Radiation Therapy: What to Expect
What is radiation therapy?
Peer Review Status: Internally Reviewed by Cancer Center Staff
Creation Date: October 2002
Last Review Date: November 2006
Radiation therapy is the treatment of disease using therapeutic beams of high-energy waves called radiation. The radiation used for cancer treatment comes from special machines or from radioactive substances. Radiation therapy machines aim specific amounts of the radiation at tumors or parts of the body where there is/was disease. Radiation is sometimes given, even after tumors are removed. Individual details are available through your Radiation Oncology Team.
Radiation interacts with all cells. Healthy cells are capable of repairing themselves through normal cell function. Unhealthy cells, such as cancer cells, are incapable of repair.
To learn more about radiation therapy, contact the Cancer Information Service at: cancer-information@uiowa.edu or 1-800-237-1225.
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