Radiation therapy acclimates to treating cancer. It does not mean radiation therapy is the only treatment. There are also many treatments to stop the progression of cancer which depends on the type of cancer. Other treatments may include surgery, chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, immunotherapy, hormone therapy, cryoablation, etc. Your healthcare provider may recommend only one treatment or a combination of treatments, depending on the situation. However, the symptoms may include pain without reason, unusual bleeding, swelling, coughing, numbness, headaches, and lumps anywhere in 

the body. If your doctor orders radiation therapy, first of all, you need to go to an x-ray center. With low doses of radiation, the technician at the x-ray center takes an x-ray of you to see inside your body, then plans the type of treatment. Surgery is the primary treatment to kill the cells of cancer. If the cells of cancer remain after initial treatment, the doctors will do adjuvant therapies that may include radiation therapy. 

Radiation Therapy

In radiation therapy, a high amount of radiation acclimates to treating cancer.  The process of radiation therapy can be feasible in different ways. 

• External radiation therapy provides high-energy rays directly into the tumor from outside the body. It means if you have cancer in your brain, you will have radiation only to your brain, not to your whole body. Types of external radiation therapy are:

1. 3D conformal radiation therapy.
2. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
3. Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT).
4. Tomotherapy, etc. 

You may get external radiation therapy over many weeks depending on the type of cancer, and you may not have to follow safety precautions at home. 

• Internal radiation therapy provides radiation through a radioactive source placed inside the body close to the tumor. X-rays or CT scans are used to find the place in which the radioactive source needs to go. Before positioning it, the health professionals cover the radiation source, so it can not affect the other tissues. They may give you anesthesia before the treatment.  The placement of radioactive sources can be permanent, depending on the type of cancer. You have to follow safety precautions in this type of radiation therapy. If these radiation therapies are not working, you will need emergency intravenous treatment to diagnose your cancer.

Other Treatments

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a systematic therapy that uses radioactive drugs to treat cancer. These are the liquid drugs that travel in the entire body to treat different types of cancer. These include bone, prostate, and thyroid cancer. The goal of systematic therapy is to find cancer cells and help treat other health problems. These drugs may be given intravenously to detect where the cancer cells are occupying. After giving drugs, you have to follow safety precautions at home. Otherwise, it may come with side effects such as stomach issues, fatigue, hair loss, sore mouth, sleeping problems, and many more. 

Surgery

Surgery is used as the primary treatment to remove cancer from your body. There are different types of surgeries used in cancer treatment which include: curative surgery (it removes the cancerous tumor), preventive surgery (it removes precancerous tissues), diagnostic surgery (it determines the location and type of cancerous cells), staging surgery (it reduces the extent of cancer), debulking surgery (it removes the entire cancerous tumor), palliative surgery (it relieves discomfort), restorative surgery (it addresses the side effects). 

Role of X-rays in Cancer Treatment

X-rays provide images of the inside of the body. It helps doctors to find cancer in different parts of bodies. In case of an emergency, x-rays can provide the fastest results. Need x-rays to detect your cancer? Obtain x-ray services Watauga.