Nuclear forces have been around the human race since the beginning of time, though it was not until recently that people began to understand it. Nuclear decay has helped scientists discover how long unstable isotopes maintain their unstable state before becoming a more stable isotope. The study of nuclear chemistry has given people in the medical field powerful tools to combat feared illnesses such as cancer. Nuclear forces have also provided an alternative energy source to coal and natural gas. The field of nuclear chemistry encompasses many aspects including nuclear decay, radioactive elements in medicine, and nuclear energy. Alpha, beta, gamma - to many people those three words are the first three letters of the Greek alphabet, though …show more content…
One use for a radio active tracer is to determine the source of internal bleeding. Doctors take a blood sample and add the radioactive samples to the blood. Once the blood with the radio tag has been injected back into the patient,special cameras that are set up to detect the radiation of the element. The pictures taken by the cameras help doctors diagnose patients. (“Nuclear Medicine”) One of the biggest benefits of radioactive tracers is their ability to enhance CT scans. Without the aid of radioactive tracers CT scans are a great tool in the medical field, though when tracers are added the picture becomes much more well defined giving doctors an extra hand in diagnosing …show more content…
Nuclear medicine however has made it possible to treat cancer. One of the forms of cancer treatments that involve radioactive materials is radiation therapy. Radiation therapy utilizes X and gamma rays to target and kill the cancer cells. “Radiation therapy kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA. Radiation can either damage the DNA directly or create charged particles in cells that in turn damage the DNA.” (“Radiation Therapy for Cancer”) Radiation therapy affects only the selected area of treatment, whereas other treatments such as chemo therapy affects the entire body. Radiation therapy can be administered two different ways. The first method of administration is internally. Radiation is injected directly into the blood stream where it travels to the cancerous area. The other method of administering radiation therapy is externally. “Many types of external-beam radiation therapy are delivered using a machine called a linear accelerator (also called a LINAC). A LINAC uses electricity to form a stream of fast-moving subatomic particles. This creates high-energy radiation that may be used to treat cancer.” (“Radiation Therapy for
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus in Rome represents reflects the transformed status of Christianity. Junius Bassus was a member of a senatorial family and he was responsible for the administration of the city of Rome. Junius Bassus died at the age of 42 in the year 359, this sarcophagus was made for him. He had become a convert to Christianity before his death.
It is the use of high-powered x-rays that destroy tumor cells. A radiation oncologist is the doctor who specializes in radiation therapy. There are two types of radiation therapy: 1.) external-beam radiation which is given from a machine outside the body and 2.) internal radiation which is given using implants. The external-beam radiation therapy is much more common than internal radiation. It can be directed at the tumor in many ways such as conventional radiation therapy, 3 dimensional conformal radiation therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy, proton therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery. Choosing one of these techniques depends on the size and location of the
cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Radiation therapy is a treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. Lastly targeted therapy, is the treatment that uses drugs and other substances to attack cancer cells. Some of these treatments are standard and others are being clinically tested in clinical trials. Patients may enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment. Follow-up tests may be needed.
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
Radiation is another type of treatment. Radiation therapy uses a special machine to deliver high energy rays that damage cancer cells and stop then from growing. These rays may be detected in the entire body, or they may be focused on certain area where leukemia cells are collecting.( Disease facts and statistics, 30)
There are several ways radiation therapy can be delivered. Radiation therapy can be external or internal. The most common way is by external radiation in which a radiation is directed at the tumor from a machine (Dollinger, Rosenbaum 62). Internal or systemic radiotherapy delivers radiation by giving a radioactive source intravenously or by injection (62). Depending on the type of cancer, some people are treated with both types of therapy.
The monologue links to the part 4 of language and literature. This task is based on the play ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare. To write a monologue based on a shakespearean play, it was essential to first fully understand the language, characterization and structure of the play. Also, it was necessary to understand the explicit and implicit meaning in a text. These deep understanding was then utilized in writing a sophisticated monologue of lady Macbeth.
The National Cancer Institute states that radiation therapy, “uses high-energy radiation to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells.” Radiation uses X-rays and gamma rays to shrink the tumors. Because cancer is rapidly growing cells, the cells need to be shrunk. By using radiation, the cancer cells’ DNA gets damaged, when the cell is damaged enough, it will stop growing and eventually die. The negative side to radiation is that it may also damage normal and healthy cells. Like chemotherapy, radiation can be given out in different doses depending on the type of cancer, size, location, etc. Besides the common treatments like radiation, there are newer, effective treatments like
Proton therapy is a form of radiation therapy that allows large doses of radiation to be aimed and delivered directly at a tumor while doing little damage to the surrounding healthy tissues. Typical radiation treatments send X-rays directly through the tumor, and passes out the other side of the body, simultaneously damaging most of the healthy tissue when entering and exiting the body. Protons slow down when they hit the body and gradually decelerate and come to a stop, depositing most of their radiation at this point, called the Bragg peak. If you force a beam of protons so that they stop just inside a tumor (which has been done), a maximum dose of radiation can be delivered while minimizing side effects and keeping nearby tissue safe.
For instance, cancer treated with radiotherapy that consists of gamma radiation and x-radiation. The main difference between gamma rays and X-rays is the production leading to the intensity. Gamma rays being able to penetrate better are produced when atomic nuclei decay, and X-rays are produced when electrons hit a target or when they are rearranged within an atom. 39.6% of the men and women in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer and 50% of all the patients with cancer will be treated with radiotherapy (3). Radiotherapy is a precise method used to fight cancer compared to other methods, it is designed to more accurately target and destroy cancer cells, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it gets rid of all of the cancer cells within say a tumor or cancerous growth.(18). Another drawback is that radiotherapy doesn’t necessarily have the best precision because the radiation can also hit the surrounding organs or cells that do not have cancer, which may debilitate structure and function of those areas. When radiotherapy is used in the abdominal area of the body it can affect the spleen, potentially causing irreversible damage. Two-point-three percent of the cancer patients have cancer in their abdominal area. This includes bladder, colon, rectum, kidney, renal pelvis, liver, pancreas, and stomach
Radiation therapy is the use of radiation as a treatment, mainly for the elimination of cancerous tumors. It does this by damaging the DNA in the cancerous cells using very high doses of radiation. Damaging these cells prevents
Radiation therapy is a form of treatment that uses radiation. It is also known as radiotherapy, irradiation, and x-ray therapy. Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for cancer and it is used to treat nearly two thirds of all cancer patients. It utilizes high-energy particles or waves to either destroy or damage cancer cells. While Radiation therapy is most commonly used to treat cancer, it can also be used to treat diseases such as blood disorders, thyroid disease and noncancerous growths.
Nuclear Medicine is the use of radioisotopes for diagnosis, treatment, and research. Radioactive chemical tracers emit gamma rays which provides diagnostic information about a person's anatomy and the functioning of specific organs. Radioisotopes are also utilizes in treatments of diseases such as cancer. It is estimated that approximately one in two people in Western countries are likely to experience the benefits of nuclear medicine in their lifetime.
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.