Radiotherapy (radiation) Overview
Radiotherapy (radiation) at a Glance
Radiotherapy entails delivering high doses of radiation beams straight into a tumor. The job of these radiation beams is to alter the tumor's DNA makeup, causing it either to shrink in size or die.
Radiotherapy (radiation) Types
The 3 types of internal radiation therapy are the following:
- Brachytherapy entails radioactive material which is implanted in the body.
- Intraoperative radiation therapy, or IORT, is utilized to treat exposed tumors in cancer surgery.
- Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is not really surgery.
Radiotherapy (radiation) Frequency
The majority of patients have five treatments weekly, one treatment daily from Monday to Friday, taking a break during the weekend. However, if required, treatment might be administered more than once daily or on the weekend as well.
Radiotherapy (radiation) Common Side Effects
The most common side effects that radiotherapy may cause include:
- Hearing loss
- Extreme exhaustion
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Hair loss
- Headaches
- Difficulty with speech and memory
- Scalp and skin changes
- Stiffness in the jaw
- Dry mouth
- Gum and mouth sores
- Trouble swallowing
- Tooth decay
- A type of swelling known as lymphedema
- Weaker immune system
- Diarrhea
- Slower functioning thyroid gland
- Memory loss
- Skin and taste changes
- Cataracts
Radiotherapy (radiation) Success Rate
According to PubMed, the overall 5-year survival rate was only 27%.
