Radiation For Lung Cancer
Radiation For Lung Cancer
Radiation For Lung Cancer Is A Common Treatment Procedure — But It Is Not A Magic Bullet.
All cancers are extremely difficult to combat.A� While it is ingrained in public knowledge that there is medicine for every disease or virus, it is true that the majority of sicknesses are fought off naturally by the body’s immune system and the pills we pop only give it a little push.A� When it comes to the major illnesses that top the common reasons for death, however, it takes more than a medication regimen to be brought back to health.A� Cancer in particular is a virulent and nefarious condition, as it is rarely controlled by the human body’s defenses.A� When it comes to common cancers, most notably those in the lungs, a treatment of radiation for lung cancer may be one of the few remaining options.
The first option for any tumor, regardless of the location, is chemotherapy.A� Not all individuals want to have their vitality and lifestyle weakened by the drugs, however, and elect for other options.A� A surgical removal of a tumor can be a cure, but is no guarantee.A� Radiation treatments are not last resorts, but are usually used less commonly than chemotherapy or surgery.A� The majority of radiation treatments are high intensity X-rays, no different than those used to analyze broken bones.A� At higher power, however, these radio waves are destructive to cellular life (hence the reason for protection of the genitalia during normal x-rays), and as cancer cells divide more rapidly than their contemporaries, they will be hardest hit.
Radiation for lung cancer may not be a stand alone procedure.A� Some oncologists will use it in combination with surgery to make it less likely that any tissue not removed will cause further spread.A� Likewise it may be used after an operation to “clean up” whatever areas may still be infected.A� Radiation procedures are not one and done functions, however, and a cancer patient must have the treatment administered to the same area for weeks or even months to ensure cancer cells are killed off.A� Some doctors prescribe more intensity over less time; the results have shown some favor but are not yet incontrovertible amongst the medical community.