Radiation therapy

At Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic, you get a personalized care plan tailored to your specific needs. Our radiation oncologists use advanced imaging technology to plan your treatment and ensure accuracy. You benefit from a team approach where medical experts across multiple specialties review your history and create a comprehensive treatment plan.

What is radiation therapy?

Radiation therapy is a treatment that uses targeted energy to destroy cancer cells, shrink tumors or relieve cancer-related symptoms. In general, the goal of radiation therapy is to deliver the maximum effective dose of radiation to a tumor while protecting healthy tissues and organs.

You may get radiation therapy:

• As your primary cancer treatment
• Before another cancer treatment to shrink a tumor
• Following another cancer treatment to stop any remaining cells from growing
• In combination with other cancer treatments
• To relieve symptoms of advanced cancer

Types of radiation therapy

There are multiple types of radiation therapy. The type that’s best for you depends on your diagnosis and history. Your radiation oncologist may recommend:

• External beam radiation therapy: A machine outside your body directs radiation to cancer cells.
• Internal radiation therapy: Your radiation oncologist uses a hollow, flexible tube (catheter) or other applicator to place radioactive material in or near a tumor. Internal radiation is also called brachytherapy.
• Systemic radiation therapy: You swallow or get an injection of a radioactive substance. This substance travels through your blood, locating and destroying cancer cells.

Conditions radiation therapy treats

Radiation therapy may be a treatment for a wide range of cancers, including:

• Blood cancer
• Brain tumors
• Breast cancer
• Colorectal cancer
• Head and neck cancer
• Liver cancer
• Lung cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Skin cancer

Sometimes, doctors use radiation therapy to treat non-cancerous tumors such as acoustic neuromas or blood vessel conditions such as arteriovenous malformations.

Radiation therapy side effects

It’s common to experience side effects from radiation therapy, including:

• Appetite or taste changes
• Difficulty swallowing or jaw stiffness
• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Mouth sores
• Nausea and vomiting
• Skin changes, such as irritation, redness or blistering

Complementary therapies, such as acupuncture, nutrition counseling or massage may help relieve some of these uncomfortable side effects.