What kind of rays or waves do radation treatment have?\nAre the waves from radaition treatment dangerous?
202753
Yes, the radiation from cancer treatments is very dangerous, but the radiation is directed in such a way that is that it will be more damaging to the cancer cells than to healthy cells.
161597
Refer to an electromagnetic spectrum. \nRadiation is emission and propagation and emission of energy in the form of rays or waves (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=radiation).\nIn other words as long as waves travel there is radiation.\nThere are two types of radiation, the ionizing (harmful) radiation and the non-ionizing (not harmful) radiation.\nYou can see it in a magnetic spectrum. High frequency and low wavelength are those ionizing radiation. High wavelenth and low frequency are those non-ionizing radiation. Penetration of these waves are dependent on their frequencies. High frequencies are able to tranmsmit objects. \nFrom the magnetic spectrum there are different kinds of waves, (from ionizing to non-ionizing) radiowaves, microwaves, infrared, white light, UV, x-rays, gamma rays cosmic rays. These waves travel in a straight line unless scattered by hitting an object or being blocked or interrupted or you know I mean.\nThat's why astronomers detect radiowaves from the outerspace.\nSo if you asked, how does radiant energy reach earth, is simply because they travelled a striaght line from their source.
187383
seems a patient is waiting! do him a favor, send him to someone who knows. however, i am no oncologist but i think quantity of radiation should depend on the site of the tumor, its grade and stage (extent of metastasis), clinical status of the patient, etc. the best way to go about it would be consulting a radiotherapist/ oncologist.
632361
I was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx in the final stages but refused to have my vocal cords removed creating somewhat a delemia with my treating doctor. I was hell bent on saving my voice. After double the dosage of radiation ( enough to kill a perso ) by error and chemo alongwith the same, my cancer came under control. This was in April 2000. The side effects of the radiation have left some scars that will always remain with me - I developed a fistula between my air and food passage making it impossible for me to eat or drink any thing. Even breathing became a problem and an emergency tracheostomy had to be done. The doctors felt that the fistula should be left alone as they normally heal by themselves but not in my case! The overdose had taken its toll. Meanwhile,as I could not eat anything - a peg ( feeding) tube was inserted into my stomach which ment no solids and only liquids. My wife and mother fomulated some really high protien and energy feeds that kept adding to my weight that I had lost and got me back to where I was.\nIts now been five and half years since I last even had a drop of water orally and everything is fed through the peg tube - either by pouring it down , if its totally liquid or by pushing it through the tube as in the form of an injection. I have been told that my fistulas will never heal by themselves and that means I am stuck with a stoma ( not permanent ) and a tube in my stomach - waiting for another miracle. The doctors were / are quite sure my air and food passage can be reconstructed by skin grafting but that would have to be done in phases and that in turn means spending time in the hospital. I have had enough of hospitals and decided to live my life out with the stoma ( for which I created an orator and can speak normally, hands free ) and as I have got pretty used to the peg tube it does not bother me anymore.\nI still carry on with my job as I did pre cancer. I have added a personel gym next to my office where I work out for an hour every evening and go for a four kilometre run/jog every morning. \nI look forward to a new day every day with a lot of positiveness and find myself getting closer to my two teenaged sons and falling in love with my wife all over again. I am no longer the worklaholic that I once was and take time off to be with my family. I have cut down on my travelling at the drop of a hat and rather have someone else do it. I have adopted 25 kids of who some are terminal. I make sure they receive all their medicines, hospital expenses, food and lodging at my expense. I also ensure that they receive a good deal of financial aid as all these kids come from families that cannot afford even one meal a day - let alone three that we all have.\nWell I dont know how long I have left and even though I have been declared cancer free - one never is. I want  lead a full life like I have always led - king size. I have no regrets and no complaints against the cancer. I was chosen to get it- I fought it and am alive for my  sons and wife. I can also relate to others who have /are going through this illness and I think this makes my life complete. Cancer is a teacher of sorts and if you pick up the valuable lessons it teaches you - you can fight it and reap all the benefits of life from it. Benefits that you would never have considered had you not been the chosen one.\nI dont know if this makes any sense - but then each one has/her opinionand I chose cancer as a techer.
393144
Keep in mind, I'm not a nuclear Engineer or a nuclear specialist.  I haven't studied nuclear physics since college 10 years ago.\n\nRadiation in any form is dangerous.  It is just whether the benfits outweigh the potential ill side effects.\n\nRadiation is actually caused by the decay of a radiactive subtance.  Radiation takes three forms, alpha, beta, and gamma radiation.\n\nAlpha radiation consists of 2 protons and 2 neutrons.  Alpha particles are slow and can not penetrate much.  This type of radiation can be stopped by something as thin as a sheet of paper or clothing.\n\nBeta radiation is actually an electron.  While beta radiation penetrates more than alpha radiation, it is still weak.  It can be stopped by thin metals, such as a sheet of foil.\nGamma radiation is the radiation that is very deadly.  Gamma radiation is actually a wave and not a particle.  It can only be stopped by thick layers of dirt, concrete, or lead.\n\nDuring nuclear fallout, a person doesn’t become radioactive per se.  What happens is the dust and particles collected on their clothing emits radiation.  You may have heard of radiation suits.  Radiation suits do not stop radiation, rather their purpose is to prevent radioactive particles from becoming embedded in hair, skin, or clothing.  Once the person gets away from the contaminated area, they wash the suit, disrobe, and (my guess) run like hell.\n\nRadiation sickness is caused by an overdose of radiation.  The danger of radiation is that it kills the cells of any living thing that it strikes.  This can be beneficial in a medical setting like when a radiation beam is used to kill cancer cells in a patient.  However, when a person is exposed to uncontrolled radiation over a prolonged period of time, many of the cells in their body are killed.  Just like anything else, dead things begin to decay and rot.  Radiation sickness is essentially the body becoming poisoned and weak from the loss of cells and decaying cells in their body.\n\nWithout adequate protection during radiation fallout, radioactive particles become ingested, inhaled, and embedded on the skin.  \n\nI hope this helps a little
504292
There are currently limitations for this type of treatment. It seems to work best on small tumors and nodules that are evenly shaped. One of the reasons for this is that a thin wire is threaded into the tumor and than the waves that destroy the tumor will emanate outwards in an even wave. If the tumor is oddly shaped than it is possible that those cancer cells won't be destroyed and can spred.\n\nSo, while RFA is an exciting modality, it is not suitable for all types of cancers or all patients. Much will depend upon location, number of tumors, stage, and size of the tumors to be ablated. It's worth investigating.
