strategies implemented to try to slow the progress of the disease as much as possible. This may include hormone therapy to lower testosterone levels (the male hormone testosterone provides the cancer with the means to thrive), chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Early detection of prostate cancer is often a key factor in the prostate cancer treatment options an individual may have open to him, as well as the chance for survival or cure. One of the problems in detection of the disease is that…
a long time, surgical removal was the standard of care, independently of the size, location or histology. However, due to the anatomical limitations, neurosurgical intervention may bear the risk of significant side effects. Over the last decade radiation therapy (RT) has become a valid treatment alternative for the treatment of meningiomas. Especially with the advent of high precision techniques, such as stereotactic radiotherapy or intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Local dose deposition…
Epidemiology of Chemotherapy and Radiation Causing Premature Aging: With the results of cancer treatments that have caused premature aging, Doctor Melissa Hudson of the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital stated that: “cataracts were present in over 20 per cent of those who had received eye radiation, or had been treated with glucocorticoids or busulfan”, and “the presence of heart valve disorders in those aged 40 who had received chest radiation increased in prevalence from 5.7 per cent to…
Collectively the pennies represent a radioactive sample, and each penny is an atom. Because each penny has a 50% chance of decaying it can represent a radioactive atom. When the atoms are grouped together it becomes a sample of a radioactive element. For the simulation to work one has to assume that a coin toss has a 50% chance of landing on heads and a 50% chance of landing on tails. If this is not true then the trial will not be a true half-life because more or less than half of the atoms…
Colon cancer and rectal cancer is considered a disease developed in the tissues of the lower part of the gastrointestinal system. It typically starts in the inner lining of the large intestine as an uncontrolled growth of tissue called polyps. Together they are referred to as Colorectal Cancer. Colon cancer or bowl cancer originates in the terminal part of the large intestine whereas rectal cancer originates in the rectum which is the last portion of the large intestine to the anus. They are…
Introduction Food irradiation has been called “today’s pasteurization,” as the safety and quality benefits it offers are similar to those of pasteurization for milk in the early 1900s. (Palmer). However, there have been pros and cons associated with this process, and its increased use has also increased the debates over its benefits and safety. Economic impact (Pros/Cons) Food irradiation could potentially have a huge positive impact of lowering the costs of food. One of the benefits is a…
I chose the topic of the safety concerns in Radiology because it is a profession that I hope to be into soon. Infants, adults, and other ages in between need to be safe during any form of radiation treatment or procedure. So why are there careless mistakes of people being over exposed to radiation, when it can be so easily prevented? Unborn children are having full “babygram”, which is an x-ray of an infant’s entire body, and leaving sensitive organs exposed with no shielding (Bogdanich & Rebelo…
(photon radiotherapy). One primary difference between the two therapies revolves around the way in which radiation passes through the patient’s body, which has made serious improvements that some people may not be aware of. Photon radiotherapy actually uses radiation with the X-ray beam which passes through the patient’s whole body, while the newer, more beneficial process utilizes radiation to…
works to fight cancer is radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is more effective than non-traditional treatments because it kills cancer for the better, even though it is a little at a time, after therapy in a few weeks or months. Yet it still kills cancer at hand rather than not at all. Depending on how much radiation a doctor uses on a patient, depends on if the cancer cells die and the patient is free of cancer. It all depends on the doses given, “At high doses, radiation kills cancer cells or…
The National Institutes of Health has a printed consensus statement that clearly notes that the ideal treatment for these problems is total removal of the tumor. But there are other options including incomplete removal or stereotactic radiation therapy. Depending on the type of surgery done if the whole tumor is completely removed then the likelihood of it growing back decreases, but there can still be some down fall based on the type of surgery done. Some down falls include complete loss of…