Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, is a safe and effective cancer treatment that uses high energy X-rays to target and kill cancer cells. It works because cancer cells are more sensitive to radiation than normal cells. Therefore, cancer cells are destroyed while normal cells recover.

For some people, radiation therapy is the main treatment to cure cancer, but it is often combined with other treatments including surgery, chemotherapy or hormone therapy. Radiation therapy can be given before, during or after these treatments. Radiation therapy is also useful to relieve symptoms of cancer such as pain, even in patients whose cancer is too advanced to be cured. Certain non-cancerous conditions can also be treated with radiation therapy.