Radiation Therapy for Gynecologic Cancers

Understanding Radiation Therapy

• Radiation therapy, sometimes called radiotherapy, is the careful use of radiation to safely and effectively treat cancer.
• Radiation oncologists use radiation therapy to try to cure cancer, to control cancer growth or to relieve symptoms, such as pain.
• Radiation therapy works within cancer cells by damaging their ability to multiply. When these cells die, the body naturally eliminates them.
• Healthy tissues are also affected by radiation, but they are able to repair themselves in a way cancer cells cannot.