Radiation treatment is an important and potentially life saving treatment option when it comes to fighting cancer.

Radiation therapy is effective and often times lifesaving when it comes to treating tumors, however some side effects may occur to the tissue near the tumor. Physician John Bishop explains, "When people get radiation therapy the radiation kills the cancer, but it also goes through some of the tissue. As years go on, the blood supply drops off so that the tissue becomes relatively vascularized, has a deficiency in blood supply."

Dr. Bishop says that typically this is not a problem. But if you develop another injury in the radiated field or you need to have surgery in that location, you may not have enough oxygen supply to heal properly. That's when the hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be used to overcome those issues. "If you do hyperbarics about 4 weeks before hand, it will cause new blood vessels to grow in to the area."

Radiation Oncologist Constantine Mantz says that the good news is with advancements like radio surgery to treat tumors with radiation, side effects are becoming minimal. "The radiation beam can be made any size in almost any shape to fit the size and shape of the tumor that we want to treat, and minimize exposure of skin or muscle or other critical organs that are normal."

Despite any potential side effects, it's also important to remember that radiation therapy has been responsible for curing cancer for many years.

Getting radiation therapy today is just as comfortable now for the patient as if they were getting a typical x ray.