Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons, to destroy or damage cancer cells. Your cells normally grow and divide to form new cells. But cancer cells grow and divide faster than most normal cells.
Why are X-rays used in imaging?
You likely have had x-rays before. X-rays, formally referred to as radiographs, are common imaging procedures ordered by healthcare providers and dentists. X-ray machines pass x-ray beams (a form of ionizing radiation) through a part of the body to produce images of the tissue, organs, bones, or teeth inside. These images allow healthcare providers and dentists to see if …
How is radiation used in medical imaging?
· X-rays, on account of their high frequency, carry more energy and have high tissue penetration, which is why they are the type of radiation used in medical imaging. Radiation is measured in units called radiation absorbed dose (rad) and Gray.
Do the benefits of X-rays outweigh radiation risk?
· A medical x-ray produces a picture that can help find broken bones, tumors and foreign objects in the body. X-rays are also used in other types of examinations and procedures, including CT scans, mammograms and fluoroscopy. Medical x-rays, dental x-rays, and mammograms use relatively low amounts of radiation.
What are X-rays and gamma rays used for?
Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) is a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. At low doses, radiation is used in x-rays to see inside your body, as with x-rays of your teeth or broken bones.
Why are X-rays used for radiotherapy?
What is radiation therapy? Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons, to destroy or damage cancer cells. Your cells normally grow and divide to form new cells. But cancer cells grow and divide faster than most normal cells.
Does radiotherapy use X-rays?
Radiation therapy most often uses X-rays, but protons or other types of energy also can be used. The term "radiation therapy" most often refers to external beam radiation therapy.
Why are X-rays commonly used in cancer diagnosis?
X-rays use a small amount of radiation that passes through the body and creates a digital image of bones, organs and tissues. They help doctors diagnose, monitor and plan treatments for many conditions, including some cancers.
At what stage of cancer is radiotherapy used?
Radiotherapy may be used in the early stages of cancer or after it has started to spread. It can be used to: try to cure the cancer completely (curative radiotherapy) make other treatments more effective – for example, it can be combined with chemotherapy or used before surgery (neo-adjuvant radiotherapy)
How many sessions of radiotherapy is normal?
Most people have 5 treatments each week (1 treatment a day from Monday to Friday, with a break at the weekend). But sometimes treatment may be given more than once a day or over the weekend.
How are gamma rays used in radiotherapy?
Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, uses high-energy gamma rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours. Gamma Knife Radiosurgery is a special form of radiotherapy. It uses beams of gamma rays to treat injured brain tissue by damaging the DNA of dangerous cells.
Can cancer spread during radiotherapy?
There are preclinical and clinical reports showing that focal radiotherapy can both increase the development of distant metastasis, as well as that it can induce the regression of established metastases through the abscopal effect.
Do tumors grow back after radiation?
Northeastern researchers may have discovered why some tumors grow back aggressively after radiation, chemotherapy. Many of the commonly used cancer treatments, such as radiation or chemotherapy, kill tumor cells.
Can radiotherapy cure cancer?
When used to treat cancer, radiation therapy can cure cancer, prevent it from returning, or stop or slow its growth. When treatments are used to ease symptoms, they are known as palliative treatments.
Why are X-rays used in medical imaging?
X-rays, on account of their high frequency, carry more energy and have high tissue penetration, which is why they are the type of radiation used in medical imaging. Radiation is measured in units called radiation absorbed dose (rad) and Gray.
What is the radiation in a radiograph?
Radiation is the transmission of energy through space. There is typically a source of the radiation, a radiation beam, and some material which absorbs the radiation. In diagnostic radiography, the X-ray device is the source of radiation and it emits a radiation beam that is absorbed by the patient. What are the different types of radiation? And why are X-rays preferred for use in medical imaging?
What type of radiation is emitted by tritium?
Beta particles are emitted by tritium and carbon-14 which is used to date fossils and archeological artifacts. The third type of particulate radiation is a neutron. It is present in the nucleus of an atom and does not have a charge. Neutrons are emitted in nuclear reactors.
Why is particulate radiation not used in medical imaging?
