Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Effects of radiation on the body essay
Effects of radiation on the body essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Effects of radiation on the body essay
Brain Tumors and How They Affect Different Locations of the Brain The effects of a brain tumor are diverse depending on where it is located. This is because there are four lobes in the brain and each lobe controls different functions. To some people this topic may seem soporific or recondite. However, learning about how a tumor forms, the symptoms it can cause, and the different ways to get rid of it can be exciting and lucid. The exact cause of a tumor is an enigma, but scientists have scrutinized tumors and have discovered several factors that result in a higher risk of developing one. A change in the genetic structure of a cell is usually what induces a tumor. The mutation can either be inherited or caused by the environment. (Understanding …show more content…
Surgery is the most common treatment used to remove a tumor, it can remove most if not all of the malformation. Some of the side effects of this treatment are an increase in the symptoms from the tumor, damage to normal brain tissue which can then cause muscle weakness and decreases in brain-controlled activities, and swelling of the brain. Chemotherapy kills or damages rapidly growing cells, although it can also affect normal tissue. Chemotherapy’s common effects are nausea, loss of energy, and hair loss. Additionally, it weakens the immune system making it easier to get an infections; and since it is given through the veins, the kidneys and the reproductive organs can be damaged. Radiation therapy has some similar side effects to chemotherapy except the effects on the kidneys, reproductive organs, and the immune system are not as severe since they are not receiving direct radiation. This treatment can cause small blood vessels in the brain to become blocked which then reduces blood flow to some areas of the brain (Long Term Side Effects of Brain Tumour Radiotherapy). Hair and skin are usually affected by radiation therapy. Permanent hair loss can be a factor and the skin can become darkened and a reddish color that needs to be protected from sunlight (Brain Cancer Symptoms, Causes, Treatment - What Are the Side Effects of Brain Cancer Treatment?). Even though the treatments get rid of the tumor, the effects from them are sometimes just as bad and can produce permanent
After seeing his physician, he told him that he had some of the common symptoms of a brain tumor. Brain tumors have a variety of symptoms ranging from headache to stroke. Seizures may be the initial manifestation of a brain tumor, and eventually as many as 30% of patients with brain tumors will develop seizures. Gradual loss of movement or sensation in an arm or leg may occur. Unsteadiness or imbalance, and double vision may occur, especially if it is associated with headache.
Glioblastomas (GBM) are tumors that arise from the supportive tissues of the brain. These supportive tissues are composed of astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells that play a very important role in neural functioning. Glioblastomas are highly malignant because astrocytes reproduce quickly and are supported by a large network of blood vessels. Although they are generally found in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain, glioblastomas can be found anywhere in the brain or spinal cord. The tumors come from normal brain cells, so it is easy for them to invade and live within normal brain tissue. However, glioblastoma rarely spreads elsewhere in the body. (1)
The distribution of the type of brain and CNS tumors is shown in Figure 2.
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, ...
A Brain Tumor is a mass of abnormal cells that vary in size. They can also be classified as Benign or Malignant. Benign Tumors are non-cancerous, and have definite borders that make removal of the entire mass possible. On the other hand, Malignant (Cancerous) Brain Tumors spread, aggressively invading nearby tissue, and have a higher chance of recurring after surgical removal.
4. Brain tumors are directly related to their location and size in relation to signs and symptoms displayed
For cancer patients there are several treatment options. Surgery can remove cancerous tumors, chemotherapy uses drugs for treatment, and radiation therapy. The doctor in charge of the patient’s treatment may also choose to use radiation therapy. “Radiation
...effects that can come with chemotherapy such as nausea, vomiting, hair loss, fatigue, mouth sores, and more. Radiation therapy is pretty bad but not as painful with side effects. Side effects for radiation therapy are coughing, fever, fullness of chest, soreness and scaring. Many times surgery is not an option but when is it is one of the best options due to the fact there are less side effects and no strenuous treatment. One of the reasons cancer is such a bad thing is because the treatment is not good but research is taking place and working to get more effective.
Tumors are formed by the alteration of the body’s own cells. This can be caused by environmental factors such as radiation, like UV exposure, chemicals or viruses 1. These can disrupt genes that control growth and cause an increase in cell division and proliferation. Proto-oncogenes are those genes that control normal but essential cell processes that keep cell growth and death in check. Two important categories are apoptosis genes, which regulate cell death, and tumor suppressor genes, which decrease cell propagation 1 . If these genes were mutated to the point where they cannot produce a functioning protein, cell division would continue far past what it was supposed to and unhealthy cells would be allowed to live and continue to multiply. This is what creates a malignant tumor. Certain conditions in the body can also promote the growth of cancer cells. One of these is a deficiency of natural killer (NK) cells, which are able to kill cancer cells by creating a pore in the cell membrane with perforin and releasing granzymes into the cell. Low levels of perforin allow for tumor growth 1. Chronic inflammation can also ...
