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Radiation Therapy Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered the X-Ray in 1895. Since then, the treatment has been used to successfully treat cancer patients. The process uses small amounts of very high-energy radiation to destroy the cancerous cells, making them unable to reproduce. However, the x-rays themselves do not cause the damage, the x-rays react with the water and other compounds in the cell and make free radicals and peroxides, which then react with the DNA. In addition …

…effects can include radiation pneumonitis (inflammation of the lungs) and esophagitis (inflammation of the tube that brings food from the mouth to the stomach). About 60% of cancer patients are treated with radiation at some time during their disease, and with such a high success rate, there is an increasing number of patients being treated. Scientists have been coming up with more and more advanced ways of harnessing this power and channeling it into fighting cancer.