External Beam Radiation for Leukemia

One of the most commonly used forms of radiotherapy used for leukemia at Cancer Treatment Centers of America is External Beam Radiation Therapy. This technique involves directing a “beam” of radiation from outside your body, focused on the cancerous internal organ and/or tissue within your body. External beam radiation may be used in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy, and/or a myriad of other weapons in the CTCA arsenal to help you fight cancer.

External beam radiation therapy uses a linear accelerator, a high-energy x-ray machine, to direct radiation to a tumor. The procedure lasts a few minutes at a time, usually for five days a week, over the course of six to eight weeks.

With the significant advancements in computer hardware and software, radiation therapy treatment, planning, and delivery have changed dramatically and will continue to progress during the next decade. Recent advances in radiation therapy can more accurately target the tumor with higher doses of radiation, while minimizing damage to your healthy tissue.

External beam radiation therapy poses no risk of radioactivity to you or others with whom you have contact. You may continue normal activities with family and friends.

Advantages of external beam radiation therapy include:

• Radiation is an outpatient procedure that does not carry the standard risks or complications that accompany major surgery, such as surgical bleeding, post-operative pain, or the risk of stroke, heart attack or blood clot.
• The procedure itself causes no pain.