What Types of Radiation Are Available?
Successful radiation therapy depends on delivering the proper amount of radiation to the cancer in the best and most effective way. There are several types of radiation therapy. External Beam Radiation Therapy External beam radiation therapy is the most common form of radiation therapy. Before treatment begins, detailed planning or simulation is performed. During simulation, a team of specialists, including a radiation oncologist, will use measurements from scans and calculations to determine the precise location to aim the radiation. They will tattoo small dots on your body to indicate where to target the beam to ensure they radiate the same location at every treatment. This process may take several hours. During the treatment, you will be positioned on a table so that a beam from a machine outside the body may be aimed at the tumor. The radiation treatment itself lasts only a few minutes, but it may be given five times a week for several weeks, and sometimes a couple of times per day
