Radiotherapy for breast cancer

Radiotherapy is a common treatment for breast cancer. It uses high energy x-rays to destroy cancer cells. For breast cancer, you usually have external beam radiotherapy. This means using radiation from a machine to destroy the cancer. 

You usually have radiotherapy after surgery to lower the risk of the cancer coming back. You might also have it if you have secondary breast cancer. This means that the breast cancer has spread from the breast to different parts of the body such as the brain or bones.