RT Facts

Over 50 per cent of those patients going to Canadian Cancer Centres for cancer treatment will receive radiation therapy for their disease management. Radiation treatment is prescribed by a radiation oncologist working with radiation therapists and medical physicists who actually deliver the treatments.

Access to the optimum cancer treatment has traditionally been fully governed by provincal cancer agencies and the five cents per taxpayer dollar for federal allocation to dedicated cancer treatment and healthcare professionals.

Radiation can be used to cure cancer or to provide pain relief from cancers that can no longer be cured due to the disease spreading to other parts of the body (called metastasis).

Facts and figures to note:

1 in 4 Canadians develop cancer in their lifetime.
Each year yet another 160,000 patients will be newly diagnosed with cancer.
There are currently only 325 radiation oncologists in Canada to medically manage all these patients.

Types of cancer that are treated by medically delivered radiation treatments:
Lung cancer
Breast cancer
Prostate cancer
Rectal and colon cancer
Cervical and uterine cancer
Childhood leukemias
Adult leukemias
Skin cancer
Cancer of the mouth, throat and neck
Cancer of the lymph system
Bone cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Stomach cancer

The medical field of radiation oncology is highly technical and complex, and can sometimes be difficult for the public to understand. Our aim is to provide you with a brief overview so that you can familiarize yourself with some of the aspects and importance of radiation oncology in the treatment of cancer in affected patients.