How can gamma rays treat cancer

This provider works with you and your cancer care team to decide how radiation will be used. External radiation is aimed as precisely at the tumor as possible. This is important to help keep nearby normal tissues from getting too much radiation.

Each hospital has its own procedures. But external beam radiation therapy often starts with an appointment called simulation. This is needed to find exactly where on your body the radiation beam needs to be directed. It may take up to 2 hours. At this visit, a physical exam will be done and you'll be asked about your health history. Make sure to tell the healthcare provider if you've ever had radiation in the past.

These tests help your healthcare providers see how big and exactly where the tumor is so they can aim the radiation right at it. They're also used to figure out where the radiation will need to go into your body and what position you'll need to be in. Body molds, masks, headrests, or other devices might be made to put you in the exact same position and help keep you from moving during treatments. The field is the exact area on your body where the radiation will be aimed.

The therapist may mark your skin with tiny dots of semipermanent ink or tattoos. This is done to make sure radiation is given to the exact same place each time.

Once the simulation process is done, a radiation oncologist will make your treatment plan. They work with a team of radiation experts to do this. The process can take up to several days to complete. Radiation affects normal cells as well as cancer cells. This causes side effects. Side effects depend on the type of radiation used and the part of the body that's treated. Otherwise you could probably harm your patient.

Conclusion The primary goal of treatment planning is to precisely calculate the radiation dose to the tumor in order to improve the outcome and reduce toxicity. The future of imaging in radiation therapy treatment planning is promising, and other advances will contribute to better target definition. Higher resolution imaging will be developed for specializing the tumor in an improved way, like higher definition PET-CT scanners and high magnetic field MR would have the ability to improve the visualization of tumors even to the level of microscopic disease extension.

WikiLectures WikiLectures. Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Log in. Thank you for your comments. Thank you for reviewing this article. Your review hasn't been inserted one review per article per day allowed! This article was checked by pedagogue. Most radiotherapy machines will be able to rotate around your body to give the treatment from several different directions.

NB: Women of childbearing age will be asked whether they could be pregnant, as x-rays given during pregnancy could harm a baby. If you have internal radiotherapy, you may have to stay in hospital for a few days and special precautions will be taken while the radioactive material is in your body.

Once the treatment is over there is no risk of exposing your family or friends to radiation, but while it is in progress they may not be able to come close to you. Forgot password? Many people with cancer will have radiotherapy as part of their treatment. Radiotherapy uses high energy x-rays, gamma rays or electrons to kill cancer cells in a specific part of the body.

Radiotherapy only affects the cells and tissues within a specific area unlike chemo, which affects the whole body. Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer. Emotional Support for Young People with Cancer. Cancers by Body Location. Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Treatment. Pediatric Supportive Care. Rare Cancers of Childhood Treatment. Childhood Cancer Genomics.

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