Radiation Therapy Relieves Pain for Better Quality of Life

Radiation therapy is a versatile treatment that is not only used to cure cancer – it is also effective in relieving symptoms associated with cancer such as pain. This is called ‘palliation’. Freeing a person from pain can have a profound positive effect on that person’s quality of life.

In advanced cancer cases, radiation therapy is often used as palliation, to reduce the size of the tumour or slow the growth of cancerous cells. As well as reducing pain in as many as 80% of patients treated, it can relieve breathlessness, stop bleeding and improve nerve function.

Page last updated: 20/10/20