Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancers

Understanding Radiation Therapy

• Radiation therapy, sometimes called radiotherapy, is the use of high-energy X-rays to safely and effectively kill cancer cells.
• Radiation therapy works within cancer cells by damaging their ability to multiply. When these cells die, the body naturally eliminates them.
• More specifically, radiation therapy damages the DNA of the cancer cells. The DNA is a blueprint that tells each cell what to do and how to divide. When the cancer cell tries to divide next time, it realizes that its DNA has been damaged and dies instead.
• This process determines how quickly the tumor will respond to radiation therapy. Tumors that grow rapidly (such as small cell lung cancer) will discover their DNA has been damaged more rapidly, and will also die more rapidly. Tumors that grow more slowly (such as prostate cancer tumors), will also die more slowly, and it may take one to two years before they are completely eradicated. Non-small cell lung cancers may take weeks to months before being completely killed.
• Healthy cells are also affected by radiation, but they are able to repair themselves in a way cancer cells cannot.
• Radiation oncologists use radiation therapy to try to cure cancer, to control tumor growth or to relieve symptoms, such as pain.