Radiation Oncology is the medical use of Radiation to treat cancer and nonmalignant tumors. Radiation has a high success rate at curing many cancers. Radiation is used for:
- Definitive treatment: The main treatment modality to cure cancer.
- Adjuvant therapy: Used after the primary treatment, being either surgery or chemotherapy.
- Palliative care: To alleviate pain and symptoms from metastatic cancer lesions.
Radiation can be delivered in many ways, the three most common ways are:
- Linear Accelerator: This is a machine that generates photons/energy particles that can be directed at the cancer cells, destroying the DNA of the cancer and thus killing the cancer.
- Brachytherapy: This mode uses small, BB sized Radioactive pellets which can be placed in the cancer to destroy it.
- Systemic therapy: Radioactive monoclonal antibodies which can be taken systemically, are cancer cell specific and kill the cancer cells.