Radiation therapy stops cancer cells from growing and spreading by attacking the DNA which regulates this process. This destroys the cancer cells and eliminates them from our body. Unlike regular chemotherapy which aims to kill all cancer cells, radiation therapy only targets the cancer cells in specific targets. There are cases where a few cancer cells survive radiation therapy and need more treatment.

The results of radiation therapy are not evident right away, no matter how much radiation the tumor gets. It works differently for everyone. It might take days or weeks for the damage to the DNA to kill the cells. Even after treatment ends, the effects keep working for months. So, cancer cells continue getting destroyed for some time. However, like any treatment, radiation therapy can have side effects depending on where the tumor is located.