Radiation Therapy : A Type Of Treatment Modality

In radiation therapy, certain treatment plans require a water-equivalent material called a bolus to raise the maximum dose buildup (Dmax) closer to the surface of the skin. One of the most common materials used to create this more superficial treatment dose is a commercial product called Superflab. Superflab is a manufactured vinyl gel material that is uniform in thickness, easy to cut, and reusable (Radiation Products Inc, 2010). Therapists use other materials in clinical settings, but there is currently very little research available comparing alternative bolus materials and their respective Dmax values. The limited amount of research that is available look at different materials such as wet gauze and other similar materials for their easy,

From surgery to radium exposure to such extremes as radiation therapy, as doctors’ knowledge of the varying types of cancer, and the expansion of medical research regarding cancer has changed, so has the preferred method of treatment. Doctors and researchers dedicated to studying cancer have led to a greater understanding of cancer development; consequently the development of treatments and cures that are more effective, less harmful, have fewer side effects, and in some cases serve to prevent the spread of cancer.

6 Megavoltage (MV) photons treat many superficial tumors. More importantly, they often require a bolus to bring the depth of maximum dose closer to the skin surface. Also, a bolus compensates for uneven skin surfaces or irregular contours on the patient’s surface. The depth of maximum equilibrium describes the depth in which the maximum dose of the formulated radiation deposited into the skin (Washington & Leaver, 2010). Bolus material should be flexible, pliable, and tissue-equivalent. There is no study that compares green Play-Doh, orange Play-Doh, water and uncooked rice to Superflab for providing maximum dose buildup, Dmax.

My patient currently had breast cancer, after receiving radiation therapy. She started to have issues with the quality of saliva production. She is having difficulties with dry mouth, or in other words xerostomia, caused by the radiation therapy given to the head and neck area. It is not uncommon that patients receiving radiation therapy to the head and neck area experience a decrease in saliva flow. Studies have shown that saliva flow during radiation therapy actually increases, due to the salivary glands being irritated by the radiation; however, once treatment has ended the salivary glands are relieved and decrease (OncoLink, 2014). The saliva dramatically decreases leaving the individual with temporary or permanent xerostomia. Enzymes in

Radiation therapy is a type of treatment modality that administers radiation to patients with cancer. This form of treatment has many components that contribute toward ensuring that radiation therapists adequately treat the malignant tissue within the body. One of the major components in radiation therapy is the use of bolus. Bolus is a material that doctors place on the skin to help bring the radiation dose higher to the skin surface within the patient (Khan, 2012). Since there are not any research studies in the radiation oncology field which compare alternative bolus materials in providing maximum dose build-up, the purpose of this study is to close

6 Megavoltage (MV) photons treat many superficial tumors. More importantly, they often require a bolus to bring the depth of maximum dose closer to the skin surface. Also, a bolus compensates for uneven skin surfaces or irregular contours on the patient’s surface. The depth of maximum equilibrium describes the depth in which the maximum dose of the formulated radiation deposited into the skin (Washington & Leaver, 2010). Bolus material should be flexible, pliable, and tissue-equivalent. There is no study that compares green Play-Doh, orange Play-Doh, water and uncooked rice to Superflab for providing maximum dose buildup, Dmax.

Radiotherapy is a treatment for cancer which uses radiation to kill and damage cancer cells in order to stop them from growing or multiplying. The advanced radiotherapy technologies that are used in our world today allow treatment to be customised to a patient's tumor size, type, and location in the body. This advanced technology also minimizes the risk of damaging healthy cells, and minimizes potential side effects. The main purposes of using radiotherapy as treatment is to shrink tumors, kill cancer cells, and to provide relief from other painful symptoms.

The purpose of this study is to determine the ability of Superflab to reduce the dose given to a contralateral breast during radiation treatment. Researchers believe Superflab is a great tissue equivalent that is easy to use and is successful in reducing the dose of scatter radiation. They believe that this bolus material will be effective in decreasing the dose to the contralateral breast. The energies used in this study included 6 MV with a total dose of 50 Gy in 25 fractions. Researchers chose six patients to participate in this study, each with various sized breasts. Researchers placed TLDs on each patient, then they placed 1 cm Superflab on top of the TLDs. Each patient received three treatments without Superflab and three with Superflab.

