Health

Newsweek -   A cancer diagnosis can turn life upside down. But for a growing number of Americans, one of the biggest challenges may be getting to treatment in the first place.

New research published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology (also known as the Red Journal) suggests access to radiation therapy—one of the most commonly used cancer treatments in the U.S.—has been shrinking across hundreds of counties, with rural communities facing the greatest losses.

The study found that more than 50 million Americans now live in counties without a radiation oncology practice site. Researchers say the concern is not only the number itself but what happens when treatment disappears from areas that already have limited healthcare resources.