells cause treatment side effects. Most side effects of radiation treatment are well known and, with the help of your doctor and nurse, easily treated. The risk of side effects is usually less than the benefit of killing cancer cells.