Radiation therapy is used not only to treat cancer, but also several benign conditions as well.

Hyperthyroidism
This is a condition resulting from an overactive thyroid gland, which is the “pace-setter” of all organs in your body. With hyperthyroidism, bodily processes are speeded up, which can result in many symptoms including nervousness, weight loss, diarrhea, hair and skin changes, palpitations, and tremors. Hyperthyroidism can be treated surgically or medically with various drugs, as well as with low-dose radioactive Iodine-131.

If it is determined that radioactive Iodine-131 is the best treatment method for you, a special pill will be ordered, which normally takes two to three days to arrive. You will swallow the Iodine-131 pill orally, just like any other. Over time, the thyroid gland function will slow down because the treatment slowly destroys thyroid cells. In some cases, too few thyroid cells are eliminated, leaving you still hyperthyroid, and a second dose of radioactive Iodine-131 may be required. In other cases, so many thyroid cells are eliminated that your body will not produce enough thyroid hormone, causing you to be hypothyroid. In this event, you will need to take a thyroid supplement medicine daily for the rest of your life.

Radioactive iodine can adversely affect pregnant women and their fetus. It is important not to be or become pregnant for at least one year after the pill is administered.

Keloid
Keloids are scar tissues that usually form in the skin following an injury, previous surgery, or body piercing. They may be unsightly, itch, or may cause pain. The usual treatment is to remove them surgically and treat them with post-operative radiation therapy to prevent them from recurring. The treatment uses linear accelerator treatments once or twice per week for two to four weeks to administer a superficial radiation dose to the area around the new incision.

Pterygium
A pterygium is a benign growth on the surface of the eye that can cause irritation or obscure vision. It is surgically removed and the eye is treated with radiation to prevent the growth from recurring. Our FROG group has the largest published experience of pterygium radiation treatment in the United States. The treatment is administered by resting a beta-radiation applicator on the surface of the eye where the pterygium has been surgically removed for less than a minute each week for six weeks. By undergoing these treatments, the recurrence rates of these lesions drop from about 50% after surgery alone to less than 10% with the beta treatments added. It is important that you follow the prescribed treatment schedule, as we have noted that those patients whose pterygium recurred usually had not come at their prescribed times for their radiation therapy.

Peyronie’s disease
This is a disease of males that affects the penis. For unknown reasons, scar tissue can form in the shaft of the penis in some men that can lead to pain, severe curvature, and difficulties with sexual intercourse. Daily radiation treatments over two to three weeks can often alleviate some of these symptoms.

Heterotopic Bone
Some patients have a tendency to develop calcium deposits in and around joints after surgery, causing painful limitations in range-of-motion. Additional surgery to remove these deposits followed or preceded by an immediate radiation treatment can often prevent recurrence of this condition.