Particulate radiation is not useful in medical imaging due to its low tissue penetrability. Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) has no mass or charge and consists of waves or matter-less packets of energy called photons that move through space at the speed of light. EMR can penetrate matter and can be blocked by dense materials such as concrete and lead. These properties make this type of radiation useful in diagnostic medicine. They can show broken bones or locate tumors. Shielding with dense materials like lead makes it possible to prevent exposure of the patient’s sensitive organs. Radiologic technologists wear lead aprons to protect themselves from radiation exposure.
What is the first type of particulate radiation?
The first type of particulate radiation is the alpha particle. It consists of a pair of protons and a pair of neutrons. It has a positive charge and is the heaviest type of radiation particle. Alpha parti cles are emitted by radioactive materials such as uranium and thorium that occur naturally in the earth.
What are the two types of radiation?
There are two major types of radiation – particulate and electromagnetic. Both types transfer energy to the matter with which they interact. Parti culate radiation is emitted by linear accelerators from the decay of radioactive materials.
What are the two types of light in the EMR spectrum?
In between the two ends are microwaves, infrared light, visible light, and ultraviolet light , which have increasingly higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths, respectively.
Why do doctors use x-rays?
From broken bones to life threatening illnesses, x-rays help doctors find and treat medical conditions. Specially trained doctors can read these images to diagnose medical conditions or injuries. Different imaging procedures expose patients to different amounts of radiation.
What is the purpose of X-rays?
A medical x-ray produces a picture that can help find broken bones, tumors and foreign objects in the body. X-rays are also used in other types of examinations and procedures, including CT scans, mammograms and fluoroscopy. Medical x-rays, dental x-rays, and mammograms use relatively low amounts of radiation.
How does fluoroscopy work?
Fluoroscopy uses x-rays to show movement in real-time. It can show the movement of a body part, like the beating of a heart, or the path taken by a medical instrument or dye (contrast agent) as it moves through the body. Unlike conventional x-rays, fluoroscopy uses an intermittent, pulsed x-ray beam that is passed through the body. The images are sent to a monitor where doctors can see the body part and its motion in real-time. The total radiation exposure from x-rays depends on the length of time of the fluoroscopic procedure and how often the x-ray beam is used. Fluoroscopy is used in many types of examinations and procedures, including:
How does radiation work in dental xrays?
During a dental x-ray, radiation passes through your cheek and gums and creates an image using the special x-ray film clamped between your teeth. Some x-ray machines create a digital image instead of using film. Conventional dental x-rays use a small amount of radiation to take the pictures.
What is a mammogram?
A mammogram is an x-ray picture of breast tissue that is used to detect breast cancer. There are two kinds of mammograms, screening and diagnostic. Screening mammograms are used to check healthy women with no signs of disease. Screening mammograms use very small doses of x-ray radiation. Diagnostic mammograms are helpful when there are some symptoms of breast cancer. Diagnostic mammograms often include more than a single x-ray. X-rays from multiple angles are needed, therefore patients who have diagnostic mammograms are exposed to more radiation. The risk of not having a needed mammogram is greater than the risks from radiation. Mammograms are a valuable tool in the early detection of breast cancer.
What is a CT scan?
Computed tomography scans (also known as CT scans, CAT scans, or computed axial tomography scans) are x-ray procedures that create cross-sectional views and three-dimensional images of a patient's internal organs. When a person has a CT scan, many x-rays are taken at nearly the same time.
How to avoid duplicate xrays?
When an x-ray is taken, fill out the card with the date and type of exam, referring doctor, and the name and address of where the images are kept . Maintaining and referring to this record can help you avoid unnecessary duplicate x-rays. Keep a record card for everyone in your family.
How does radiation help cancer?
When radiation is combined with surgery, it can be given: 1 Before surgery, to shrink the size of the cancer so it can be removed by surgery and be less likely to return. 2 During surgery, so that it goes straight to the cancer without passing through the skin. Radiation therapy used this way is called intraoperative radiation. With this technique, doctors can more easily protect nearby normal tissues from radiation. 3 After surgery to kill any cancer cells that remain.
Why do people with cancer need radiation?
Why People with Cancer Receive Radiation Therapy. Radiation therapy is used to treat cancer and ease cancer symptoms . When used to treat cancer, radiation therapy can cure cancer, prevent it from returning, or stop or slow its growth. When treatments are used to ease symptoms, they are known as palliative treatments.
What is intraoperative radiation therapy?
During surgery, so that it goes straight to the cancer without passing through the skin. Radiation therapy used this way is called intraoperative radiation.
