Benign Conditions
Radiation therapy is primarily used for treating malignant conditions (cancers) where cells are copying themselves and creating local groups of cells (tumors) that can spread to another part of the body (metastases). The way radiation therapy works is it damages a cell's ability to divide, which eventually leads to the death of cancer cells and tumor shrinkage. This property, of stopping the growth of cells, can also be helpful in treating several non-cancerous diseases, which are called benign conditions.
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Some of the types of benign disease that are treated with radiation include:
- Keloids
- Heterotopic bone formation (extra bone formed after orthopedic surgeries)
- Thyroid eye disease
- Meningiomas (tumors involving lining of the brain)
- Acoustic schwannomas (inner-ear tumors)
- Trigeminal neuralgia (pain involving 5th cranial nerve)
- Arterial venous malformations (blood vessel clusters)
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If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with one of the benign growths that are treated with radiation and would like to talk with a Coastal Radiation Oncologist, please click the link below