Using Charged Particles For Cancer Treatment

Cancer is defined as the abnormal, uncontrolled division of cells in the body. This uncontrollable growth causes a growth or tumour on the body. The tumours that are formed can either be benign or malignant. Malignant tumours can attack other cells and destroy them. Cancer has been around for ages and millions of people have died from cancer. There are many types of cancer and there are different reasons why people get cancer. Luckily, there are many treatments in place to help people who have cancer. Some popular options for treating cancer would be surgically removing the tumour or growth, or undergoing radiation therapy or chemotherapy. These treatments are commonly used amongst patients who have cancer. Alternatively there is another treatment that could be used to cure cancer, Proton Therapy. Proton Therapy works by directing a strong dose of radiation to the cancerous tumour (Advanced Particle Therapy, n.d.). In this essay, the advantages and disadvantages of Proton Therapy will be discussed in

Radiotherapy, also called radiation therapy, is the treatment of cancer and other diseases with radiation. Radiotherapy is used when the entire primary tumor cannot be surgically removed. Radiotherapy deposits energy

Furthermore, X-ray of higher energy than required for imaging is used for radiation therapy. The radiation therapy makes use of ionization radiation (and no images) for the treatment of diseases, such as

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.

Cancer is an incurable and unpredictable disease that, if left untreated, will likely result in death for the men, women, and children who must fight it. Sadly, approximately 36% of people will develop cancer during their lifetime, and of that percentage, fewer than 15% will survive, according to the National Cancer Institute. Along with surgery and chemotherapy, radiation is one of the few known methods for treating cancer, but it does not come without harmful side effects. While radiation therapy is currently a proven method for treating cancer, dangers to patients often outweigh its benefits, therefore a safer method for effectively treating and ultimately curing cancer.

During the last decade, major progress has been made in the treatment of disease with radioisotopes. Treatments involving the use of medical isotopes are gaining momentum in the race against many types of cancer. FDA approved and highly promising therapies are doubling every 3 to 4 years. Some researchers predict that over 80% of cancer types should be treatable with

Using a combination of x-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles, radiation can target the DNA molecule in a cell and directly attack it or put charged particles in the DNA molecule that will damage the DNA molecule in the cell. This mean that for medical purposes radiation can be used to kill the cancer cells. Or, sometimes even cure someone of cancer. This also means that someone could have the option for either chemotherapy and radiation instead of just chemotherapy. Also, since radiation can kill cancer cells and be used as a cancer treatment, radiation can also be used shrink tumors.

Doctors had been using radiation to destroy cancerous cells since the unfolding of X-rays and radium in the 1890s, but both techniques had their own issues. X-ray machines were complicated to make use of, and radium implanted near tumors. In addition, X-rays weren’t strong enough to be entirely effective, and as for both of them, they were quite expensive.

Particle accelerators have a lot of energy running through them and this energy is used to transform particles. There are various types of procedures and methods that are used to transform the cancer cells and stop them from spreading further. At times the cancer is to strong and the treatments, such as, chemotherapy, or surgery, do not help. The particle accelerators have energy that is believed to equal the energy that occurred during the big bang which began the universe.

External Beam Therapy or (EBT) is a method for externally delivering radiation to a tumor. Beams are directed at a tumor and these high powered X-Rays can deliver radiation to the area of the tumor killing cancer cells but also healthy cells in that area as well. Although with careful planning doctors can spare the surrounding normal tissue keeping the minimal amount of healthy cells from dying around

Linear accelerators are most commonly used for external beam radiation by delivering high energy x-rays to the cancer area of the patient’s body (www.careers-internet.org). They also explain treatment plans to patients and answer any questions the patient or their family has. Then, they examine machines to make sure they work properly and follow safety procedures to protect themselves and the patient from overexposure to radiation. After the doctor explains the treatment plan, they X-ray the patient to find the exact location of the area that requires treatment. Radiation therapists have to check computer programs to make sure the machine will give the correct dosage of radiation to the right area of the patient’s body. Also, “they operate the machine and give radiation to the patient, monitor the patient and check for any unusual reactions to the treatment, and keep detailed records of the patient and their treatment” (www.careers-internet.org). In the life of a radiation therapist, I believe that the best part of my day would be interacting with the patients and getting to know them. I love meeting new people and I would love to work with them and help them fight their battle of cancer. Most importantly, if we’re lucky enough to achieve our goal of battling the

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

The half-life of 99mTc after injection into the body is 6 hours. This allows researchers to put these nuclei to use. Nuclei of technetium 99 emit gamma rays with a characteristic energy of 140 keV (Leden, E. 1990). This property makes them highly desirable in medicine, as gamma rays are absorbed far from the examined organ, minimizing the danger posed to living matter. Production of 99mTc entails aggregation of human serum albumin using heat and a reducing agent to form the particles.

In recent years, radiation therapy has improved tremendously. It targets tumors more accurately and minimizes damage to the surrounding

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.