Radiation Therapy Side Effects & Complications Website - Welcome
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One thing is for certain when it comes to causes of hair loss, and that is that 99% of men and women who undergo radiation treatments for disease, such as chemotherapy, will lose their hair.
There is a specific reason for this side effect. When a person is going through chemotherapy, this treatment is designed to attack cells in the body that are rapidly dividing, such as cancer. However, the cancer cells are not the only ones that get affected. Radiation affects the entire body and since it targets all cells that rapidly divide, the hair follicles are also attacked because they too split and divide at a fast pace. Any cells that are producing hair follicles are immediately shut down. The specific term for this type of hair loss is called “anagen effluvium”.
Radiation therapy for cancer treatment is three-step process that includes three-dimensional imaging technology, computerized treatment planning and high-energy x-ray machines. Uses of high-energy radiations in the treatment are necessary to destroy cancer cells and to stop their further growth in the body. There are mainly two types of the radiation that are photon radiations and particle radiation. In photon radiation, X-rays and gamma rays are used. Where as other type of the radiation includes electrons, photons, neutrons, radiations. However, common types of Radiation therapy for cancer treatment are high-energy photons, electron beams, protons and neutrons.
The long-term side effects of radiation therapy are occurred according to the type of treatments patient receives. While taking treatment of radiation therapy, a patient has to suffer from long term side effects like those that swelling named as edema. In this swelling, because of the general inflammation, there is an occurrence of the swelling of soft tissues.
Therefore, there is a large possibility while taking the radiation treatment for brain tumors and brain metaphases, when there is pre-existing rising of intracranial pressure. Also there is a large possibilty of obstruction of the lumen like treacha or bronchus by the tumor. So surgical intervention should be take place before radiation threapy.
The fast facts about radiation therapy mainly give emphasis to record of patient, which is cured by the radiation therapy. The proportion like two- third of all cancer patients takes the treatment of radiation therapy at the time of their illness. Last year in 2004, almost one million patients are diagnosed by the radiation therapy. In the year 2004, approximately thousands of hospitals and freestanding radiation centers facilitate millions of patients by radiation therapy. Radiation is also used to treat several diseases, such as thyroid problems, heart disorders and non-cancerous tumors.
As far as history of radiation therapy is concerned, this therapy is used to diagnose, control and cure the cancer disease from more than hundred years. The main key component of this history of radiation therapy is the x-rays, which are discovered in 1895. The German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen is the inventor of the concept like therapeutic radiation and he invented such radiative threapy when he discovered that the dangerous disease like cancer could be treated and prevented by using a powerful and sensitive x-rays.
Chemotherapy is necessary for some types of cancer. This is a form of treatment that may save a life, but has serious side affects. One of the known side effects is hair loss. When using chemotherapy, a person may have hair loss for up to five months following the treatment. It is usually temporary and the hair will grow back over time. If you normally have fast hair growth, then your hair should do the same after treatment.
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy is a medical way to kill or damage cancer cells. High energized x-rays are bombarded on the cancer tumor so as to eliminate it. Radiations are created to dismiss the cancer cells. Precautions for radiation therapy is a must do thing within the treatment.
Radiation therapy is specially developed technological medical treatment. Many precautions for radiation therapy are suggested. Research is still going on the use of radiation in medical treatment. There are many applications of radiation therapy.
The sealed source radiation therapy is renamed as a Brachytherapy. It is also known as endocurietherapy. This sealed source radiation therapy is type of radiation therapy where the radioactive resources are kept in placed within the area of the body organ to which radiation treatment is needed. This sealed source radiation therapy is generally utilized in the treatment to cure cancer like prostate cancer and used to cure cancers related to head and neck. This radiation therapy is also known as short distance therapy.
Radiation therapy is useful in many medical tests. Radiation therapy is mainly used for the treatment of cancer. It is the technique of projecting high energy x-rays on the cancer cells to eliminate them. Radiation therapist is a part of medical oncology team who does the radiation therapy on the given patient.
Patient preparation by radiation therapists is an important part of therapy process. The therapist handles the machine and the patient too. Radiation therapist’s work starts once the specialist decides that the patient has to undergo radiation therapy as a part of treatment.
There are many types of radiations therapy to kill tumor cells. These types are either external beam source or internal beam sources. Because of various types of radiation, treatment planning in radiation therapy is necessary. Planning is important to determine amount and type of the radiations for the treatment.
If the patient is going to be treated with external beam therapy, simulation test is to be conducted first. This test determines exact location of the tumor and focusing area of the radiations. During the simulation process, patient needs to lie still on the examining table, while radiation therapist decides treatment area with the help of x-ray machine.
