Cancer is the form of disease, when abnormal cells divide uncontrolledly and invade other tissues. Cancer is not one type of disease because there are more than 100 types of the cancer spread in the world ( National Cancer Institute 2013). Every third person in the world has a cancer. Based on statistics, in the USA in 2013 the cancer was a cause of death for 580,350 people ( The American Cancer Society 2013). The aim of this project is to evaluate all aspects of proton therapy. It will be argued that proton therapy is the most effective treatment for cancer conventional treatments. The most established types of cancer treatment such as chemical therapy or chemotherapy and surgery will be discussed. The proton therapy as a contemporary type of radiation oncology, which is used in only a few countries, will be analyzed as a possible replacement. In this essay advantages of proton beam therapy such as cosmetic purity of a skin, efficiency and radiation will be discussув. Furthermore, in this paper will be evaluated the cost and risk of death, which can be reached by unprecise planning, of the proton beam therapy. Additionally, will be surveyed the results of the proton therapy such as treatment for earlier incurable types of cancer and possible discussed about future improvements.
The method to use protons such as medical treatment of cancer was proposed by Robert Whilson, who was fade American physicist, in 1946 (McDonald and Fitzek 2010, 257). He argued that the unique physical properties of protons are relevant to utilize this radiation techology in medicine. The principle of the proton beam therapy consists in the appreciable mass of protons than other particles; as a result, the beam slightly broaden and stays focused on the c...
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... Severens, Manuela A. Joore, and Philippe Lambin. 2010. “How costly is particle therapy? Cost analysis of external beam radiotherapy with carbon-ions, protons and photons.” Radiotherapy and Oncology 95 (1): 45-53. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2009.12.002
Lomax, Antony J. 2008. “Intensity modulated proton therapy and its sensitivity to treatment uncertainties 1: the potential effects of calculational uncertainties.” Physics in medicine and biology 53 (4): 1027-1042. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/53/4/014
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
Merchant, Thomas E. 2013. “Clinical Controversies: Proton Therapy for Pediatric Tumors.” Seminars in radiation oncology 23 (2): 97-108. doi: 10.1016/j.semradonc.2012.11.008
the effective doses from diagnostic CT procedures are typically estimated to be in the range of 1 to 10 mSv. This range is not much less than the lowest doses of 5 to 20 mSv estimated to have been received by some of the Japanese survivors of the atomic bombs. These survivors, who are estimated to have experienced doses slightly larger than those encountered in CT, have demonstrated a small but increased radiation-related excess relative risk for
Pediatric oncology has been so very rewarding in many ways, but also so very cruel in a few ways. The good days are great, but the sad days are heartbreaking. But beyond the death and the suffering, there is a whole other layer of
At this day in age we are constantly trying to improve the field of medicine in any way that we possibly can. We cherish every birthday and continually try to prolong life. Not only through every field of medicine, especially in terms of cancer. The American Cancer Society is “the official sponsor of birthdays” and is making leaps and bounds in the types of care that cancer patients receive. One of these many breakthroughs is the practice of Stereotactic (Body) Radiotherapy or S(B)RT. SBRT and other radiation therapies have the ability to greatly improve the way that we treat the issue of cancer and the variation of treatment options; however, they have raised the concerns of long term effects from radiation and cost-effectiveness. As research has begun to show, radiation therapies are having great success in curing cancer.
Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply out of control and gradually build a mass of tissue called a tumor. There has been a large amount of research dedicated to the treatment and cure of cancer. Several types of treatments have been developed. The following are just some of the major examples of cancer therapy: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologic therapy, biorhythms, unconventional treatments, and hyperthermia. Each type of treatment is discussed in detail below.
The prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options depend on where in the body the tumor started, the width of the tumor when the cancer was diagnosed, whether the tumor has spread to nearby lymph nodes or distant parts of the body, whether there are certain changes in the genes, the type of rhabdomyosarcoma, whether the tumor has been completely removed by surgery, whether the tumor responds to chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, the patient’s age and general health, and whether the tumor has just been diagnosed or has recurred )come back). For patients with recurrent cancer, prognosis and treatment depend on where in the body the tumor recurred, whether the tumor was treated with radiation therapy, the size of the tumor when the cancer was diagnosed, and how much time has passed between the end of cancer treatment and when the cancer recurred.
The second most typical tumors found in children are brain tumors. Brain tumors are the primary cause of childhood death as they are escalating in frequency. Doctors have found ways to advance their imaging of these brain tumors to help pinpoint the exact location of the tumors, increasing the chance of the children’s survival (Conway, Asuncion, and DaRasso 1). The diagnosing procedure is a crucial process, helping to gain information about the child’s tumor. Brain tumors range in different types of tumors and forms of treatment that can lead to major effects on the children and their families.
