The 'quiet' pillar of cancer therapy

Radiotherapy remains a vital yet underappreciated component of cancer care, according to Dr Nur Fadhlina Abdul Satar, a consultant clinical oncologist at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur. As one of the three main pillars of cancer treatment, radiotherapy uses high-energy emissions to target and damage cancer cell DNA while sparing healthy tissue, evolving into a precision medicine with remarkable accuracy. It is essential for treating cancers such as head and neck, lung, breast, and prostate, often combined with surgery or chemotherapy to cure or reduce recurrence risk. In palliative care, it also alleviates symptoms like pain and bleeding in advanced cases. The treatment process begins with a CT simulation to map the tumor and surrounding organs, followed by personalized planning involving complex calculations. External beam radiotherapy is the most common method, but other techniques like brachytherapy (internal radiation) and radionuclide therapy (systemic delivery) are also used. Sessions are short and painless, typically lasting 10-15 minutes daily over several weeks, with patients returning home afterward. For example, nasopharyngeal cancer—a type of head and neck cancer—benefits from radiotherapy as part of its standard treatment approach. Dr. Satar emphasizes that multidisciplinary teams, including oncologists, surgeons, and radiologists, collaborate to determine the best personalized treatment for each patient. Despite its effectiveness, radiotherapy remains under-recognized in public awareness, underscoring the need for greater education on its role in modern cancer therapy.