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Radiation
Radiation therapy treats disease using high-energy rays or radioactive substances. The radiation is directed at the tumor to kill or damage cancer cells. Radiation can be used instead of surgery in some cases to shrink tumors, or after surgery to try to kill any cancer cells that may remain. Because radiation therapy to the brain can affect growth and brain development in young children, clinical trials are studying ways of using chemotherapy to delay or reduce the need for radiation therapy.
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Fractionated radiation therapy
uses X-rays produced by a machine called a linear accelerator or a cobalt machine to kill cancer cells from the outside and shrink tumors
(external-beam radiation therapy)
, usually delivered daily over weeks. Radiation therapy may also place materials that produce radiation (radioisotopes) into the tumor to kill cancer cells from the inside
(internal radiation therapy or brachytherapy)
.
Hyperfractionated radiation therapy
is a way of giving radiation therapy in smaller-than-usual doses two or three times a day instead of once a day.
Hypofractionated radiotherapy
uses larger doses in fewer treatments than conventionally used for that tumor. The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and
stage
of the tumor being treated.
Side effects of radiation therapy, which result from damage to normal tissue as well as cancerous cells, can include nausea, headaches, fatigue, vision changes, hair loss, and eventual memory loss and cognitive impairment.
This section discusses:
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