The Therac-25 was released to market in 1983 and is still in use today (ComputingCases). “Between June 1985 and January 1987, six patients were seriously injured or killed by unsafe administration of radiation from the Therac-25 medical linear accelerator” (Death and Denial).
There are many different types of treatment but the main ones include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. However, sometimes children’s immunes systems rid themselves of neuroblastoma before anything needs to be done. Therefore, doctors prefer to give the tumor a little bit of time, depending on the seriousness, before taking unnecessary actions. Surgery is often done for many types of cancer and can be a very successful treatment. Despite this fact, “ . . . most neuroblastoma is not found until after the cancer has spread. In that situation, the doctor removes as much of the tumor as possible during surgery” ("Neuroblastoma - Childhood: Treatment Options"). If the tumor cannot be completely removed by surgery, sometimes doctors will advise chemotherapy or radiation to eliminate the rest. Chemotherapy can also be effective but can have some unwanted side effects. “Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells, usually by stopping the cancer cells’ ability to grow and divide . . . The side effects of chemotherapy depend on the individual and the dose used, but they can include fatigue, risk of infection, nausea and vomiting, hair loss, loss of appetite, and diarrhea” ("Neuroblastoma - Childhood: Treatment Options"). The doctor and parents may believe that the potential side effects could be too dangerous for a young child to endure. Another treatment option includes the use of radioactive energy. It is explained, “Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy x-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells . . . radiation therapy can sometimes cause problems with the normal growth and development of a child’s brain and the ovaries (in girls) or testicles (in boys) . . .” ("Neuroblastoma - Childhood: Treatment Options"). Alike to chemotherapy, the side effects may be too severe for young children. The possibility of stunting a child’s brain growth can seem to harsh.
Cancer is a word which evokes many different images and emotions. Nothing in this world can prepare a person for the utter devastation of finding out someone has been diagnosed with cancer, especially when this person is a child. Over the past twenty five years the amount of research and the survival rate for children suffering with cancer have increased dramatically. Despite these successes, the funding for new research necessary to keep these children alive and healthy is miniscule and too dependent on short term grants. Of the billions of dollars spent each year on cancer treatments and research less than a third is contributed to researching pediatric cancer. Given the media focus on adult cancers, research for pediatric cancer is underfunded. In order to maintain the increasing survival rate of the children undergoing pediatric cancer and support those who have survived the disease, better funding is quintessential to develop and further promote research.
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...
Wouters, B. G., & Brown, J. M. (1997). Cells at intermediate oxygen levels can be more important than the hypoxic fraction in determining tumor response to fractionated radiotherapy. Radiation Research, 147(5), 544. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.prx.library.gatech.edu/stable/3579620?seq=4
No matter who it happens to, any type of cancer is heart-breaking. However, one’s heart seems to crack a little bit deeper when you hear a child has been diagnosed. Several forms of cancer can arise during childhood. The most common is acute lymphoblastic/lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). In fact, it is so common between the ages 0-14, that people refer to it as childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Kanwar, 2013). .
The recognition given to work with light based therapies by the Nobel Prize committee was in part responsible for the global rise of heliotherapy. By this time heliotherapy had a large enough audience to warrant interest in New York State Journals. One physician, Dr. Grasso, in an article in the New York state Journal of Medicine in 1992 described the advent of Heliotherapy in the state 1920’s. He mentions the work of Dr. Rollier who “introduced it [heliotherapy] on a large scale and on a sound scientific basis”.(Grasso 19...
How does one see the symptoms for childhood cancer? First one must know that there are many different types. There are forty different types of children’s cancer, including: Leukemia, Lymphoma, Sarcomas, cancers of the nervous system, liver cancers, kidney cancer, and more. Out of these cancers, the two most common childhood cancers are Leukemia, and brain tumors. What is leukemia? It is a cancer in which the bone marrow and other organs that produce blood produce and increased amount of immature or abnormal white blood cells. The symptoms of leukemia are paleness, excessive bruising, pain in the joints, and fatigue. Brain tumors are formed when a massive amount of cells are produced on the brain. The symptoms for this are frequent headaches, vomiting, seizures, decreased coordination, weakness, and problems concerning vision.
Radiation is part of our life, so researchers have focused on studying the photon interaction parameters with matter (attenuation coefficients). This is due to increasing the use of radioactive sources in different fields such as medicine, tomography, and nuclear research applications. The attenuation coefficient is an important parameter to characterize the penetration and diffusion of gamma rays in matter. The absorbed and scattered ra...