According to SEER Statistics, 23,380 people are estimated to get a brain or nervous system cancer diagnosis. Out of those people, 14,320 people are estimated to die from their brain or nervous system cancer diagnosis (National Cancer Institute). Cancer is a type of dangerous tumor, or a buildup of extra cells that form a mass of tissue, that can be life threatening (National Cancer Institute). The term for a tumor that is cancerous is a malignat tumor, whereas a benign tumor does not contain cancer cells (National Cancer Institute). According to the National Cancer Institute, the causes of brain cancer are unknown, but risk factors include family history and excessive radiaton exposure. Although they are not always due to a brain tumor, comon symptoms include headaches, nausea, speech, hearing, vision, and mood changes, problems with balance and mamories, seizures, and numbness in arms and legs (National Cancer Institute). MRI and CT scans as well as surgical biposies (or the removal of part of the tumor to be examined) are used to diagnose brain cancer (National Cancer Institute). Different types of treatment options include radiation therapy, surgery to remove the tumor, and chemotherapy. According to Charles Davis, MD, PhD and Nitin Tandon, MD of WebMD.com, chemotherapy is “ the use of powerful drugs to kill tumor cells”. There are a few different types of chemotherapy, but all of which bring out the same kinds of side effects. Although the physical side effects of chemotherapy are commonly known, few people know of the emotional toll chemotherapy can take on a patient and his or her family as they go though this process.
I was a child when my aunt got sick, and my fascination about the field of medicine began. She had brain cancer. While I watched the disease progress I was flooded, not only with sadness and grief, but with questions. With two psychologists for parents I had a lot of support and understanding of my feelings, but I was left curious about the medical aspect of the disease and why there was no cure. The notion that the brain could change someone’s entire personality and physical function was amazing to me. Spending a lot of time in hospitals, I observed so much about the impact of a cancer diagnosis on patients and their families, and about what happens to people through the disease process. I noticed the enormous influence that the medical professional’s
The cancer cells from gene-mutation. Scientists now know some of the risk factors for lung cancer can cause certain changes in the DNA of lung cells. These changes can lead to not normal cell growth and, sometimes, cancer. DNA is the chemical in each of our cells that makes up our genes and how our cells function. People usually look like their parents because they are the source of our DNA. But DNA affects more than how we look; it also can affect our risk for developing certain diseases, including some kinds of cancer like lung cancer etc…Some people inherit DNA mutation from their parents that greatly increase their risk for developing certain cancers.
Over the past few decades, cancer has become a very prominent disease. There are many different types of cancer and many different causes of the the disease. Most cancers are caused by a genetic mutation. The most common type occurs when a cell is divided. Proto-oncogenes, which are alleles in normal cells, mutate to form oncogenes.
However it is always important to get tested because some of these symptoms can be common. Brain cancer targets the brain, which is the control center of the body. Brain cancer and tumors are different than other types of cancers in the fact that it is not necessarily known what causes this disease. There is a difference between a common headache and a headache if you have a brain tumor. Headaches related to brain tumors are very reoccurring, persistent, and painful. Another symptom if you have a brain tumor is muscle weakness or difficulty being coordinated and balanced. Excessive nausea and or vomiting, and having the feeling of pins on your skin are also signs that you might possibly have a tumor. Since this cancer affects the brain another symptom is the inability to communicate or understand. Patients with this disease also suffer from confusion. It is also known that vision can become blurred as well as being extremely sleepy or weak. One last symptom that may or may not occur is a change in personality and
Radiation therapy is a form of high energy radiation that is used to shrink tumors in a patient’s body. There are two major types of radiation therapy, which are, internal and external. Internal treatment consists of radioactive material that is placed inside the body near the cancer cell. This procedure is also called Brachytherapy. With external therapy, beams are emitted through an outside machine to go through the body. Radiation therapy is used on more than half of all cancer patients. Some of the reasons that patients with cancer will get this treatment would be to prevent cancer in the brain to spread throughout the body, which is also known as metastases. Other situations would be if the tumor was pushing on the spinal cord, if it the tumor is near the esophagus or if it might start to grow in with a bone. With almost every patient, surgery will also be done along with the radiation therapy to decrease some of the main causes from the particular cancer that the patient might be suffering from (National Cancer Institute, 2010).