Radiation Therapy

You (or a member of your family) have been referred to a radiation oncologist, a physician specially trained in the use of radiation to treat disease, for evaluation of radiation therapy's role in your cancer treatment. Before recommending radiation therapy for you, the radiation oncologist thoroughly reviews your medical history. If you can benefit from radiation therapy, a treatment plan will be recommended and carried out by the radiation therapy team.

Radiation therapy alone is the best treatment for certain types of cancer and some benign (non-cancerous) diseases. Other types of cancer may require radiation therapy to be delivered along with other therapeutic agents such as chemotherapy or hormone therapy. Radiation therapy can be used to shrink tumors prior to surgical removal, or after surgery to destroy tumor cells that may exist microscopically in the surgical area.

Radiation therapy may be used to cure disease, control disease, or control the symptoms of disease (such as pain).