Some patients have concerns about the safety of radiation therapy. Radiation has been used successfully to treat patients for more than a century, and in that time, many advances have been made to ensure that radiation therapy is safe and effective.

Before you begin treatment, your radiation oncology team will carefully tailor the treatment plan to make sure that you receive safe and accurate treatment. Members of your team check and re-check your plan. Sophisticated computers are also used to monitor and double-check the treatment machines to make sure that the proper treatment is given.

If you undergo external beam radiation treatment, you will not be radioactive following treatment because the radiation does not stay in your body. Your radiation oncologist will explain any special precautions that you or your family and friends may need to take.

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