Radiation therapy employs high-energy radiation to eliminate cancer cells by damaging their DNA. The radiation utilized for cancer treatment might come from a device outside of the body, or it might come from radioactive material placed within the body close to tumor cells or injected into the bloodstream. It may hurt normal cells as well as cancer cells. Consequently, treatment should be carefully planned to lessen side effects.

1. What Could Radiation Therapy Do For You?
Radiation therapy employs high-energy radiation to eliminate cancer cells by damaging
their DNA. The radiation utilized for cancer treatment might come from a device outside of
the body, or it might come from radioactive material placed within the body close to tumor
cells or injected into the bloodstream. It may hurt normal cells as well as cancer cells.
Consequently, treatment should be carefully planned to lessen side effects.
The Arch Cancer Care facility which specializes in cancer treatment in St. Louis, MO is
accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR) which is really a widely recognized
validation of the high quality of care our
organization provides to cancer patients.
This means that our facility’s personnel,
equipment, treatment-planning, and
treatment records as well as patient-safety
policies are evaluated and recognized for
excellence.
Your radiation oncologist will develop a treatment plan, which starts with simulation, using
detailed imaging scans to show the location of a patient’s tumor and the normal areas
around it. These scans are usually computed tomography (CT) scans, but they can also
include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and
ultrasound scans.
The type of radiation therapy recommended by a radiation oncologist will depend on many
factors, including:
 The type of cancer
 The size of the cancer
 The cancer’s location within the body
 How close the cancer is to regular tissues that are sensitive to radiation
 How far inside the body the radiation has to travel
 The patient’s general health and health history

2.  If the patient will have other sorts of cancer treatment
 Other variables, including the patient’s age and other medical conditions.
A patient could receive radiation therapy before, during, or following surgery. Some patients
may get radiation therapy alone, without surgery or other treatments. Some patients may
get radiation therapy and chemotherapy on top of that. The timing of radiation therapy
depends on the kind of cancer being treated and the purpose of treatment.
Having a genuine dialogue about cancer treatment can be quite a difficult thing for people in
St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters, Florissant, and Chesterfield, MO. If you're ready to take the
next step, it's time to call Arch Cancer Care.