The Three Types Of Radiation Therapy

When you meet my cousin, her exuberant personality and energy gives nothing away of the tragedy that lurks in her past. She has a loving father, mother, and two adorable little brothers. Her real father, however, was stolen from her by a disease that is more common than some would like to believe. Cancer is a deadly disease characterized by the tumors made of cells which are dividing uncontrollably due to the mutation in the DNA. In the fight to eradicate this worldwide issue, one of the leading forms of treatment uses radiation to target the genetic material within those cancerous cells. Radiation therapy uses high energy beams, such as x-rays, gamma rays and charged particles, to damage the DNA to the extent where the cell will either die or stop dividing (“Radiation …show more content…
Radiation is most useful when the tumor is located in an area where the removal of the tumor would interfere too much with the healthy functioning of the other organs. As a result of radiation therapy, some healthy cells will inevitably be damaged, but cells that divide quickly, such as cancer cells, are the most vulnerable (“Radiation therapy,” 2000).
Within the broad category of radiation therapy, there are three main types: external-beam radiation therapy, internal radiation therapy (also known as brachytherapy) and systemic radiation therapy. External radiation is most often delivered in photon beams delivered in a rapidly moving beam by a linear accelerator machine (“Radiation Therapy for Cancer,” 2010). These machines speed up particles using electric fields and hence increase the energy of the photon beams. (Dotson, 2014). With more energy, the beam is more damaging to cancer cells. External beam radiation also uses computer programs and advanced machines to target the specific site of a tumor while attempting to limit the damage to other important tissues (“Radiation Therapy for Cancer,” 2010). On the other hand, during internal radiation therapy, otherwise known as