Developments in Radiotherapy Techniques and Their Impact on Patients - Essay Example

Developments in Radiotherapy Techniques and Their Impact on Patients DEVELOPMENTS IN RADIOTHERAPY TECHNIQUES AND THEIR IMPACT ON PATIENTS Introduction Radiotherapy techniques are various forms of treating cancer tumors in human bodies. These radiotherapy techniques are associated with side effects, some of which are chronic and others are short lived for around six months. Chronic side effects of radiotherapy have very serious implication on patients. A patient may need hospital admission for sometime for treatment of these radiotherapy side effects while other patients may have long hospitalization due to its fatal effects. In response to this, medical practitioners are modifying the current radiotherapy techniques that have to see the side effects reduced on patients in future. Wallace and Lorrie (2002) observe that fatigue is the most common and severe of all side effects of radiotherapy. Side effects caused because of radiotherapy are so dangerous that some result in serious permanent disabilities, death, or even some short-term side effects to the cancer infected patients who are undergoing radiation. Patients can evade this menace if doctors or radiologists take careful precautions. However, these prevention methods depend on the type of cancer that one is suffering from. It is worth noting that the intensity of side effects of radiotherapy treatment depends on which target tissues the treatment is being directed. The side effects may be minimal according to the type of tissue receiving the treatment. This paper explores the techniques of treating cancer, their side effects and the modifications in place to reduce the impacts on patients in future. The research paper will focus on fatigue, as the most serious side effect in treatment of cancer. Fatigue is the most serious side effect caused by radiotherapy. It is common among patients suffering from cancer, undergoing radiotherapy. This is an observation made by Wallace and Lorrie (2002) in their research. Fatigue has, among many, the following symptoms: loss of energy, being weak, problem of thoughts and being too moody. Fatigue comes because of the following techniques of radiotherapy during prostate cancer treatment. During radiotherapy, most of the cells usually die. This causes destruction of blood vessels around the tumors. This interferes with transport of blood into the tissues. Inadequate oxygen in cells lowers rate of respiration hence low energy quantities in the body. Discussed below are improved radiotherapy techniques, aimed to reduce the said fatigue. 3D conformal radiotherapy uses computer technology and radioisotope to concentrate the high radiation dose to the tumors while deterring the excess radiations from landing on the healthy cells around the cancer-infected tissues in the prostate glands. This helps to treat tumors while preventing damages to the healthy tissues like small blood vessels (Morris 2003, p. 130). This improved technology reduces fatigue as compared to the older techniques. The cells do not die. They continue carrying out there metabolic activities, generating energy through respiration. This guarantees energy supply in the body, saving the body of energy loss (Lilian 2006, p. 50). In this technique also, through its target of the infected cells, the tissues making up the blood vessels around the prostate glands are saved damages from the radiations. They then keep on transporting blood to other tissues and organs around the body. Blood supplies sufficient oxygen in the head, preventing symptoms of fatigue like impaired memory. Image guided radiotherapy is another current measure developed by medical practitioners to reduce long-term side effects body (Mundt et al. 2006, p. 521). The radiographer takes images of the infected part prior to the radiotherapy exercise to guide him on the target cancer cells. Under this technology, the radiographer uses the marks drawn around the tumor in order to prevent stray radiations from falling on untargeted tissues around the infected area (Olver 2011, p. 201). It helps to prevent the swelling of the blood vessels arising from damages from radiations. Swollen vessels malfunction, reducing blood supply to the body tissue around the tumors. These tissues then become weak due to inadequate energy. Image guided radiography helps to ensure that the blood vessels are functioning normally during and after radiotherapy. This reduces fatigue that may arise from pain, exhaustion, inadequate oxygen supply and rigidity that may occur on blood vessels due to swelling (Morris 2003, p. 140). Three Dimension Conformal radiotherapy and Image-guided radiotherapy are similar in a manner that they all target radiations to the infected cells isolating the healthy cells around the tumors. They are also both internal radiotherapy techniques since they direct radiation dose to the tumors found inside the muscles or soft tissues (Julie 2009, p. 36). On the other hand, the above-mentioned radiotherapy techniques have some differences. In 3D conformal radiotherapy, there is use of computer, which directs the radiation dose to the tumor directly without taking the image. In image-guided radiotherapy, the radiographer takes the image of the tumor, which guides the radiations preventing stray radiations from landing on the healthy cells (Tortori-Donati & Rossi 2005, p. 34). 4-Dimensional radiotherapy is a modern improved radiotherapy technique that target mobile tumors, those that shift from place to place. Examples of these tumors are lung cancer, which moves from place to place due to expansion and relaxation of the lungs that comes because of inhalation and exhalation respectively (Meyer 2001, p. 12). This technique reduces the side effects caused by treating the tumors that move from place to place. Before the introduction of this technique of radiotherapy, there used to be, many cells rendered dead because of many stray beams due to movement of tumors in the body. This has reduced fatigue that comes when many cells experience damages in the body. 4-Dimensional radiotherapy technique is similar to 3D conformal radiotherapy and image guided radiotherapy because they all treat internal cancer tumors (Haddad 2010, p. 40). On the other hand, they have some differences. 4-Dimensional radiotherapy is used to treat the mobile tumors while 3D conformal radiotherapy and image guided radiotherapy directs the radiation dose to the stationary tumors while 4-Dimensional radiotherapy targets mobile tumors that move from place to place. 4-Dimensional radiotherapy does not need the radiographer to take the image prior to radiotherapy exercise, while, in Image-guided radiotherapy; the radiographer takes the image of the tumor prior to treatment, which guides him to avoid healthy cells in his target. 