External Radiation Therapy for Bone Metastases
What is external beam radiation therapy?
External radiation therapy is used to kill cancer cells (tumor). Radiation is a very strong x-ray that has a beam of energy. External radiation can be used to treat a tumor or cancer, or can be used to help stop it from spreading cancer cells. This therapy is used with other treatments such as medication, chemotherapy and surgery.
What is bone metastasis?
When cancer spreads (metastasizes) from an area of ??your body bones are called bone metastasis. Cancer that starts in the breast, lung, bladder or prostate or thyroid gland is more likely to spread to their bones that cancers that begin in other areas. Cancer cells travel through the blood or lymph vessels and go to one or more of your bones. When this happens, cells can grow into a new tumor and destroy bone. Cancer that spreads to the bones can be more painful than it does not spread to their bones. Read more …