Is radiation harder on your body than chemo?

A systemic treatment like chemotherapy or liquid radiation may have more off-target side effects than a local treatment. But local treatments that are administered only to the cancer site, like external beam radiation or solid internal radiation treatment, may have more extreme side effects in that area of the body.

What does radiation do to your body when you have cancer?

How Radiation Therapy Works against Cancer. At high doses, radiation therapy kills cancer cells or slows their growth by damaging their DNA. Cancer cells whose DNA is damaged beyond repair stop dividing or die. When the damaged cells die, they are broken down and removed by the body.

How long does a person live after radiation?

Following treatment with stereotactic radiation, more than eight in ten patients (84\%) survived at least 1 year, and four in ten (43\%) survived 5 years or longer. The median overall survival (OS) time was 42.3 months.

Is radiation hard on the body?

Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells, it can also affect nearby healthy cells. Damage to healthy cells can cause side effects. Many people who get radiation therapy have fatigue.

How do you know if radiation therapy is working?

There are a number of ways your care team can determine if radiation is working for you. These can include: Imaging Tests: Many patients will have radiology studies (CT scans, MRI scans, PET scans) during or after treatment to see if/how the tumor has responded (gotten smaller, stayed the same, or grown).

How many hours does radiation therapy take?

How long does radiation therapy take? Each radiation therapy treatment takes about 10 minutes. Radiation therapy to try and cure cancer is usually delivered daily, Monday through Friday, for about five to eight weeks. Weekend breaks allow normal cells to recover.

Can you drive yourself to radiation treatments?

Radiation therapy is usually given on an outpatient basis. Most patients will feel well enough to drive themselves. If you are not feeling well, arrange for a family member, friend, or neighbor to drive you.

What are the side effects of radiation therapy for cancer?

Radiation Therapy Side Effects. Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells, it can also affect nearby healthy cells.

Do I need radiation therapy with other cancer treatments?

But, most often, you will have radiation therapy with other cancer treatments, such as surgery , chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Radiation therapy may be given before, during, or after these other treatments to improve the chances that treatment will work.

How long does it take for radiation therapy to kill cancer cells?

It takes days or weeks of treatment before DNA is damaged enough for cancer cells to die. Then, cancer cells keep dying for weeks or months after radiation therapy ends. There are two main types of radiation therapy, external beam and internal. The type of radiation therapy that you may have depends on many factors, including:

What if I Have Questions about radiation treatment?

It’s normal to have questions about how to help someone getting radiation treatment. If you have questions after reading this article, talk to the cancer care team. You can also call our Cancer Helpline at 1-800-227-2345. How does radiation treat cancer?