There are many uses for radioactive substances. In the medical world, there are a number of health care processes that make use of the properties of the nucleus. This is also known as Nuclear medicine ("Nuclear Medicine").
In this essay, we will be looking at a particular nuclear medical treatment; we will be looking at radiotherapy. Radiation therapy usually refers to the ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is mostly used in oncology, but it can be used for other purposes such as ionizing an overactive thyroid. The radiotherapy allows the hindering of fast reproduction of cancer cells ("Radiation Therapy").
There are two ways of using radioactive therapy. One is to undergo the therapy from outside the body using radiation from radioactive
…show more content…
In fact, about 40 percent of people who are diagnosed with cancer undergo radiation therapy ("Uses of Radiation"). Additionally, it has been used to successfully treat patients for over a 100 years and during this time period the process has obviously been refined to be as safe as possible. When receiving radiotherapy, the oncology team will ensure that there is a clear plan that certifies that no fragile organs are affected by the process. However, there is a risk that the treatment will result in the development of a second cancer ("Understanding Radiation …show more content…
And, there is high possibility that there will be a new cancer that will develop later in the patient’s life, so it may solve one problem and then cause another one. Additionally, there are high risks of having side effects. The radiotherapy could affect important organs. There are ways to avoid this with modern techniques but the radiotherapy team can only reduce the risk, not eliminate it. But, the side effects are better than alternative treatments such as chemotherapy. Another point that should be considered when choosing this treatment is that relatives might be affected from the fact that the patient might be radioactive. In fact, right after the treatment the relatives cannot spend more than a few hours in order to avoid health issues. Finally, if it is an advanced cancer, the patient might be required to stay at the
According to Helibron and Seidel (2011) nuclear medicine began as a simple experiment in the early twentieth century by George de Hevesy. De Hevesy started the experiment by deciding to test the effects of radiation on living things, beginning with bean plants, then onto furred animals, and then continued onto finding the effects of radiation on the human body, when he did this he became the first person to ever use radiation on a human being. He along with his partner E. Hofer, in 1931, consumed Deuterium which they had diluted with tea and found that traces of radioactivity stayed within their bodies for between eight to eighteen days. This was the first known use of radiation on humans (p. 1). This was just the beginning though, as time moved on the use of nuclear energy advanced and as it advanced it began to bleed into more subjects than those that it had been used in before, such as, nuclear medicine. Although it has its drawbacks, such as nuclear waste, there are many different benefits to nuclear medicine. Examples of such would be advances in therapy and treatment of disease...
The current standard of therapy is resection of the tumor plus radiotherapy and TMZ (E5). Multiple studies performed between 1976 and 1991 have led postoperative radiotherapy to be accepted as standard treatment (L12). The universal dosing schedule for radiotherapy in GBM is fractionated irradiation over 6-7 weeks for a total of 60 gray (Gy) (G7,M13). TMZ is an oral alkylating agent that can be used concomitant with radiotherapy and as an adjuvant. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) organized a study showing that adding TMZ to standard radiotherapy is beneficial to overall survival. This study enrolled 573 patients from 85 institutions and randomly assigned eligible patients to receive either standard radiotherapy alone or radiotherapy plus concomitant and adjuvant TMZ. There was a 37% decrease in relative risk of death and a median increase in survival of 2.5 months in patients treated with TMZ and radiotherapy when compared to radiotherapy alone (P<0.001). There are adverse effects with both RT and chemotherapy, but hematologic toxicities are more likely to occur in patients treated with both TMZ and RT (M13). This study maintained its validity after accounting for recursive partitioning analysis classifications (L12). The current standard dose of TMZ is 75 mg per square meter of body surface area daily during radiotherapy and then a dose of 150-200 mg per square meter of body surface area for 5 days of each 28-day cycle following RT (G7,M13).
2. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is also used by modifying the radiation beams by varying their intensity. This is a more specialized form of the 3D-CR treatment.
There are essentially three main types of cancer treatments; surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Surgery allows doctors to effectively remove tumors from a clear plane. Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat the tumor; but often the drugs affect other healthy cells in the process. Using radiation as a treatment can be either precise or vague. Many health stigmas can come from the vague forms of radiation or conventional radiation therapy. Conventional radiation treats both the unhealthy and healthy cells, therefore exposing healthy cells to harmful radiation (Radiation Oncology, 2011, p.6). When healthy cells are exposed to gamma radiation they are also exposed to ionizing radiation. The ionization can cause “breakage of chemical bonds or oxidization (addition of oxygen atoms)” in a cell; the main impact of this is on a cell’s DNA, if two strands of DNA break it can result in “mutations, chromosome aberrations, ...
