Radiotherapy: The Lymphatic System

Radiation therapy is the ionization of atoms in tissues resulting in formation of highly reactive radicals in a well-defined, restricted volume (1). In other words, ionizing radiations are used to eradicate tumors and at the same time preserve structure and function of normal tissue. A limitation is prevented from being a problem. If bone marrow or neuronal cells are destroyed or injured, they do not regenerate. However, with radiation therapy, these cells are often saved from injury or destruction, unless the tumor is infecting bone marrow or neuronal cells. Today, radiation therapy is the most popular type of cancer therapy in use. It is used to treat one-half to two-thirds of all cancers, which translates to more than ten percent of the population

In Year 8, a radiotherapist came into my school with a request - to help him develop a game to explain the process of radiotherapy to his patients. I decided to help out of curiosity, thinking that it would be interesting and that I'd learn something new. It was during the development process that I learnt my first lines of Python - which I now use extensively for my programs. That experience fueled my fascination with technology and its impact on the world around me, watching how the application of computing in other fields has bettered the lives of others.

Therapeutic nuclear medicine is used in many different ways to help and treat patients when they are fighting cancer or other diseases. Doctors will take the steps to do whatever they can to make sure that the patient will survive or at least achieve improvement in their health to some degree. When a patient is undergoing surgery to remove the cancer cells, the doctors will often have them go through radiation beforehand to shrink the cancer or tumor down to a size that is easier to remove and to ensure they are not removing more than necessary. Often during surgery, the surgeons will again treat the patient with radiation while they are open so that the radiation is hitting the direct tumor or cancer cells being targeted. Another benefit is that it provides the radiation treatment without having to direct it through the skin again. This reduces the amount of radiation that the patient is getting to a certain degree. Once the surgery is over, the patient will often have to continue with more treatments to make sure that, if anything was missed, it will be attacked by the radiation and be prevented from spreading. Eliminating the cancerous cells can often take more than one type of medical therapy, and it can often take multiple treatments (Radiation

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 the malignant tissue within the body is being adequately treated. One of the major components in radiation therapy is the use of bolus. Bolus is a material placed on the skin to help bring the radiation dose higher to the skin surface within the patient (Khan 2012). Since there are no 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 this informational gap by comparing the following types of bolus: Superflab, neon-green Play-Doh, orange Play-Doh, and uncooked rice.

It was about 5 years ago that I first realized I wanted to become a doctor .We were invited over for lunch at my father’s colleague’s house. When we finished eating we got to meet his daughter, she was very beautiful and about 3 years my senior. She wore a beanie at home and upon realizing why she had worn it my heart just melted. It was at this time we came to know she had a brain tumor diagnosed at an advanced stage.

According to the researchers of mayoclinic.org, Radiation Oncology is the practice of regulating high dosages of radiation to kill cancerous cells. In this job several small tasks accumulate into a complex system. A radiation oncologist can expect to: place radioactive material into the body to locate and pinpoint tumors, keep detailed records of treatment proficiency, examine and create machinery to diminish harmful exposure to radiation, and to console other oncologists about methods such as chemotherapy and stem-cell treatment. As a young child, I decided to delve into the study of cancer based on watching my mother battle the disease (mayoclinic.org).

Today, radiation oncologists spend most of their time trying to determine the correct way to treat different forms of tumors and cancer. The radiation oncologist monitors progress and oversees much of the treatment. A radiation team comes together to help find the best possible treatment for the patient. The radiation team consists of the radiation oncologist, radiation oncology nurse, medical physicist, medical dosimetrist, and a radiation therapist. After they formulate a plan, the radiation oncologist must convey the information directly to their patients. This part of the job may become very emotional and requires a comforting personality. The radiation oncologist will then help the patient begin the treatment regimen and will track progress along the

A 45 year old male, with a history of smoking ½ packs of cigarettes a day for the past 30 years has been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. The patient comes into the hospital for a follow up visit to his health care provider. Where he has been getting radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the cancer. He has complaints of pain, dyspnea at times and dysphasia. While discussing the progress of his condition the doctor states that the chemo and radiation therapy has not been successful and the cancer has started to progress. The doctor then states the next steps to prevent the spread of the cancer, and that’s to have total laryngectomy surgery. The patient understands the severity of his condition but is now experiencing anxiety because of

Radiation therapy can be tough especially for women. Women have to deal with so much pressure and stress every day. You need to have the healthiest diet possible. This article will ensure you guys know the do’s and don’ts of what to eat and drink during radiation therapy.

“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

Radiation therapy is used to kill tumor cells that cannot be resected or cut out due to their location in the

One of the ways to treat the censors is by using high energy radiation, which will help to kill cancer cells and minimize the size of the tumor. It is focused on a particular area so it is a local treatment. Radiation therapy can be affected alone or with other treatment method such as chemotherapy and surgery. X-ray, gamma rays, electron, and proton are using by radiation therapy which will be delivered radiation beam to the tumor by using one of the two methods: external beam and internal radiation therapy (brachytherapy).

Malignant neoplasia, more commonly known as cancer, can arise anywhere in the body in various sizes, shape and form, and can affect anyone. The treatment of cancer depends on the various factors, namely the type of cancer, how far it has grown and spread, and how fast it is growing. Medical advancements are continuing to benefit the treatment of cancer, as they are being detected earlier and patients are living longer. I will be discussing the three most used cancer treatments; surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy; and briefly investigating how they can be used together as a combination therapy with the example of breast cancer. I will also be exploring the emerging cancer treatment of immunotherapy, and comparing and contrasting the benefits and drawbacks/limits of these four treatments in terms of their biological process, and how they act in the body. Surgery is one of the main treatments for cancer, and is usually the first option considered following diagnosis. Usually, the earlier a cancer is found the easier it is to remove it. Surgery may be the only treatment you need if the tumour is contained in the body area and has not metastasized. The primary goal is to remove the malignant tumour as completely as possible; and procedurally some normal tissue from around the cancer is also removed. The surgeon may also remove the lymph nodes nearest to the cancer, in case they contain cancer cells that can be moved around the body through the lymphatic system. After

In 2007, it is predicted that almost 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States (Pickle et al., 2007). More than half of these cancer patients will undergo the use of radiation as a means for treating cancer at some point during the course of their disease (Perez and Brady, 1998). Cancer, a disease caused by an uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells, affects millions of people around the world. Radiotherapy is one of the well known various methods used to treat cancer, where high powered rays are aimed directly at the tumor from the outside of the body as external radiation or an instrument is surgically placed inside the body producing a result of internal radiation. Radiation is delivered to the cancerous regions of the body to damage and destroy the cells in that area, terminating the rapid growth and division of the cells. Radiation therapy has been used by medicine as a treatment for cancer from the beginning of the twentieth century, with its earliest beginnings coming from the discovery of x-rays in 1895 by Wilhelm Röntgen. With the advancements in physics and computer programming, radiation had greatly evolved towards the end of the twentieth century and made the radiation treatment more effective. Radiation therapy is a curative treatment approach for cancer because it is successful in killing cancerous tumor cells and stop them from regenerating.

The health of our lymphatic system is vital to the health of our whole body. This system is critical to our body’s ability to detoxify and regenerate tissues, filter out toxins and foreign substances, recover crucial substances that have escaped from the blood, and maintain a healthy immune system.