Making the Decision to Have Radiation Therapy for Acute
Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) Radiation therapy uses high-energy
X-rays to kill cancer cells. It may be used in a variety of
ways. It can kill leukemia cells concentrated in one part of
your body or kill leukemia cells throughout your body before a
stem cell transplant. Your doctor may also use it to relieve
symptoms, such as bone pain, from the cancer. Your doctor may
recommend radiation therapy for these reasons: You have decided
to have a stem cell transplant. Radiation therapy doesn't just
kill cancer cells. It also kills normal bone marrow cells, which
may help prevent the rejection of stem cell transplants. If you
need to have a transplant, you may receive total body
irradiation (TBI). This distributes radiation in equal doses to
all parts of your body, since leukemia cells can be in any blood
vessel in any part of your body. High-dose chemotherapy is
typically the main treatment before a stem cell transplant, but
TBI may be a part of the treatment as