Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy treats disease by directing ionizing radiation at abnormal cells. It damages cellular DNA, limiting cells’ ability to survive and reproduce.

Ionizing radiation: Radiation energetic enough to remove electrons from atoms, producing ions. Its energy deposits initiate the cellular damage used in treatment.
External beam radiation therapy: Radiation treatment delivered from a machine outside the body. It is the most widely used way to direct radiation at a tumor.
Radiation oncologist: A physician who specializes in treating disease with radiation. This specialist selects treatment goals, prescribes dose, and oversees care.
Surgery: A medical treatment that uses operative procedures to remove, repair, or alter tissue. Unlike radiation, surgery physically removes or changes tissue at an operation.
Radiation-induced DNA damage: Cellular DNA injury caused by exposure to ionizing radiation. This damage can prevent tumor cells from reproducing but also affect healthy cells.
Radiobiology: The study of how ionizing radiation affects living cells and tissues. It explains how radiation damage differs between tumors and healthy tissue.
Brachytherapy: Radiation treatment in which sealed radioactive sources are placed in or near a tumor. Placing the source close to the target can concentrate dose in a small region.
Medical physicist: A specialist applying physics to the safe and accurate use of radiation in medicine. Medical physicists help verify equipment, calculations, and treatment delivery.
Chemotherapy: Cancer treatment using drugs that kill or inhibit rapidly dividing cells. It acts through medicines throughout the body rather than directed radiation beams.
Acute radiation effects: Tissue reactions that develop during or shortly after radiation exposure. These effects help explain common symptoms during a treatment course.

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