Esophageal cancer radiation treatment is one of the popular treatment options. Other treatment options might be chemotherapy, surgery or holistic way of treating it. The treatment combination and the kind of treatment would depend mainly on the overall health of the patient and esophageal cancer staging.
Esophageal cancer radiation therapy is said to be a successful option when it comes to relieving the symptom and also when it comes to treatment of the problem. But it too has some minor side effects that the patients need to be prepared to face it.
Radiation therapy can be used as an effective defense against the disease and normally used for treating patients who are in their second and third stages of esophageal cancer and also along with surgery and chemotherapy. It is also used for patients who are in the fourth stage of cancer but only for lowering the symptoms and to make the patient's lifetime a quality experience (who are in their final stages).
Esophageal cancer radiation can be classified as two major kinds. One is called the external beam therapy and the other one is called as the internal radiation therapy.
External beam esophageal cancer radiation therapy makes use of a machine for sending radiation of high energy into the patient's body. This kind of radiation therapy is given to patients are treated as outpatients. Normally treatments are offered five times in a week for many weeks. Most often used with surgery or chemotherapy or both for treating esophageal cancer.
Internal radiation cancer therapy also known as brachytherapy is done by placing small wires or needles having radioactive material inside the patient's body directly or near the cancerous cells. This type of treatment might require the patient to be hospitalized for some days and often used for managing esophageal cancer symptoms since it is capable of lowering the tumors, lowering swallowing difficulty and also for pain relief.
Minor side effects of esophageal cancer radiation treatment include loss of appetite, skin irritation, stomach problems, fatigue and pain when swallowing food. But then these are only temporary symptoms and most often very manageable ones. In some patients esophageal cancer radiation therapy can cause side effects of a longer term like lung damage but it is very rare.
Patients who might not undergo surgery can go for esophageal cancer radiation treatment and have a survival rate of eighteen percent during the first year and can have a survival rate of eight percent during two years. The survival rates can be enhanced when combined along with chemotherapy so that that the survival rates are from twenty to thirty percent at three years.
Natural Remedies:
There are certain natural remedies that offer a promising cure for esophageal cancer. Along with the natural remedies and a well-researched different diet pattern, a few simple adjustments to your lifestyle can make a huge difference to your efforts for prolonging the life for several years. You can increase your chances of surviving esophagus cancer now by trying these proven natural remedies discussed here