Treatment of Cancer with Radiation Therapy:
Radiation therapy is also known as radiotherapy. It is a type of cancer treatment that uses high-energy radiation to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. This therapy is used to treat different types of cancer. A radiation oncologist specializes in giving radiation therapy to treat cancer. Many different forms of cancer can be treated with radiation treatment, which can also be used with chemotherapy or surgery. With the help of this therapy, cancer cells stop growing and are destroyed. There are basically two types of radiation therapy: external beam radiation therapy and internal radiation therapy. In this article, you will learn about how radiation therapy helps treat cancer.
How does radiation therapy help treat cancer?
Cancer develops in the body when healthy cells undergo changes and if there is uncontrolled growth of the cells. The cancer cells grow, divide, and multiply faster than normal cells. Radiation therapy damages the DNA of the cancer cells and stops them from growing and getting destroyed. Radiation therapy affects only the target area of the body, where the cancer cells are located, and not the whole body. During the treatment, some of the healthy cells also get damaged, but they heal when the treatment is completed. This therapy does not immediately kill cancer cells. This treatment takes weeks to kill cancer cells, and the cancer cells keep dying for months after the radiation therapy is completed.
The radiation therapy is given to the cancer patients according to the type of cancer they have or how much it has spread. This radiation therapy can be given along with other different treatments to treat cancer. This therapy depends on many factors, such as the type of cancer, size of the tumor, location of the tumor, closeness of the tumor to the other normal tissues, your medical history, your age, etc.
Types of radiation therapy:
In external-beam radiation therapy, radiation is delivered from a machine outside the body. This machine sends radiation to the target area of the body from different directions. The therapy affects the tumor and avoids the surrounding healthy tissues, which are located nearby. This therapy is given to patients for several weeks. External therapy is of different types, such as:
Internal radiation therapy is also known as brachytherapy. In this radiation therapy, radioactive materials like seeds, ribbons, or capsules are kept in the cancer cells or the surrounding tissue. This is the permanent implant.
In systemic radiation therapy, this type of radiation therapy can be given through a vein via an IV line or through an injection. After this therapy, your body fluids give off radiation via urine, saliva, and sweat.
What are the side effects of radiation therapy?
The majority of cancer patients receive radiation therapy over a number of sessions, and they do not get the full dose at once. So, during sessions, your tissues get time to recover, which reduces side effects. However, patients report vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, nausea, headaches, skin irritation, hair loss, mouth sores, decreased appetite, and pain in the throat when swallowing.
Radiation therapy helps treat cancer in the body. But like other treatments, this therapy also causes side effects such as skin changes, discomfort, etc. There is a risk of developing a second cancer after undergoing this therapy. In the majority of cases, radiation therapy removes the existing cancer.
What Things Should You Know About Thyroid Cancer?
Thyroid cancer is a cancer that starts in the thyroid, which is a butterfly-shaped gland found at the base of the neck. It makes hormones that help control the body’s temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, weight, and blood flow. In the beginning, this cancer did not show any symptoms or causes. But when it grows slowly, it is very dangerous. Small thyroid cancer can be diagnosed through CT and MRI scans, and it can be cured with treatment. The thyroid cancer treatment is available in the cancer hospital. Treatment options for thyroid cancer are surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, and radioiodine therapy. In this blog, you will learn about the symptoms and treatment options for thyroid cancer.
Thyroid Cancer Symptoms:
The symptoms of thyroid cancer include the following:
Risk Factors for Thyroid Cancer:
Generally, the risk factors for thyroid cancer are low iodine intake, obesity, an enlarged thyroid, if you have a family history of thyroid cancer or thyroiditis, if there is exposure to radioactive rays from nuclear weapons, gene mutations, which also cause endocrine diseases, and if you have had radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.
Thyroid Cancer Types:
The different types of cancer cells include:
This type of thyroid cancer is also known as differentiated thyroid cancer. It can happen at any age, but it most commonly affects people between the ages of 30 and 50.This type of cancer is small, and it spreads to the lymph nodes in the neck. But it is curable and rarely fatal.
Follicular thyroid cancer is a type of cancer that affects people who are older than 50 years. It generally occurs in people who don’t get enough iodine in their diet. Generally, this cancer does not spread to lymph nodes, but it spreads to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or bones.
This aggressive type of thyroid cancer grows quickly and is very hard to treat. It affects people over the age of 60 and causes severe symptoms such as neck swelling as well as difficulty breathing and swallowing.
This type of cancer basically occurs in people who have a family history of thyroid disease. Genetic mutation is the major cause of this disease. It generally begins in the group of thyroid cells known as C cells. The C-cells produce calcitonin, and this hormone helps to control the level of calcium in the blood at an early stage.
Treatment Options for Thyroid Cancer:
The treatments for thyroid cancer include:
In this therapy, the doctor gives the patient a pill or liquid to swallow that contains a higher dose of radioactive iodine. This radioiodine will destroy the thyroid cancer cells, and the thyroid gland will absorb all the radioiodine. This therapy is completely safe for the patient.
In this therapy, a machine is used in external radiation therapy to deliver energy beams to the tumor spot. And placing the radioactive seeds in or around the tumor is known as “internal radiation therapy.” This radiation not only prevents cancer cell growth but also kills them.
In chemotherapy, intravenous or oral chemotherapy medicines helps to stop cancer growth as well as kill cancer cells.
In this therapy, it blocks the release of hormones therapy that are causing cancer to spread in the body.
In the surgery, the surgeon will either remove part of your thyroid gland or the entire gland. This treatment is determined by the size and location of the tumor.
The thyroid cancer is fully curable, and the treatment stops the cancer cells from growing and spreading in different parts of the body. If the treatment does not cure thyroid cancer, it will prevent the cancer cells from spreading.