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 oncologists use radiation therapy to try to cure cancer, to control tumor 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 cells are also affected by radiation, but they are able to repair themselves in a way cancer cells cannot.