Radiation 822 (more 411 than you ever wanted!)

How Radiation Works
Radiation therapy — also called radiotherapy — is a highly targeted, highly effective local treatment recommended in conjunction with a lumpectomy to destroy cancer cells in the breast that may stick around after surgery. Radiation therapy may be externally or internally delivered, both on an outpatient basis. The most common radiation treatment for breast cancer is external radiation therapy. It uses a large machine to direct a beam of radiation at the cancer site from outside the body and focuses high-energy rays to the entire breast from a machine called a linear accelerator to damage cancer cells. These high-energy beams, which are invisible to the human eye, damage a cell’s DNA, the material that cells use to divide. After the first course of treatment, a “boost” dose of radiation is given in the same area of the breast where the tumor was removed. The most common type is given externally (as in the first course), and may last from 1 to 2 weeks.

Over time, the radiation damages cells that are in the path of its beam — normal cells as well as cancer cells. But radiation affects cancer cells more than normal cells. Cancer cells are very busy growing and multiplying — 2 activities that can be slowed or stopped by radiation damage. And because cancer cells are less organized than healthy cells, it's harder for them to repair the damage done by radiation. So cancer cells are more easily destroyed by radiation, while healthy, normal cells are better able to repair themselves and survive the treatment.
A typical course of treatment is 5 days a week for 5 to 7 weeks. The treatment takes a few minutes each day.

Why Radiation is Necessary
Radiation is an important and often necessary form of anti-cancer therapy because it is able to reduce the risk of recurrence after surgery. Although it's quite possible that all the cancer was removed through surgery, breast cancer surgery cannot guarantee that every last cancer cell has been removed from your body. Individual cancer cells are too small to be felt or seen during surgery or detected by testing. Any cells that remain after surgery can grow and eventually form a new lump or show up as an abnormality on a test such as a mammogram.

Research has shown that people who are treated with radiation after lumpectomy are more likely to live longer, and remain cancer-free longer, than those who don't get radiation. In one large study, women who didn't get radiation after lumpectomy were shown to have a 60% greater risk of the cancer coming back in the same breast. Other research has shown that even women with very small cancers (1 centimeter or smaller) benefit from radiation after lumpectomy.

Radiation Oncology Team
Women having radiation therapy do not go through it alone. They have a whole team of people working with them to make sure they get the best treatment. This team may include:

• a radiation oncologist — to plan the treatment using radiation therapy;
• a radiation physicist — to make sure the machine delivers the right amount of radiation;
• a radiation therapist — to run the radiation therapy machine;
• a dosimetrist — to figure out how much radiation and how many treatments are needed;
• a radiation therapy nurse — to help manage side effects and provide information about the treatment;
• other team members may include a dietitian, physical therapist or social worker.