What is Radiation Therapy?
Radiation Therapy uses radiation to treat disease. Most patients receiving radiation therapy are cancer patients. It's a highly skilled profession and because cancer affects so many people, qualified radiation therapists are in demand.
You'll work as part of a specialised team, under the supervision of a radiation oncologist – a specialist doctor who studies and treats tumours. As a radiation therapist you are the person within the team who plans a patient's radiation treatment using computer technology and clinical information. You are also the person who gives the patient their radiation therapy using a range of high-tech treatment machines.
Becoming a Radiation Therapist
Radiation Therapy Demystified
Why Study Radiation Therapy?
You will learn more about cancer which touches most families at some time or other, and you will have the opportunity to draw on your personal and intellectual strengths. You will also play a vital part in the treatment, and in the majority of cases, the cure of this disease.
Due to the lengthy nature of the treatment – five days a week, often for four to six weeks, you'll be closely involved with the patients. This means getting to know them and their families quite well at what is often a stressful time for everyone. But this has its own rewards. With recent advances in the early detection of cancer, many patients are cured, so the job satisfaction is immense.
You will be working in a field at the forefront of research around the world. This means keeping up to date with new ways of treating diseases.