Cancer is one of the most frightening diagnoses that a person can receive. Fortunately, cancer treatments have vastly improved over the past few decades, allowing many patients to go on to have normal lives after being treated for their cancer.
At some point during cancer treatment, nearly two-thirds of all patients will receive radiation therapy, either alone or in combination with surgery and chemotherapy. Used for more than 100 years, radiation therapy has been proven effective in curing cancer as well as treating painful symptoms from cancer progression and prolonging life.
For example, radiation therapy works to eliminate cancer to allow women with breast cancer to avoid a disfiguring mastectomy and help men with prostate cancer preserve their sexual function while providing the same cure rates as other treatment options. Radiation can also relieve the pain some cancer patients feel if their tumors have spread.
In order to treat patients with radiation therapy, specially trained cancer doctors called radiation oncologists must spend four years in college and four years in medical school before entering a rigorous five-year residency program. Afterward, they must pass an extensive board certification exam.
Due to this extensive training, radiation oncologists - and the team of physicists, therapists, nurses, dosimetrists and researchers that work with them - have been responsible for enormous improvements in the accuracy and effectiveness of cancer treatments in recent years.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer, it is important to talk with a radiation oncologist to see if radiation therapy should be included in your treatment. Your doctor will review your case and then make recommendations to help you decide on a course of treatment that you and your family will be comfortable with.
During your initial visit, your radiation oncologist will examine you, review your medical history and explain to you exactly how radiation therapy works and what to expect before, during and after treatment. Remember, your doctor is there to help; don't be afraid to ask any questions, no matter how silly they may seem.
For a free copy of the brochure "Radiation Therapy for Cancer" or to locate a radiation oncologist in your area, visit the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's Web site at www.astro.org/patient. - NU |
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