A client who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer received radiation therapy during the course of his treatment. The nurse explains the uses of radiation therapy by saying it may be used as:
Explanation
•External Beam Radiation Therapy (ERBT) is the most common radiation therapy, and used as a primary modality to achieve local cure of the cancer.
•The diagnosis of cancer is established by microscopic identification of malignant cells from tumor tissue not by radiation therapy.
•Clinical Staging is based on evidence acquired before treatment and obtained from physical examination,imaging, endoscopy, biopsy, laboratory tests,surgical exploration, and other diagnostic tests but not radiation therapy.
•Radiation Therapy as an adjuvant treatment is used either preoperatively or postoperatively to aid in the destruction of cancer cells and in conjunction with chemotherapy.
•Radiation therapy as a palliative treatment modality, can be used to relieve pain caused by obstruction, pathologic fractures, spinal cord compression and mestastasis.
•Radiation therapy is not used as prophylactic intervention for cancer but a client who is unusually high risk for cancer may elect to undergo a preventive or prophylactic surgical intervention.