Introduction Radiation therapy is common in treatment for cancerous tumors in their early stages of development. The action of the radiation beam focused on a tumor is effective in the locality of the specific tumor alone. The radiation kills cancerous cells in the specific area (Verville 2). If the tumor or cancerous cells have spread to other parts of the body, they may not be killed by the radiation therapy. For this reason, radiation treatment for any cancerous cells is only effective as a cure when all the cancerous cells are located in one area of the body. This is common for most cases of testicular cancer, which affects men. Histology Of Testicular Cancer Most testicular cancers are a result of cancerous germ cells. Majority of cases of testicular cancer feature the development of seminomous testicular cancer (Verville 4). It is easy to treat this type of cancer using radiation therapy. This therapy is used as one of the many therapies that are used to treat the cancer. Radiation therapy is a more effective therapy for seminomous testicular cancer than for non-seminomatous cancer. The cancerous cells in seminomous testicular cancer are easily eliminated, while the cells in non-seminomatous cancer are not easily killed by radiation doses used for cancer treatment (Verville 7). Stage-One Seminoma The manner in which radiation is used to treat testicular cancer depends on the level of development of the cancerous tissue. If the cancer is localized in the testes, it is known as stage-one seminoma. This type of cancer can be treated with removal of the testes together with the cancerous tissue. A mild dose of radiation is then used to kill any cancerous cells that may have spread from the locality of the testes to the tissue around and within the pelvis. Radiation may not be required for treatment of most stage-one seminomas. However, radiation therapy is used as a precaution since there is a small but definite possibility of presence of cancerous cells in the adjacent tissue. Surgical removal of the testes and the cancerous tissue is usually a sufficient cure for this type of cancer when it is accompanied by close post-operation monitoring (Verville 8). The post-operation surveillance of the patient may continue for a range of a few years to a decade. In addition, the intensity of examination of the patient and the frequency with which examination is performed decrease with time. Radiation therapy is normally applied to the tissue in the para-aortic region (Verville 15). However, to reduce the radiation effect, radiation therapy is sometimes applied to the tissue within pelvic regions alone. Stage-Two Seminoma When the cancerous cells have spread to the tissue surrounding the testes, the cancer is known as stage-two seminoma. At this stage, the cancer may have spread to the tissue in the pelvis and the lymph nodes. However, the cancer is considered a stage-two-B seminoma only when the considerable cancerous tissue has grown in the lymph nodes and a stage-two-A seminoma when a small amount of cancerous tissue has grown in the lymph nodes. The stage one-A cancer is easier to treat with radiation and surgery (Verville 25). The exposure to radiation during this treatment is greater than the exposure used for treatment of a stage-one seminoma. On the other hand, patients with stage-two-B seminoma have lower chances of survival. Less than ninety-five percent of the patients survive this type of cancer when treated with radiation alone. Cancerous tissue usually develops in other parts of the body after treatment with radiation therapy. In most cases, chemotherapy is used instead of radiation. Further treatment with radiation therapy may be required if the cancer persists after treatment with chemotherapy. However, only a small number of patients fail to heal after undergoing chemotherapy (Verville 31). Stage-Three Seminoma When the cancer spreads to other tissue in other parts of the body other than the pelvic region, it is known as a stage-three seminoma. Radiation therapy alone is not effective for this type of cancer. This is because the cancerous cells are not localized in the testes. Application of radiation therapy in all the affected parts of the body could be lethal due the high dose of radiation. It is also difficult to establish the expected effectiveness of such treatment. Thus, chemotherapy is primarily used for treatment of stage-three seminoma (Verville 37). Radiation may be applied in the localities that develop cancerous tissue. Non-Seminomatous Testicular Cancer Non-seminomatous testicular cancer exhibits an in