Understanding Radiology and Radiation Therapy
Both radiation therapy and radiology are essential components of most cancer treatments and diagnoses. The similarity in names can get a patient confused by what each one means or does for them. Cancer care requires a multidisciplinary system with various procedures to address the unique needs of each patient. Radiation therapy and radiology use distinct technologies and techniques to serve different purposes in cancer care as explained below: • Radiology – In cancer care, radiology is a procedure that utilizes medical imaging to diagnose and treat various forms of cancer. One or more imaging tests can be performed on a patient to identify the precise location of the cancer cells or confirm a cancer diagnosis and determine the appropriate treatment plan. Radiologic technologists or radiologists are experts who conduct radiology tests, read and interpret the results. Interventional radiologists can diagnose and treat cancer using minimally invasive procedures such as image-guid