How Radiation Therapy is used to Fight Cancer
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to destroy cancer cells and to shrink tumors. Normal cells are killed during radiation therapy too, but they are usually able to recover fully. Radiation therapy can consist of different types, which can treat a variety of areas small, large, deep, or shallow. Radiation therapy is very common, and on average half of cancer patients are treated with ionizing radiation.
Radiation therapy can be internal, external, or systemic. External is the simplest type, given using a machine outside the body. Often with external radiation therapy the patient does not need to stay in the hospital any longer than the time the treatment takes. External radiation therapy does not make the patient radioactive, so they do not need to worry about staying away from others. Internal radiation therapy is inserted in the body near the tumor in a certain dose that dissolves. Internal radiation therapy will make patients radioactive near the area where the ionizing radiation was implanted. Because the patient will be radioactive for a short time they are sometimes kept in the hospital and during that time those visiting need to take precautions. Systemic radiation therapy is given by mouth or injection. This type of radiation therapy also make the patient slight radioactive, so precautions are sometimes necessary.
There is a team required to take care of just one patient. The oncologist comes up with the treatment plan. The dosimetrist is trained to figure out the correct dose. The radiation physicist makes sure the machines that are used for external radiation therapy are working correctly and that the right amount of radiation is being delivered. Finally, the radiation therapist is the person who actually gives the radiation treatment.
Learn more about hiring a radiation therapist.
Source:
- National Cancer Institute (2004, August 25) Radiation Therapy for Cancer: Questions and answers. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/therapy/radiation
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