What is the treatment for cancer pain?
Pain from cancer that has spread to the bone can be treated with systemic radiation therapy drugs called radiopharmaceuticals.
What is brachytherapy with liquid source?
Learn more about brachytherapy. Internal radiation therapy with a liquid source is called systemic therapy. Systemic means that the treatment travels in the blood to tissues throughout your body, seeking out and killing cancer cells.
What is targeted radiotherapy?
Another type of systemic radiation therapy, called targeted radionuclide therapy, is used to treat some patients who have advanced prostate cancer or gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (GEP-NET). This type of treatment may also be referred to as molecular radiotherapy.
What is the best radiation treatment for thyroid cancer?
A systemic radiation therapy called radioactive iodine, or I-131, is most often used to treat certain types of thyroid cancer.
Why are gamma and x-rays the same?
Because X-rays and gamma rays have the same properties and health effects , they are grouped together in this document. Both x-rays and gamma rays are forms of high-frequency ionizing radiation, which means they have enough energy to remove an electron from (ionize) an atom or molecule. Ionized molecules are unstable and quickly undergo chemical ...
How does radiation affect cells?
If ionizing radiation passes through a cell in the body, it can lead to mutations (changes) in the cell’s DNA, the part of the cell that contains its genes (blueprints). Sometimes this causes the cell to die, but sometimes it can lead to cancer later on. The amount of damage caused in the cell is related to the dose of radiation it receives. The damage takes place in only a fraction of a second, but other changes such as the beginning of cancer may take years to develop.
What type of radiation is cancer?
But when talking about radiation and cancer risk, it is often x-rays and gamma rays that people think about.
What is the absorbed dose of radiation?
Doses of radiation. Radiation exposure can be expressed in certain units. The absorbed dose is the amount of energy deposited per unit of mass. Most often this is measured in grays (Gy). A milligray (mGy), which is 1/1000th of a Gy, may also be used.
Is gamma radiation man made?
But this type of radiation can also be man-made. X-rays and gamma rays are created in power plants for nuclear energy, and are also used in smaller amounts for medical imaging tests, cancer treatment, food irradiation, and airport security scanners.
Is gamma ray ionizing?
Gamma rays and x-rays aren’t the only kinds of ionizing radiation. Some types of ultraviolet (UV) radiation are also ionizing. Ionizing radiation can also exist in particle form, such as protons, neutrons, and alpha and beta particles.
What is the purpose of radiation oncology?
Radiation oncologists use radiation therapy to destroy cancer cells and slow tumor growth while limiting the harm to nearby healthy tissue.
How often is radiation given?
Most treatments are given every weekday for several weeks. Form-fitting supports or plastic mesh masks are used for radiation therapy to the head, neck, or brain to help people stay still during treatment. The types of external-beam radiation therapy are: Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT).
What is a doctor who specializes in radiation therapy called?
A doctor who specializes in giving radiation therapy to treat cancer is called a radiation oncologist. A radiation therapy regimen, or schedule, usually consists of a specific number of treatments given over a set period.
What is IGRT radiation?
This refers to the practice of using daily images of each treatment field to confirm patient positioning and make sure the target is in the field. These daily images are compared to the images used to plan treatment. IGRT allows your doctor to make each treatment field smaller. This allows better targeting of the tumor and helps reduce damage to healthy tissue.
What is the treatment for cancer that is not possible to destroy?
When it is not possible to destroy all the cancer, doctors may use radiation therapy to shrink tumors and relieve symptoms. This is called palliative radiation therapy. Palliative radiation therapy may reduce pressure, pain, and other symptoms. The goal is to improve a person’s quality of life.
How to avoid radiation?
Similarly, people who have had systemic radiation therapy should use safety precautions. For the first few days after treatment, take these safety measures: 1 Wash your hands thoroughly after using the toilet. 2 Use separate utensils and towels. 3 Drink plenty of fluids to flush the remaining radioactive material from the body. 4 Avoid sexual contact. 5 Try to avoid contact with infants, children, and pregnant women
How long does radiation stay in your body?
The radiation stays in the body for anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Most people receive radiation therapy for just a few minutes. Sometimes, people receive internal radiation therapy for more time. If so, they stay in a private room to limit other people's exposure to the radiation.
Why do doctors recommend radiation therapy?
