WHEN RADIATION IS USED

VARIAN Trilogy

More than half of all people with cancer are treated with some form of radiation therapy. Thousands of these people, whether they received radiation alone or in conjunction with other cancer therapies, are now living cancer free.

Radiation is often combined with chemotherapy, a systemic treatment that reaches all parts of the body through the bloodstream. Radiation can improve the outcomes of chemotherapy by providing another method of reducing tumor size. Chemotherapy can improve the outcome of radiation by sensitizing cancer cells to radiation effects.

When used before surgery, radiation can shrink a tumor and make it easier for the surgeon to remove.

Radiation can be used after surgery to stop any remaining cancer cells from growing, preventing the cancer from returning, or spreading to other parts of the body.

Unfortunately, cancer cannot always be stopped completely. For terminally ill patients, radiation therapy can improve quality of life by reducing tumor size, thereby reducing pain, pressure, and other cancer symptoms.