“Imagine being locked in your own body. Imagine not being able to speak, walk on your own, see, or even swallow your own food; while having complete cognitive abilities and independent thought. Imagine waking up every morning and experiencing the sensation of losing the use of another finger, toe, or limb at a pace that shuts down your entire body within weeks. You are trapped, without hope or without a lifeline to the world around you. Now imagine you are just 6 years old,” (“The Cure Starts Now”). In January of 2007, life for a young girl and her family was about to change forever. Four-year-old Grace Ekis was undoubtedly diagnosed with an extremely rare and unfortunately incurable brain tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, or

Radiotherapy works in two different ways; external radiotherapy, and internal radiotherapy. In external radiotherapy, the source of the radiation comes from the outside of the body and is targeted at the cancer. This is performed by a machine that directs radiation towards the cancer tumor and the tissue which surrounds the area. External radiotherapy can be used to treat larger areas of the body and is usually given daily over a number of weeks. By using external radiotherapy, the patient will not be radioactive and will be able to safely interact with other people.

In contrast, internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive material that is is placed inside the tumor. Internal radiotherapy can be performed in several ways. Brachytherapy is a type of internal radiation treatment in which a solid radioactive source in placed in the tumor. This involves the patient staying in hospital for a few days or until the radioactive source has been removed from their body. Another form of internal radiotherapy is radionuclide, which uses a liquid source of radiation. This can either be taken through the patient's mouth or by an injection placed into a vein. For radionuclide, the patient would need to stay in hospital until the radioactivity has left the body. Internal radiation therapy allows a higher dosage of radiation

beam is red at the target site depending on the phase or displacement windows chosen

The area the area where a person gets radiation consists of all the tumor and a small area of regular tissue around it. The small area of regular tissue around the tumor is included because breathing and the moving of organ can affect the position of the tumor and to reduce the chance of getting cancer by killing the bad cells that have spread to regular ones.The use of radiation therapy began shortly after the discovery of radium and x-rays.In 1903, doctors reported the success of radium treating cancer.Doctors used the brachytherapy method, which is putting the radioactive material inside the body near the tumor.This method is still in use and has been improved to be more efficient.From the first use of radiation therapy to the 1950’s, doctors start to discover the side effects of over exposure.In 1965, radiation was use to treat liver cancer, which was previously incurable.In the 1980’s radiation becomes standard use and is used with chemotherapy for tumors that cannot be removed surgicaly.In the early 90’s, powerful computers allow the use of 3D imaging to help target tumors better and make better treatment plans.In the late 1990’s, a new method of radiation therapy is used to help protect important organs from radiation.In 1999, numerous methods for curing cancer are discovered.The future of

X-rays, gamma beams, and charged particles are sorts of radiation utilized for malignancy treatment. The radiation might be conveyed by a machine outside the body (outer pillar radiation treatment), or it might originate from radioactive material set in the body in proximity to tumor cells (inward radiation treatment, likewise called brachytherapy). Systemic radiation treatment utilizes radioactive substances, for example, radioactive iodine, that go in the blood to execute tumor cells. About portion of all malignancy patients get some sort of radiation treatment at some point throughout their treatment. Radiation treatment destroys tumor cells by harming their DNA (the particles inside cells that convey hereditary data and pass it starting with one era then onto the next). Radiation treatment can either harm DNA specifically or make charged particles (free radicals) inside the cells that can thusly harm the DNA. Growth cells whose DNA is harmed hopeless end partitioning or pass on. At the point when the harmed cells kick the bucket, they are separated and wiped out by the body's common procedures. Radiation treatment can likewise harm normal cells, prompting adverse effects. Specialists consider potential harm to typical cells when arranging a course of radiation treatment. The measure of radiation that typical tissue can securely get is known for all parts of the body. Specialists utilize this data to help them choose where to point radiation amid treatment (Radiation Therapy for

Internal Radiation is what usually is used when external therapy is not as efficient as it should be since the purpose of internal radiation is to allow a higher dosage of radiation to be given to a particular small cancerous area that the external is not able to deliver to. The way this is distributed is through something known as an implant and it is just as it is sounds since something is implanted inside or extremely near the tumor.