# Radiation therapy for tumors - necessarily malignant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radiation-therapy-for-tumors-necessarily-malignant/620595 "2012-05-02T02:04:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radiation-therapy-for-tumors-necessarily-malignant/620595/1 "2012-05-02T02:04:26Z")
Not about me, thank God and knocking wood furiously – but was trying to figure out a colleague’s situation. He’s a cancer survivor, and recently told me that he’s had new tumors show up elsewhere in his body a few years later (in the spine, if that makes a difference), and he’ll be undergoing radiation therapy for it. I’m thinking that must necessarily mean that his doctors have a strong suspicion that they’re malignant – otherwise they wouldn’t resort to radiation, would they? Or is that also a standard treatment for benign tumors? Or if it’s none of my business it’s none of my business, I can accept that, but nonetheless I’m concerned. – thanks ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radiation-therapy-for-tumors-necessarily-malignant/620595/2 "2012-05-02T02:19:20Z")
About your friend’s situation, I can’t really say, but radiation treatment is used sometimes in the treatment of completely benign tumors such as acoustic neuroma. It may be a preferred treatment to shrink tumors or masses when surgery would cause damage in a delicate area. Situations vary.