What is the difference between the types of radiation that cause cancer and the types of radiation used to treat cancer?
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Below a certain intensity, ionizing radiation will damage your cells. Above a certain intensity, it will kill them. Damaged cells can mutate and become cancerous, which is why low-level, long-term irradiation from (for example) tanning beds or radioactive material poses such a threat.
When radiation is used to treat cancer, it is actually being used to *kill* the cancerous cells in your body – they are living tissue, and can’t multiply if they’re dead. In this case, the radiation will be at a very high dose and directed to a very specific area so that it will cause as little damage to the surrounding healthy tissue as possible.
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