Liver Cancer Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is one of the most effective treatment therapies for liver cancer, which is also called radiotherapy. It includes the use of radioactive waves or high-energy x-rays to destroy the cancer cells in liver. Radiation therapy can be performed by two methods: internal radiation and external radiation. However, radiation therapy is effective in treating liver cancer symptoms, but it can also cause some side effects like vomiting, urinary problems, diarrhea, nausea, and fatigue.
Most of the times liver cancer treated by radiation therapy accompanied with other treatment methods like cancer surgery and medical treatments. Radiation therapy is also used before the surgical potation for liver cancer, which is called Introspective radiation therapy. The two major types of radiation therapy are as follows:
It includes the use linear accelerator machine that releases high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells from outside of the body. This therapy can be performed within a few minutes. External radiation therapy needs to be performed five days in a week, and it may last for around six weeks. It doesn't have any side-effects like internal radiation therapy. Hence, patients treated with external radiation therapy can live normal life after treatment also. The radioactive rays released by the transducer don't cause any severe affect to the liver or any other part of body.
Internal radiation therapy includes radioactive substance which is inserted into the liver near cancer affected area. These radioactive substances are coated by seeds, needles or wires, and an insertion is made to insert them into the abdomen. This therapy is also known as Brachytherapy in which the uses substances like phosphorous, palladium, cesium, radium, iodine or iridium to place it in cancer infected area of liver. After the radioactive substance is placed near to the cancer cells, it releases radioactive waves, which will affect the cancer cells and the other parts of body as well. Therefore, a patient should understand all the possible results and risk factors applying internal radiation therapy.
Side Effects of Liver Cancer Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy used to treat different types of cancers can cause some side-effects depending upon the severity of radiation used and the selected part of body for radiation therapy treatment. Generally, people who go through radiation therapy feel tired during the treatment period that can last for five to seven weeks. Hence, doctors always suggest patients to be active even after radiation therapy treatment.
Radiation affects the abdomen and chest that may causes some common side-effects in most of the patients. These side-effects include urinary discomfort, diarrhea, vomiting or nausea. One of the most harmful side-effect of radiation therapy is that it affects the healthy cells in body. White blood cells are decreased that are necessary for improving our immune system against bacterial or viral infections. However, although there are some minor side-effects of radiation, but doctors can manage them by effective treatment and help the patient to live normal life.