If your cancer care team recommends radiation treatment, it’s because they believe that the benefits you’ll get from it will outweigh the possible side effects. Still, this is your decision to make. Knowing as much as you can about the possible benefits and risks can help you be sure that radiation therapy is best for you.
What is radiation therapy?
Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons, to destroy or damage cancer cells .
How is radiation given?
Radiation therapy can be given in 3 ways: 1 External radiation (or external beam radiation): uses a machine that directs high-energy rays from outside the body into the tumor. It’s done during outpatient visits to a hospital or treatment center. It's usually given over many weeks and sometimes will be given twice a day for several weeks. A person receiving external radiation is not radioactive and does not have to follow special safety precautions at home. 2 Internal radiation: Internal radiation is also called brachytherapy. A radioactive source is put inside the body into or near the tumor. With some types of brachytherapy, radiation might be placed and left in the body to work. Sometimes it is placed in the body for a period of time and then removed. This is decided based on the type of cancer. Special safety precautions are needed for this type of radiation for a period of time. But it's important to know if the internal radiation is left in the body, after a while it eventually is no longer radioactive. 3 Systemic radiation: Radioactive drugs given by mouth or put into a vein are used to treat certain types of cancer. These drugs then travel throughout the body. You might have to follow special precautions at home for a period of time after these drugs are given.
What is the treatment for cancer that has returned?
To treat cancer that has returned (recurred) If a person's cancer has returned (recurred), radiation might be used to treat the cancer or to treat symptoms caused by advanced cancer. Whether radiation will be used after recurrence depends on many factors.
Why do people get radiation to their head?
This is done to help prevent cancer from spreading to the head even before it can.
How does cancer spread?
Cancer can spread from where it started to other body parts. Doctors often assume that a few cancer cells might already have spread even when they can’t be seen on imaging scans like CT scans or MRIs. In some cases, the area where the cancer most often spreads to may be treated with radiation to kill any cancer cells before they grow into tumors. For instance, people with certain kinds of lung cancer may get radiation to the head, even when there is no cancer known to be there, because their type of lung cancer often spreads to the brain. This is done to help prevent cancer from spreading to the head even before it can. Sometimes, radiation to prevent future cancer can be given at the same time that radiation is given to treat existing cancer, especially if the area the cancer might spread to is close to the tumor itself.
What is the best treatment for cancer?
Radiation may be used by itself in these cases to make the cancer shrink or completely go away. In some cases, chemotherapy or other anti-cancer drugs may be given first. For other cancers, radiation may be used before surgery to shrink the tumor ...
How do X-rays help cancer?
During cell division, a cell’s DNA is exposed and vulnerable to X-ray damage. Therefore, cancer cells are easier targets for X-rays. Depending on the type of cancer, doctors will come up with a specific treatment pattern that will allow the normal cells to remain undamaged or to recover from the treatment. For example, cancers that are located deep inside the body receive treatment that is designed so X-rays enter the body from different angles, and the patient receives radiation on different treatment days. By doing this, the X-rays focus on the cancer cells, while the surrounding normal cells get much less damage.
How often do people get radiation therapy?
Radiation therapy is an important cancer treatment. At least half of the cancer patients in the United States receive radiation therapy every year. X-rays are often used in radiation therapy. How are X-rays produced? How do we use X-rays to treat cancer? This article answers these questions and explains the physics behind radiation therapy.
What is radiation oncology team?
Radiation Oncology Team: ↑ A group of medical professionals helping treat patients with radiation.
What is cancer caused by?
Cancer: ↑ A disease caused by uncontrolled growth and division of abnormal cells.
Can radiation cause hair loss?
Because radiation can damage normal cells, there are some side effects related to the treatment. The most common side effects include hair loss and skin discomfort. Patients also get tired easily throughout the treatment. Treating cancer is not easy and most of the time, a combination of treatment methods must be used to achieve the best results. Sometimes, however, cancer treatment may still fail. There are still many unanswered questions in the field of cancer treatment, and doctors and scientists are studying and doing research to continue to find better solutions.
Can X-rays be seen?
X-rays are a type of light that cannot be seen by humans the way blue and red light can. Due to their high energy, X-rays can penetrate deeply into—or even go right through—human bodies. Just like clear or partially tinted glasses are transparent to visible light, most parts of the human body are transparent to X-rays.