3D conformal technique has a dose volume histogram, which measures exact volumes of dose required while 4-dimensional radiotherapy has no such dose volume histogram (Helparine et al. 2013, p. 11). Another technique is the late technique of radiation around the chest called intensity modulated radiotherapy. Other mechanisms to reduce the side effects of radiotherapy treatment in the chest include cardiac-sparing lead block, which lowers the rate at which radiotherapy causes chest side effects. Radiation deepens the heart rendering the modern four-field IMRT technique better treatment method than the latter (Morris 2003, p. 114). This technique treats the cancer tumors in the chest. Four-field IMRT technique reduces future side effects especially fatigue in the body. While being chest radiotherapy, it would have damaged the heart, without current developments, and thus, leading to fatigue. The heart, being the only pumping organ in the body, if damaged gets fatigued and relaxes; this may lead to death (Arnon 2001, p. 396). There are small blood vessels within the cardiac muscles called coronary arteries that supply oxygen to the heart. If damaged, fatigue sets in and the heart fails to function due to inadequate oxygen supply. This heart radiotherapy techniques save the heart of this severe side effect of fatigue (Gerszten & Ryu 2011, p. 4). Proton therapy is another form of radiotherapy, designed to use a beam of protons, which move through the body in low speed releasing little heat energy to the target tumors. Very little stray heat gets to the healthy tissues. Therefore, there is negligible tendency to damage the internal cells (Halperin 2006, p. 680). This method of radiotherapy can only treat external tumors particularly eye cancer. They are not suitable for internal cancer treatment like the liver cancer, lung cancer, pancreas cancer, prostate cancer. This means that reduction of the side effects related to this internal cancer radiotherapy is possible by this technique. This is because while the radiotherapist is targeting the external cancer tumors it is not easy for the radiations to penetrate through the muscles to cause damages to cells (international symposium on special aspects of radiotherapy & Moser 2008, p. 30). This relieves the body of fatigue that may be associated with the damages. There is another simple cancer treatment using beams of electrons. This method is only suitable for treatment of cancer that eats away the outer surface of the body. This arises from the electrons, which do not move very fast in the body tissues; therefore, use of electrons can only treat skin cancer. In this regard, however, this prevention method cannot prevent radiotherapy side effects caused by internal body treatment of cancer. It prevents the side effects, caused by skin cancer radiotherapy. It also prevents fatigue because, unlike other radiations, which penetrate the muscles, use of protons and electrons do not enter deep the muscle to cause damages (John stone & Doris 2001, p. 20). The use of protons and electrons are different from other previously named radiotherapy techniques. This is because protons kill cancer cells by releasing very small amounts of energy while the previously named techniques like image-guided radiotherapy, 4-dimensional radiotherapy and 3D conformal radiotherapy release large amounts of heat energy (Wing-Fai et al. 2010, p. 234). Use of protons and electrons do not treat tumors deep in the muscles while the other mentioned three techniques treat tumors found deep in the muscles. However, they have some similarity that all target infected cancer cells. Sometimes, as radiotherapy treatment is commencing, the shape of the cancer tumors changes or the patient loses body weight, which results in the changes of the body shape. As a result, the initial radiotherapy plan will need to be changed. For these kinds of circumstances, adaptive radiotherapy is used (Lori 1999, p. 40). It is worth noting that physically challenged people have fatigue because they cannot perform physical exercise. Another preventive measure is intensity modulated radiation in which the machines splits the radiations, lowering the radiation dose that would otherwise land on the healthy cells around the tumor. The intensity of radiations in these techniques also varies in different doses, depending on the size of the affected tissues (Mary & Tracy 2002, p. 33). This method forms a concave shape at the radiotherapy region preventing beams of high intensity from falling on untargeted tissues since they would damage them. It is possible some long-term side effects, for example, falling of hair and damages to the spinal cord by this technique of radiotherapy (Hall & Giaccia 2006, p. 310). Three Dimensional Cathode Tube scan images have an application to find the pattern of the strength of the beams that would be suitable for the infected part. This is a plan that may take a little longer time than the previously mentioned techniques. This method of radiotherapy treatment applies to most of the preventive measures of the named side effects (Morris 2003, p. 155). Another form of prevention of radiotherapy side effects is radio-surgery. This program is found at specific places of cancer professionals, uses few fields of the beams with high doses as compared to other forms of radiotherapy. Radio surgery technique has advantages over external beam radiotherapy since it can use the normal type of radiation device, well designed or cyber knife. This method is good for focusing on the damaged place because it concentrates radiation from all the angles than any other type (Halperin 2008, p. 24). This method gives high intensity radiations to the affected regions, but much lower radiations to the surrounding healthy cells, hence heals faster nonetheless safely. Radio surgery prevents side effects during treatment of brain tumors and spinal cord tumors. Support is necessary, for example, the use of mask, to protect the head during brain tumor treatment. Some tumors found inside the body for instance in the lung muscles, in the pancreatic tissues and the liver cells. For these types of tumors, the treatment method is stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (Cooper & Panizzon 2004, p. 102). It is necessary to seek medical advice any time you experience strange conditions while undergoing radiotherapy. Side effects do kill. However, it is worth noting that side effects do not increase infection of cancer by any means. References Arnon, J. Meirow, D. Lewis-Roness, H. & Ornoy, A. 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