Radiation Therapy Process Breast Cancer

Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses beams of intense energy to kill cancer cells.

Radiation therapy process breast cancer.

Radiation therapy most often uses x rays but protons or other types of energy also can be used. What happens during your radiation therapy treatment depends on the kind of radiation therapy you receive. These steps include initial consul tation simulation treatment planning treatment delivery and post. Many people who get radiation therapy experience fatigue.

The oncologist or radiation technician uses a special x ray machine called a simulator and the process is called simulation because the treatment is being simulated or not really given. Radiation therapy has side effects because it not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells. The main types of radiation therapy that can be used to treat breast cancer are external beam radiation therapy ebrt and brachytherapy. If radiation therapy is recommended as a part of your treatment your provider will review in detail the proposed treatment the reasons for recommending the treatment and the potential risks and side effects of such treatment.

Because it is so important to position the angles of radiation accurately the planning session can sometimes last up to an hour. Overall there are five basic steps of radiation therapy that we can share to give patients an idea of what to expect. Whether you or someone you love has cancer knowing what to expect can help you cope. Other side effects depend on the part of the body that is being treated.

Learn more about possible side effects. The purpose of apbi is to provide a potentially more convenient treatment option compared to traditional whole breast radiation while attempting to provide similar rates of cancer control. This is the most common type of radiation therapy for women with breast cancer. Rapidly growing cells such as cancer cells are more susceptible to the effects of radiation therapy than are normal cells.

The process of radiation therapy will be customized for patients depending on which form of radiation therapy patients and their physicians choose as their options. It is the most common radiation therapy treatment for cancer. External beam radiation therapy delivers radiation from a machine outside the body. Radiation therapy for breast cancer uses high energy x rays protons or other particles to kill cancer cells.

Each session is quick lasting about 15 minutes. The term radiation therapy most often refers to external beam radiation therapy. It is usually only appropriate for select patients with early stage breast cancer that has not spread to lymph nodes.