Can radiation be used to treat cancer?
Patients who receive radiation therapy using X-rays produced by a LINAC do not become radioactive—they do not emit radiation. The source of radiation, the LINAC, is always outside the patient’s body, which is why radiation will not be emitted from within the patient’s body. To treat some types of cancer, instead of using a LINAC, radiation may be given to a patient using an implanted device. In such cases, when the source of radiation is inside the patient, the patient can emit radiation. These patients must usually follow specific instructions from their physicians about how to resume daily life after radiation therapy. For example, some patients may have to wait a few weeks before holding a baby, or may not be able to travel on an airplane without a doctor’s letter.
How to treat cancer with radiation?
Radiation treatments may be done with a number of different goals in mind depending on the stage and location of your cancer. Goals may include: 1 To lower the risk of recurrence after surgery (called adjuvant therapy) 2 To decrease the size of a tumor before surgery (called neoadjuvant therapy) 3 To relieve the symptoms of cancer, such as bone pain from bone metastases
How does radiation affect tissue?
The ionizing energy of radiation therapy will affect the target area, as well as a margin of normal tissue around the target. 1 In order to avoid exposing healthy tissue to radiation, accurate positioning is essential. Radiation technicians use skin markings (radiation tattoos) and port films to ensure that the treatments will be aimed accurately. Even though radiation therapy has improved greatly in recent years so that there is less damage to healthy tissue, this is dependent on the radiation reaching its target, something that can change.
What is radiation therapy for cancer?
Understanding Radiation for Cancer. Radiation treatments may be done with a number of different goals in mind depending on the stage and location of your cancer. Goals may include: To lower the risk of recurrence after surgery (called adjuvant therapy) To decrease the size of a tumor before surgery (called neoadjuvant therapy) ...
What is a radiation port film?
Learn about our Medical Review Board. Doru Paul, MD. on November 18, 2019. A radiation port film or portal image is an X-ray that is taken to ensure that radiation targets a tumor or tumor cavity while minimizing exposure to healthy tissues. During breast radiation, your radiation oncologist will check a radiation port film ...
Why is respiratory gating used?
The technique of respiratory gating was developed to reduce the amount of radiation reaching the heart. In order to move the heart out of place, a person takes a deep breath and holds it while the radiation is given.
How long does radiation therapy take?
Radiation therapy is not painful and takes only a few minutes—but the actual treatment sessions take 15 to 45 minutes, due to the radiation therapist needing to ensure you are positioned properly.
Can radiation be absorbed through a porthole?
Only a small beam of sunlight can come through a porthole, and only a specific amount of radiation will be beamed at a targeted area of your body. The skin over your tumor site is the porthole through which radiation enters your breast.
Why do we need X-rays?
You might have an X-ray for a number of reasons: They are used to help doctors look for cancer in the bones, lungs, stomach, kidneys or breasts , for example. A mammogram is a type of X-ray. They are also used to see how some treatments are working and to help plan for surgery, and they can help doctors place catheters and stents ...
What is X-ray imaging?
This page was updated on May 21, 2021. An X-ray is a common imaging test that takes pictures of the inside of the body. X-rays use a small amount of radiation that passes through the body and creates a digital image of bones, organs and tissues. They help doctors diagnose, monitor and plan ...
What is the name of the doctor who examines X-rays?
After it passes through the body, the X-ray hits a special detector that creates the image on a computer (digital image). A radiologist , a doctor trained in evaluating imaging scans, will examine the X-ray and interpret the findings.
How long does it take to take an X-ray?
It’s important to hold still while the X-ray is being taken. You may hear a click or a buzzing sound. It usually takes less than a second to take the X-ray, and the procedure is painless.
What to take off for X-ray?
You’ll take off clothes that are on the part of your body that will be X-rayed. You may need to remove jewelry, eyeglasses and metal items as well, so they don’t show up in the X-ray. Depending on what part of your body will be X-rayed, you may wear a hospital gown.
What is contrast study?
Contrast studies are special kinds of X-ray tests that use iodine or barium to get organs to show up better and in more detail. You will need to take the “contrast medium” before the test, and you may be asked to swallow a liquid, get an injection or have an enema, depending on the kind of test. For example:
Why do lungs look black on X-rays?
Fat and muscle absorb less, so they show up in different shades of gray. The lungs look black because they are filled with air.
