One of the most common treatments for cancer is radiotherapy, a process that involves zapping tumors with a beam of high-energy radiation in an effort to kill cancerous cells. Radiation therapy evolved over the course of the 20th century into a highly effective treatment against many types of cancers, especially when it is coupled with surgery or chemotherapy.

Radiation has been used for healing purposes almost since the discovery of x-rays by German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845–1923) in 1895. Shortly after Röntgen’s discovery, a medical student in Chicago named Emil Grubbe (1875–1960) began studying x-rays and noticed that his neck and hands were peeling after continued exposure. If x-rays could disfigure his skin, Grubbe wondered, could they have the same effect on a tumor? Grubbe put the idea to the test by irradiating a breast cancer patient, who showed great improvement after the treatment. Within a few years, cancer patients throughout the United States and Europe were undergoing radiotherapy.

In the early 1900s, Marie Curie (1867–1934) discovered the radioactive elements polonium and radium, which were also put to use in treating cancer. (Radium was later replaced by the less-toxic cobalt and cesium.) With the invention of CT scans and MRIs, it became possible to view tumors in three dimensions instead of just two, making radiation delivery safer, more efficient, and more effective.

Today, radiotherapy is used on nearly half of cancer patients. Radiation can be administered in several ways: It can be beamed from a machine outside the body; radioactive material, such as isotopes of iodine, strontium 89, phosphate, or cobalt, can be put in capsules and swallowed; or tiny “seeds” can be injected or surgically implanted near the site of the tumor. Healthy cells can also be damaged by radiation— hence the common side effects of swelling, sickness, and exhaustion—but they are generally stronger and more resilient than cancer cells.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  1. Grubbe, one of the pioneers of radiotherapy, suffered severe health problems as a result of his overexposure to radiation. He lost a hand in 1929, underwent many operations for malignant growths, and ultimately died of cancer.
  2. Because of its potential side effects, radiation is only used today to treat serious illnesses. Before the dangers of radiation were fully understood, however, it was sometimes used to treat relatively minor ailments like acne.
  3. Radiotherapy often causes skin problems, and patients are advised to use prescription balms to treat swollen or peeling skin and to avoid scratching or rubbing affected areas.