Mom is due in for her first round of Radiation Therapy (or Radiotherapy) today. She will be going in around 1:30 (Watertown Time) to see Dr. McHale and start the procedure. I will write more tomorrow when I’ve heard all about it on the phone, but for now I have found a simpler explanation of what we’re trying to accomplish with Radiation Therapy – for those of us who aren’t Dr’s or Nurses (ahem Shannon). I’ve learned in this whole process of Mom having cancer to not “Google” too much, but this was helpful to me to see what exactly Radiation Therapy does to the Cancer. Of course this doesn’t explain all of it because Mom’s Radiation Therapy will be paired with Chemotherapy drugs. Any ways, without further ado…
Understanding Radiation Therapy
***Radiation therapy, sometimes called radiotherapy, is the use of high-energy X-rays to safely and effectively kill cancer cells.
***Radiation oncologists use radiation therapy to try to cure cancer, to control tumor growth or to relieve symptoms,such as pain.
***Radiation therapy works within cancer cells by damaging their ability to multiply. When these cells die, the body naturally eliminates them.
***Healthy cells are also affected by radiation, but they are able to repair themselves in a way cancer cells cannot.
Keep Praying! It’s working!
All the Love in the Universe, Abby
