How New Technology Is Making Radiation Therapy Safer and More Effective (podcast)
Radiation therapy can be used to treat most types of cancer

Dr. Ray Lin, Scripps Cancer Center, Scripps Clinic
Radiation therapy can be used to treat most types of cancer
What do you do after hearing those three devastating words? You have cancer. You’ll have to meet with your medical team, of course, and decide on a treatment strategy, which will likely involve radiation therapy. That’s where doctors use targeted radiation to destroy a tumor, as opposed to removing it surgically.
Radiation therapy has been around for more than a century, but major developments over the last 35 years have brought radiation therapy to the forefront of cancer management. It’s safe, effective and can be used to treat just about all forms of cancer.
In this episode of San Diego Health, Scripps Cancer Center radiation oncologists Ray Lin, MD, co-director of the breast cancer program, and Prabhakar Tripuraneni, MD, division head of radiation oncology at Scripps Clinic, join host Susan Taylor for an in depth look at the use of radiation therapy to treat cancer.
The two Scripps Clinic oncologists explore the history of radiation therapy and the recent advances that have led to the targeted care we know today.
The delivery mechanism, the linear accelerator, hasn’t changed much since it was invented in the 1950s. However, computers today heighten precision to a fraction of a millimeter and imaging equipment allows doctors to see the tumor so they can safely treat it. Also, combining radiation with chemotherapy and immunotherapy makes it much more effective.
Listen to the episode on advances in cancer radiation treatment
Listen to the episode on advances in cancer radiation treatment
Podcast highlights
Podcast highlights
Watch the video on advances in radiation therapy
Watch the San Diego Health video with host Susan Taylor and Drs. Lin and Tripuraneni discussing how advances in radiation therapy have made this cancer treatment safer and more effective treating many forms of cancer.
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