Radiation therapy is an effective tool when fighting cancer. Radiation therapy is when a large machine known as a linear accelerator, delivers precise amounts of high-energy radiation in order to kill cancer cells. This radiation procedure halts the reproduction of cancer calls and also lessens damage to he patient’s healthy tissue. Radiation therapy is known to improve the survival rate in women”women who have breast cancer.

However, if one decides radiation therapy for breast cancer, there are certain side effects such as dryness of the skin, redness and some discomfort. Radiation therapy; however, is painless. Fatigue often accompanies radiation therapy as well as reduced blood counts and redness.

Breast cancer patients who undergo an operation that spares their breast but do not follow through with radiation therapy, put their lives at risk. This information comes from a study that was done not long ago and has the possibility of changing the way scientists view cancer.

Each year over 200,000 women in the US are diagnosed with breast cancer. Most physicians who perform surgery on a woman with breast cancer and who leave most of the breast intact, recommend post-operative radiation.

Not long ago it was found that 30.5 percent of women who got radiation died of the disease; however, 35.9 of those who didn’t get the radiation”there were five additional breast cancer deaths for every 100 women.
It’s sad to note that in a recent study conducted by the Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center”researchers found that the number of women getting radiation therapy may be lower than expected.