![]() ![]() Most people have treatment once a day, Monday through Friday. These adjustments can improve the accuracy of treatment and help spare normal tissue. The repeated imaging allows for your position or the radiation dose to be adjusted during treatment if needed. These scans are processed by computers to detect changes in the tumor’s size and location. How it worksĭuring treatment, you will have repeated scans, such as CT, MRI, or PET scans. However, it uses imaging scans not only for treatment planning before radiation therapy sessions but also during radiation therapy sessions. Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) What it is The number of treatments varies from person to person based on details about your cancer, such as the type and stage of the cancer and the size and location of the tumor. IMRT uses many more smaller beams than 3-D conformal and the strength of the beams in some areas can be changed to give higher doses to certain parts of the tumor. Like 3-D conformal radiation, radiation beams are aimed at the tumor from several directions. IMRT is a type of 3-D conformal radiation therapy. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) What it is The number of treatments vary from person to person based on details about your cancer, such as the type and stage of the cancer and the size and location of the tumor. The precise shaping makes it possible to use higher doses of radiation to the tumor while sparing normal tissue. How it worksģ-D conformal radiation conforms to the shape of the tumor by delivering beams from many directions. A computer program is used to analyze the images and to design radiation beams that conform to the shape of the tumor. It uses images from CT, MRI, and PET scans to precisely plan the treatment area, a process called simulation. Types of external beam radiation therapy include: 3-D conformal radiation therapy What it isģ-D conformal radiation therapy is a common type of external beam radiation therapy. Each type relies on a computer to analyze images of the tumor in order to calculate the most precise dose and treatment path possible. There are many types of external beam radiation therapy, all of which share the goal of delivering the highest prescribed dose of radiation to the tumor while sparing the normal tissue around it. Therefore, their use is limited to tumors on the skin or near the surface of the body. Electron beams cannot travel very far through body tissues. ElectronsĮlectrons are particles with a negative charge. Some cancer centers are using proton beams in radiation therapy, but the high cost and size of the machines are limiting their use. Clinical trials are underway to compare radiation therapy using proton beams with that using photons beams. Doctors think that proton beams might reduce the amount of normal tissue that is exposed to radiation. However, proton beams do not scatter radiation on their path through the body and they stop once they reach the tumor. Like photon beams, proton beams can also reach tumors deep in the body. Protons are particles with a positive charge. Learn the results of a study comparing the two types of radiation therapy. Is Proton Therapy Safer than Traditional Radiation? ![]()
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