321276
I am a Radiation Therapist, so I have a pretty good handle on this one.  Extreme pain and dificulty swallowing ar ethe two most common (and awful) side effects of radiation therapy to the neck area.  Lidocaine spays are sometimes effective but difficult once a patient reaches a certain level of pain.  The most common treatment for this is often called "magic mouthwash".  It can be made up at your local pharmacy but will require a prescription.  It is a mixture of viscous lidocaine (to numb the throat), liquid benadryl (to lessen swelling) and liquid Maalox (to leave a soothing coating.  The effect is temporary (about 2 hours) but will allow him to at least eat some soft foods.   A second option is a painkiller lollipop (really) called Aqtiq. It is just narcotic in a sugar base but has shown some relief to local tissue.  The third suggestion is to get access to a mouth wash with a benzydamine base. This has not been approved in the US but is available in Canada over the counter, so you may be able to order it from an online pharmacy.  I worked on the clinical trial in the US and the benzydamine mouthwash helped to decrease the effect of radiation on the mucosal (inside the mouth and throat) tissue in patients being treated for head and neck cancer with radiation.\n\nAs a side note, your radiation oncology nurse should be carefully monitoring his weight.  If he is unable to take solid food, you should be supplementing his diet with high calorie meal replacement shakes like Ensure. If you can't afford these, very often the company can provide low or no cost supplies while he is being treated.  Please ask your oncology nurse or the department social worker to help you with these resources.  As a last resort, a PEG (feeding tube surgically placed BELOW the area being treated)  can be temporarily placed to allow him to receive adequate nutrition whil ehe is being treated and until the treated area heals.\n\nGood luck.
589197
I did 60 treatments of HBO (hyperbaric oxygen).  Each one was 2 hours long.  I am a brain cancer survivor and it helped to rid me of a particular type of seizure that I was experiencing.  There were many mouth, throat, and tongue cancer patients getting the treatment when I was.  I don't know anything about how it affected them, but I do know that it is now considered malpractice for a doctor to treat a patient for cancer of the mouth/throat/tongue and NOT refer them for HBO.  Glad to hear that it helped you.
469471
yes rays go right through the water  and that is how ppl get sunburned too. good luck and god bless and happy thanksgiving.
599701
Sometimes treatment doesnt work. It didnt work on my dad, he passed away because of lung cancer.  But it did work for my mom, that is a breast cancer survivor.  So it's not up to us or the doctors who are the lucky ones that get to live.
604388
A laser beam is coherent light, meaning the light waves vibrate at the same speed and reach crests and troughs at the same time, which makes the beam a  strong radiation, since radiation is just very energetic waves.  I guess it is pure light energy just in a modified form
632018
the chemicals are mostly the same as any black and white darkroom chemicals, which i have been working with most my life. not a problem. it's the radiation, but the technician is protected from that, so i don't see that radiology is a hazardous occupation at all. in fact it is quite lucrative. go for it.
673377
There is a lot of information out there on the net. . .this is just some things I found - beginning with what the "seed radiation" is:\n\nBrachytherapy, also known as prostate seed implantation or radioactive seed implantation involves placing tiny radioactive pellets ("seeds") directly inside the prostate tumor. Low-dose seeds are implanted permanently and give off radiation for several months before losing their radioactivity. High-dose, or high-energy, seeds are implanted for less than a day and deliver a concentrated dose of radiation to the tumor.\n\nMen whose cancer is confined to the prostate gland are the candidates for this type of treatment\n\nWhen you do your search - try using the search keywords like: prognosis of brachytherapy.  A good website to go to is the National Cancer Institute.
435992
Radiation therapy is often used to treat cancer.  Nuclear energy also produces much power.
265666
In this situation, marrow is systemic, so radiation therapy is not the way to go.  Chemotherapy is the way to go for systemic cancers, metastases, etc... Irradiation is best used for localized tumors, in which the tumor area can be "walled off" with lead shielding and the tumor can be directly irradiated w/o affecting the surrounding healthy tissues.
639217
Good question. Probably not good for you.\n\nI had a groth on my eye for several years that I wouldn't let the doctor surgically remove. Then I got my first computer with a huge Trinitron monitor...Funny thing happened: After 2 months the groth was totally gone. I suspect the radiation from the monitor killed it....That was a GOOD side effect.\n\nBut now I use an LCD monitor, cuz if a regular monitor can do that to the groth I had....Then I'm sure it can do harm as well.
210506
There is a procedure that they can try not painful and it disintegrates the stones your psitting in a tub and they use like micro-waves to zap them, no harm to you and it does work.