Is radiation therapy safe?
The radiation that damages or destroys cancer cells can also injure or kill normal cells. It is this harm to normal cells that can cause treatment side effects. However, most side effects of radiation treatment are well known and, with the help of your doctor and nurse, easily treated. Radiation therapy is generally considered to be safe because the risk of side effects is usually less than the benefit of killing cancer cells. High-tech equipment and careful treatment planning ensure that the radiation is directed at the cancer and avoids healthy tissue as much as possible. In addition, every treatment plan is checked and re-checked by members of the treatment team and by computer monitoring equipment throughout the course of treatment. Some patients worry that radiation therapy will cause cancer years after treatment. Although there is a very small chance of this, the risk is usually outweighed by the benefits of receiving the treatment and killing cancer cells. Your doctor will not a
