Radiation combined with immune-stimulating drugs could pack a powerful punch against cancer cells

Cancer immunotherapies are treatments that stimulate the immune system to target and attack cancer. Researchers now believe that combining immunotherapy with traditional therapies could open up new possibilities for cancer treatment.

 AI Designs Radiation Therapy Treatment Plan For Cancer In Twenty Minutes

In the case of using AI to aid radiation therapy treatment design, Babier says that his particular tool is more an extension of what is currently available to healthcare staff, rather than a revolution. "It's essentially a pretty simple plugin to help with what is currently there in a clinical setting, but with more intelligent parameters than currently available," said Babier.

 Researchers Refine Radiotherapy For Women With Breast Cancer, Reducing Side-Effects

A new study has found that many women with early-stage breast cancer can receive a lower or more targeted dose of radiotherapy after surgical removal of their tumors, reducing side-effects with no negative impact on their chance of survival.

 The Radiation For My Cancer Could Give Me More Cancer

He runs through the list of potential side effects like he's naming pizza toppings—no big deal: skin problems, fatigue, shortness of breath, swelling, sore throat, lymphedema, pain in the treated area, nerve damage. More cancer. It goes on and on. I sign the consent form anyway.

 What Are The Risks Of Radiotherapy?

There are multiple potential risks of Radiation Therapy - hundreds - just as there are with virtually any medical procedure. Other than fatigue, all the side effects and potential complications are limited to the area being treated. For the treatment of many cancer types/areas, there are no side effects at all - and only a few late complications that the patient will never know are there.

 ‘It’s just bad care’: Many breast cancer patients receive more radiation than needed

All eligible breast cancer patients should be offered a shorter course of radiation, said Dr. Benjamin Smith, an associate professor of radiation oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Studies show that side effects from the shorter regimen are the same or even milder than traditional therapy, Smith said.

6 things to know before radiation therapy

As part of my vulvar cancer treatment, I underwent five days of radiation therapy treatments for six weeks. Going into it, I had no idea what to expect, and after about two weeks, I started to feel like a baked potato that had been left in the microwave too long. Today, I'm cancer-free, so in the end it was worth it. But it was difficult at times. Here are some things I wish I would have known before starting radiation therapy.

Breast Cancer Radiation Therapy: My Experience

I had radiation therapy this summer. My treatment lasted four weeks, with treatments on five days a week, Monday through Friday. After chemotherapy, which was my least favorite activity ever (and that includes childbirth), I thought radiation would be a breeze. A breeze, it was not.

Cancer is on the rise in Africa just as some of the few radiotherapy centers fall apart

The state of cancer treatment in Uganda symbolizes a continental problem. The health systems of most African countries are not equipped to treat diseases like cancer. For decades, the continent struggled with communicable diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS. Doctors were trained to respond to these. Hospital facilities were skewed to contain these epidemics. Now, when the World Health Organisation is warning that non-communicable diseases are sharply rising ( as Africans become wealthier), the continent isn’t well prepared for the double disease burden.

Cancer-Zapping Precision Radiation Beams Could Soon Target Other Diseases

Targeted beams of high-intensity radiation can shrink early-stage tumors with limited collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The addition of robotics and image guidance systems in recent years has made these stereotactic, or directed beam, radiosurgery systems an even more versatile weapon against cancer, attacking not only brain tumors (for which they were originally designed) but also other diseases virtually anywhere in the body.

Eating for Chemo and Radiation

During chemo and radiation, your diet is more important than it's ever been in your life.

Killing More Cancer Cells than Ever Before: A New Era in Radiotherapy

Advances in imaging and treatment planning, for example, have made it possible for radiation oncologists to move from 2-D to 3-D radiotherapy techniques with relevant imaging and subsequent contouring (a process of taking images of and evaluating a tumour, defining where it ends and healthy tissue begins). A rise in automated planning tools is also helping radiation oncology specialists harness computing power to pinpoint tumours and plan out exactly how much radiation to use on which part of the tumour and from which angles.

My Radiation Treatment Begins

After undergoing 16 rounds of chemotherapy and a lumpectomy, it's finally time to begin the last step of my treatment - radiation. For the next 6 weeks, Monday through Friday, I will come in for my standing appointment for therapy to my right breast. With so much preparation involved in this form of treatment, I really do feel prepared and optimistic about what lies ahead.

Physicists Try to Revive a Super-Safe, Decades-Old Cancer Treatment

In recent years, companies have cut costs five times by shrinking the machines. Loma Linda’s first proton machine, still in use, accelerates protons around a circular track with a diameter the length of a tennis court. More recent models are almost 10 times smaller. And because protons are more precise, a patient may not have to schedule as many appointments on a proton treatment plan compared to a conventional radiation one.

Proton-Beam Therapy for Cancer Gets Renewed Attention

Less costly, compact machines are rekindling demand from hospitals.

Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm

Regulators and researchers can only guess how often radiotherapy accidents occur. With no single agency overseeing medical radiation, there is no central clearinghouse of cases. Accidents are chronically underreported, records show, and some states do not require that they be reported at all.

Radiation Treatment: Tell Us Your Stories

Have you been treated with radioactive seeds or another form of radiation therapy? Did you have unexpected side effects, pain or other problems after treatment? We want to hear from you.

Which Post-Lumpectomy Radiation Treatment Is Right for You?

If you’re reading this, you were diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer not too long ago and have had a lumpectomy to remove the tumor. Now, you’re looking at follow-up (post-lumpectomy) radiation treatments to prevent the cancer from coming back.

Why proton beams are more accurate than X-rays in treating cancer

The goal of PBT is not just to provide efficacious cancer treatment, but also more humane treatment. For patients struggling to deal with the rigors of cancer therapy, PBT is less damaging to normal tissue and easier for the patient to tolerate, because it minimizes damage to normal tissues and organs surrounding the cancer cells being treated within the body.