...atment is safe because radio-iodine is able to deliver a sufficient amount of radiation to the thyroid allowing to slow the hormone production, and only deliver a small amount to the body. The radiation delivered to the body is far from harmful and is only equivalent to the amount of radiation delivered from two routine diagnostic X-Ray procedures such as a gastrointestinal series ("Educational Material"). The form of treatment has been used for 35 years and over one million patients in the United States have been assisted through the treatment of radioactive iodine ablation. Most physicians will rely on this treatment and recommend 90 percent of their over active thyroid patients to receive the radioactive iodine ("Educational Material"). The treatment, till this day, is known to continuously alleviate the majority of symptoms hyperthyroidism patients have today.
Schneider Uwe, Antony Lomax, and Beate Timmermann. 2008. “Second cancers in children treated with modern radiotherapy techniques.” Radiotherapy and Oncology 89 (2): 135-140. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2008.07.017
Radiation therapy is a complex treatment plan to treat cancer in patients. Its treatment can be used alone or in conjunction with surgery or chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is delivered by a team of individuals who specialize in the treatment of cancer. There are several ways in which the radiation can be delivered to the patient with specialized equipment. Radiation therapy is an exciting field of study that can be beneficial to patients who are affected by cancer.
If one is affected by cancer, there are treatments to help take away this illness affecting their body. This essay is about a specific type of treatment for cancer, radiation therapy. There are different types of forms of particles for radiation, for example, protons and waves like x-rays and visible light. These types of radiations are grouped on how much energy they contain because they can cause different effects. A low type of energy radiation can be radio waves and heat, also known as non-ionizing radiation.
student. In the following journal, we see the benefit of reflective practice and what it achieves
Nuclear Medicine is the use of radioisotopes for diagnosis, treatment, and research. Radioactive chemical tracers emit gamma rays which provides diagnostic information about a person's anatomy and the functioning of specific organs. Radioisotopes are also utilizes in treatments of diseases such as cancer. It is estimated that approximately one in two people in Western countries are likely to experience the benefits of nuclear medicine in their lifetime.
Radiation therapists work closely with patients to fight cancer. According to Health Care Careers, Oncologists, Dosimetrists and nurses are some of the professionals that a radiation therapist works with while caring for a cancer patient. This group of professionals will determine a specialized treatment plan. The first step usually includes a CT scan performed by a radiologist to find the exact area that needs to be targeted with x-rays. Next, the therapist uses a special machine that emits radiation called a Linear Accelerator. They use this machine during a treatment called external beam therapy. During this process, the Linear Accelerator will project x-rays at targeted cancer cells or tumors. Another therapist will be in a different room monitoring the patient’s viral signs until the procedure is over. The external therapy l...
Ever since the eighth grade I have been passionate about becoming a radiation therapist. I credit this to a project in which I was required to research two professions in preparation for acceptance into a university. For this project, radiation therapy was suggested to me by a family friend whom was also the administrative director of a cancer center in Miami, Florida. Radiation therapy offers me an opportunity to help individuals who are at one of the most vulnerable and toughest periods of their life. In doing so I am able to be part of a lifesaving team which is very gratifying. Additionally, radiation therapy is a very technically demanding field that combines physics and medicine; two categories of which I am very interested in. In order to learn more about radiation therapy, I began volunteering while in high school at the C. Gordon Griffith Cancer Center at North Shore Medical Center in Miami, Florida. While there, I was able to shadow the dosimetrist as she planned treatments as well as see those treatments in action while shadowing the radiation therapists. When I started attending college at the University of South Florida, I became a volunteer at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer
A radioisotope is an isotope that emits radiation as it has nuclear instability(Prostate Cancer; Fusion imaging helps target greater doses of radiation).Those who are not too familiar with radioisotopes may think their use is for harmful radiation, nuclear weapons, and the possibility of turning into a giant, raging, green monster. However, there are much more positive uses for radioisotopes. There have been many medical advances thanks to the benefit and practice of radioisotopes in nuclear medicine. These advances have been able to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases.
Radiation is one of the most dangerous and easiest way of having health effects. Radiation was first discovered by Roentgen. Hazards are the first things people need to know in order to understand what it can do to your body. It causes many health effects on everyone out in the world. It harms people in the dentistry and field and even in the medical field. Normal people out the world can also be exposed when coming into one of these offices and getting x-rays of some type.
One of the greatest events of twentieth century was the use of radioisotope as a source of energy and as medical and industrial tools. Using radioactivity has been a global issue owing to its very nature. When it is used for peaceful purposes, it is a triumph of science because it can solve energy problems in the form of nuclear energy but the side effects in the form of harmful radiation and harmful radioactive waste is the real limitations of science. This essay will attempt to analyze the application of science in the use of radioactivity and radioactive isotopes and how science is not so effective in dealing with the side effects.