Radiation Therapy

To print this web page, right click anywhere on the page and select "Print".

What is Radiation Therapy 

Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses high-energy radiation to destroy cancer cells.

Almost half of cancer patients will get some type of radiation therapy. It may be used alone or together with surgery, drug therapy, hormone therapy, or other treatments.

How Does Radiation Therapy Work?

• Radiation is targeted at the cancer cells.
• Cells that are very active, such as cancer cells, are usually more sensitive to radiation.
• Normal cells in the treatment area may also receive some radiation. This is why you may have side effects.
• Normal cells are able to recover from the damage better than the cancer cells.

How is Radiation Given?

There are two different ways to deliver radiation:

• External beam radiation therapy. 
• Internal radiation therapy (brachytherapy) - radiation is placed inside the body or near the tumour.

This section will focus on external beam radiation therapy. If you are receiving brachytherapy, you will be given more information by a member of your health care team.

What is External beam radiation therapy?

External beam radiation therapy is one way to deliver radiation from outside the body.

It is called a local treatment because the radiation is aimed at one specific part of the body. The radiation comes from a large machine called Linear Accelerator (Linac).

Radiation treatments can be given Monday through Friday. The number of treatments (anywhere between one to thirty-five treatments) and frequency (every day, every other day, weekly) depends on the type and location of cancer you are having treated, your general health and other factors.

What will I hear and feel? 

• You will hear a buzzing sound when the machine is on.
• The machine moves around you but does not touch you.
• You will not see or feel anything, just like when you get an x-ray.
• You do not become radioactive.