Radiation Therapy for Colon Cancer

Radiation treatment, also known as radiotherapy, destroys cancer by focusing high-energy rays on the cancer cells. This causes damage to the molecules that make up the cancer cells and leads them to commit suicide. Radiotherapy utilizes high-energy gamma-rays that are emitted from metals such as radium or high-energy x-rays that are created in a special machine. Radiotherapy can be used as a standalone treatment to shrink a tumor or destroy cancer cells, and it is also used in combination with other cancer treatments.