Radiation therapy facts for kids
Radiation therapy is a special way doctors use powerful, invisible rays to treat diseases. It is most often used to fight cancer.
Radiation therapy can help cure many types of cancer, especially if the cancer is only in one area of the body. Doctors also use it to stop cancer from coming back after surgery. For example, it can be used after removing a breast cancer tumor. Sometimes, radiation therapy works together with chemotherapy, which uses medicines to kill cancer cells. Doctors might use radiation before, during, or after chemotherapy.
Radiation therapy works by damaging the tiny instruction books, called DNA, inside cancer cells. When the DNA is damaged, the cancer cells cannot grow or make more copies of themselves. This makes them die.
Doctors are very careful to aim the radiation right at the cancer. They use special machines that send weak rays from different directions. These rays meet up at the tumor, giving it a strong dose. This helps protect the healthy parts of your body, like your skin or other organs. Sometimes, doctors also treat nearby lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small glands that can sometimes have cancer cells spread to them.
It is hard to aim the radiation perfectly because the body moves, even when a person breathes. So, doctors usually include a small amount of healthy tissue around the tumor. This makes sure the entire tumor is hit by the radiation.
What is a Radiation Oncologist?
A doctor who specializes in using radiation to treat diseases is called a radiation oncologist. This is different from a radiologist, who uses radiation for medical imaging and finding out what is wrong.
Radiation therapy can be used to try and cure cancer. It can also be used to help people feel better when a cure is not possible. This is called palliative treatment. It can help control the disease or ease pain.
Often, radiation therapy is combined with other treatments. These can include surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or Immunotherapy. Most common types of cancer can be treated with radiation therapy in some way. The exact plan depends on the type of cancer, where it is, and how far it has spread. It also depends on the patient's overall health.
One special type of radiation therapy is called Total Body Irradiation (TBI). This technique prepares the body for a bone marrow transplant. Another type is Brachytherapy. With brachytherapy, a small radiation source is placed right inside or next to the area that needs treatment. This helps keep radiation away from healthy tissues. It is used for cancers of the breast, prostate, and other organs.
Images for kids
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This image shows how radiation can affect the bladder.
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This is a Varian TrueBeam machine. It is used to deliver radiation therapy.
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X-ray treatment of tuberculosis in 1910. Long ago, people did not fully understand the dangers of radiation.
See also
In Spanish: Radioterapia para niños
