How does radiotherapy work?

Radiotherapy, also known as radiation therapy, is a type of cancer treatment that uses high energy X-rays or particles to damage or kill cancer cells. The goal of radiotherapy is to shrink and eliminate tumor cells while minimizing the amount of healthy tissue harmed in the process.

Radiotherapy works by causing irreparable damage to the DNA within cancerous cells. This obstructs vital processes needed for cell growth and division which then leads to their death. Radiotherapy can be delivered externally from machines outside your body (External Beam Radiation Therapy) or internally by placing radioactive material directly into a tumor (Internal Radiation Therapy). In both cases, once the radiation has done its job it quickly becomes inactive and harmless.

The success rate of radiotherapy depends largely on how well an individual’s medical team can target just their tumor while shielding healthy tissue from radiation damage as much as possible. As technology advances, techniques like CT-guided radiotherpy are becoming more prevalent so doctors can aim treatments with greater precision than ever before.

In addition to being used alone, radiotherapy is commonly combined with chemotherapy and surgery for an even more powerful attack against cancerous tumors. By doing so, any remaining cancerous cells after initial treatment will be eradicated before they have a chance at spreading elsewhere in your body - helping improve long term survival rates significantly!