Radiotherapy in Cancer Treatment
Cancer treatment primarily consists of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. These are chosen for use according to the type of cancer, its size, stage, and the patient’s overall condition, and may be combined for greater effectiveness.
Surgery and radiotherapy are localized treatments that target parts of the body. When the goal is to completely cure the disease using only surgery and radiotherapy, it is important that the cancer has not undergone distant metastasis.
When the site of the disease is small, the standard first step is surgery. However, the larger the area that needs to be removed, the greater the burden on the body.
Radiotherapy is able to treat cancer while preserving the body’s functions and form.
When the cancer has spread extensively in the body, or when there are numerous distant metastases, the effectiveness of surgery and radiotherapy drops, and chemotherapy, which targets the entire body, becomes the main form of treatment.
Even in this case, if the cancer is widespread, surgery and radiotherapy are used in conjunction with chemotherapy; or if there are few distant metastases and the original site has been cured, then surgery or radiotherapy may be used in order to aid recovery.
When pain or serious symptoms are present due to metastases, radiotherapy may also be used to alleviate them.
