Radiation therapy may be used if there is no or minimal residual
cancer left after debulking surgery or if ovarian cancer recurs.
Radiation is not frequently used. - Radiation therapy or
radiotherapy uses high-energy rays to damage cancer cells and
stop them from growing. - The radiation can come from a machine
(external radiation) or from radioactive material placed into or
near the tumor (internal radiation). - Some women receive a type
of internal radiation called intraperitoneal irradiation in
which radioactive liquid is put into the abdomen through a
catheter tube. - Radiation destroys more cancer cells than
normal cells. Normal cells are able to recover from the damage
caused by radiation slightly better than cancer cells. These
differences allow radiation to be used for destroying or
controlling cancers with minimum damage to normal tissues. - To
protect normal cells, doctors carefully limit the doses of
radiation and spread the treatment out over time. They also
shield as much normal tissue as possibl