External Beam Radiation Therapy for Pharyngeal Cancer
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Pharyngeal Cancer Treatment: External Beam Radiation
External beam radiation therapy is a form of radiotherapy commonly used at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). Often used in conjunction with surgery or chemotherapy, external beam radiation therapy is one of the many weapons in the CTCA arsenal to help you fight pharyngeal cancer.
External beam radiation therapy is distinguished from internal radiation therapy, or brachytherapy, in which radioactive material is sealed in a delivery device and inserted in or near the tumor itself.
With external beam radiation, our radiation oncologists and their team of radiation therapists focus a "beam" of radiation from outside your body onto the cancerous internal organ and/or tissue within your body. This treatment is administered by a linear accelerator (a high-energy X-ray machine), which directs radiation at the cancerous pharyngeal tissue. The procedure is typically scheduled for a few minutes at a time, five days a week, over the course of six to eight weeks.
As computer hardware and software become more and more powerful, radiation therapy treatment, planning and delivery will continue to change dramatically. Recent advances in radiation therapy can more accurately target the tumor with higher doses of radiation, while limiting damage to healthy pharyngeal 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.
External beam radiation therapy is performed on an outpatient basis, and does not hold the risks accompanying major pharyngeal cancer surgery (e.g., bleeding; post-operative pain; risk of heart attack, stroke or blood clot). Furthermore, the procedure itself causes no pain.
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