DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have been diagnosed with a brain tumor and advised to have radiation therapy. I'm very nervous about this and the risks for me, my family and, potentially, another cancer diagnosis. Can you explain why radiation therapy could be right for me?

ANSWER: Radiation therapy has been used to treat cancer since the beginning of the 20th century. This type of treatment continues to be one of the most effective treatments for cancerous (malignant) and noncancerous (benign) brain tumors. How it is delivered — and the technology used — has continued to evolve and improve.

Most patients with brain tumors receive one of two types of radiation: external beam radiation, in which the tumor is treated over the course of several weeks, or radiosurgery, in which patients receive a high dose of radiation in one to five treatments to destroy the tumor.

Stereotactic radiosurgery uses 3D imaging to target high doses of radiation to the tumor with minimal impact on surrounding healthy tissue. It is used in small cancerous and noncancerous tumors and can be delivered in a few ways:

• Gamma Knife: A Gamma Knife is not a knife at all but rather many tiny beams of radiation focused on a tumor with extreme accuracy.

• Linear accelerator: A linear accelerator aims high-energy beams to a precise point on the body.

• Proton beam: Using positively charged particles in atoms, proton therapy is focused on the tumor; virtually none of the radiation exits beyond the tumor.

Radiosurgery targets each tumor individually and helps to spare normal tissue from being treated with radiation.

When I speak to patients, I often highlight several advantages of radiation therapy:

Radiation treatment plans are tailored to each patient.

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