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Focussed bursts of gamma rays are used in radiation therapy to kill cancer cells. (From Science8 book Mcgraw-Hill Ryerson text book-page 160)
AnswerThe type of radiation used depends on the type of cancer and the type of treatment prescribed.Gamma rays are best for deep-seated cancers, where the radiation is directed from a source outside the body. Gamma rays can pass through a good deal of tissue before being absorbed.
Sometimes, a particular trace element is absorbed by just one organ in the body - for example, iodine is specific to the thyroid gland. So, radioactive iodine can be ingested in food as a radiation source to treat thyroid cancers, because the radiation will not affect other organs in the body. In this case, short-range alpha radiation is used. Alpha rays are actually high energy particles, rather than electromagnetic radiation.
AnswerIt is inoizing radiation that is used to kill cancer cells, and it comes in two "flavors" for our use. One is electromagnetic, like X-rays or gamma rays. The other is particulate, like high energy neutrons, protons and electrons (to name some). The former is broadly applied to treating cancer, and there are a number of approaches as discussed above. We don't use particulate radiation - or at least we didn't, other than alpha particles. Remember that alpha particles don't have much penetration power. A sheet of paper will stop them, and an alpha source must be implanted right on top of a cancerous body to provide effective therapy.The proton is being used now in radiation treatment. It has pretty good penetration power, and it has this very "friendly" plot of its ability to go through tissue. In looking at a beam of protons in proton therapy, protons penetrate outer layers easily, and do some damage. The farther they penetrate, the more damage they do, and the damage increases dramatically. Then it peaks quickly (the so-called Bragg peak) and drops like a rock. There is a very strict limit on the "range" of the particle stream as far as what gets damaged. The beam won't "go through you" like an X-ray or gamma ray. Recall that the difference between those two forms of electromagnetic radiation is that the latter have higher energies and greater power to penetrate tissue.
Note that ionizing radiation doesn't kill every cell it passes through, but it does more damage and is more lethal to cells with "high rates of function" than other cells. That means cells that are "really active" like cancer cells (or cells of the digestive tract, the bone marrow and the hair folicles to name a few) take the most damage.
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What is radiation treatments?
Radiation treatment, or radiation therapy is a form of cancer treatment. It uses high doses of intense energy to kill the cancer cells.
Does radiation kill cancer cells?
Yes
Good things about radiation?
Chemo radiation kill cancer cells.
How does samarium help kill cancer cells?
Samarium doesn't kill cancer cells. A radioactive isotope of samarium (samarium-153) is used in a chemotherapy agent, but it's the radiation, not the samarium, that kills the cancer cells.
Radiation most likely destroys cancer cells by inducing a process called?
Radiation therapy primarily destroys cancer cells through a process called apoptosis, which is programmed cell death. When cancer cells are exposed to high-energy radiation, such as X-rays or gamma rays, it damages the DNA within the cells. This damage can lead to the activation of signaling pathways that trigger apoptosis, causing the cancer cells to die. Radiation therapy is designed to target and kill cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy surrounding tissues. By inducing apoptosis in cancer cells, radiation therapy aims to shrink tumors and reduce the spread of cancer throughout the body.
What is intraoperative radiation?
Radiation during surgery to kill cancer cells that may remain in surrounding tissue after the surgery
What therapies are used to treat vulvar cancer?
Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation from x rays and gamma rays to kill the cancer cells.
What are Radiation sensitizers?
Sensitizers are medications that are given to make cancer cells easier to kill by radiation than normal calls
Why exposure to radioactivity is used as a therapy to treat some kinds of cancer?
Radiation has the capacity to kill cells, both cancer cells and normal cells, but cancer cells are less healthy than normal cells, and they are more easily killed, so radiation can kill cancer cells while not killing the patient (although the patient will suffer side effects). Doctors are always looking for what is known as the "magic bullet" which is something that kills only cancer cells but does not harm normal cells; so far we have not found it. If we do invent a magic bullet, than radiation treatments will no longer be used.
Can radiation kill pancreatic cancer?
When ionising radiation interacts with living cells is usually kills these cells. Thus yes, radiation can kill pancreatic cells that are cancerous. However the radiation will also destroy healthy cells (and destroy the pancreas) so the amount of radiation given has to be low and well targeted. This is difficult to achieve and if any cancerous cells remain alive they will regrow the cancer.
What are the medical uses of alpha radiation and beta radiation?
Gamma Radiation can be used in several ways in the medical industry and there have been many significant advances in this area. They can be used for curing cancers and other illnesses. They are used in a beam and aimed at the cancerous cells in the body. They kill the cells, but often, the gamma radiation will kill living cells, leading to permanent damage and could even prove fatal. Tiny beta capsules can be used to treat cancer. The capsules are injected around the cancer and the beta radiation kills the cancer cells. Radiation is particularly damaging to cells that are in the process of dividing. Cancer cells divide much more often than healthy cells. This means cancer cells tend to be killed while most of the healthy cells are unharmed.
What is intraoperatively?
Radiation during surgery to kill cancer cells that may remain in surrounding tissue after the surgery
