Radiation Therapy – An Effective Cancer Treatment

As you would expect, all forms of cancer treatment are in a state of ongoing development and in this short article, we take a look at radiation therapy and how it can be effectively used to treat cancer.

In high doses, radiation can kill or stint the growth of cancerous cells and it does this by damaging the cell DNA.

This is most definitely not a quick fix, the cancer cells are not eliminated straight away, rather the targeted treatment impacts the cell’s DNA and it takes time for the cells to die.

Various types of radiation therapy

There are two main types of radiation therapy to treat cancer, which are:

• External beam radiation therapy – A large machine is used to aim the beams to the affected area, such as radiotherapy for liver cancer which involves numerous sessions when the healthcare professional aims the beam at the liver. The machine is fully adjustable, enabling the technician to target specific regions of the body, which minimises healthy cell damage. 
• Internal radiation therapy – This treatment consists of inserting a radioactive source into the body, which could be solid or liquid. The technical name for solid radioactive insertion is brachytherapy, and this treatment can be very effective in killing cancer cells within vital organs. Using a liquid is known as systemic therapy and the liquid might be ingested or intravenously administered and waste products are radioactive for a short period. This treatment can also be used to ease symptoms, such as with palliative care.

Lifetime dose limits

The human body can only take so much radiation, therefore the health professional calculates the exact exposure time of each treatment session, always making sure total dose limits are not exceeded. This means you are likely to reach a point where you cannot have radiation treatment and the technician would inform you of this. Wellness therapy is recommended after radiation treatment to boost the immune system.

Side effects

Of course, there are undeniable side effects from radiation therapy, which include nausea, fatigue, hair loss and loss of appetite. The dosage is monitored carefully by the healthcare professional and if side –effects are an issue, treatment can be postponed to allow time to recover. 

Here is a list of potential side effects:

• Brain – Fatigue, hair loss, nausea, memory loss (temporary), vomiting and skin issues.
• Chest - Fatigue, hair loss, nausea, swelling and tenderness.
• Head & neck – Fatigue, hair loss, trouble swallowing and minor skin changes.

Of course, prior to any radiation treatment, the health professional would inform you of the potential for side effects and also ensure that you have no underlying health issues.

Where to source radiation therapy

Bangkok is home to some of the best cancer treatment clinics on the planet and with a Google search, you can make contact and book an initial consultation via their website.