As the name implies, radiotherapy is a treatment that kills cancer cells through the killing effect of radiation. The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you are getting into. The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you are doing.
The first thing to understand is that the “radiation” used in radiation therapy is mainly high-energy beams or particle beams, such as X-rays, gamma rays, electrons, or protons. They can destroy and damage tumor cells.
There are 3 forms of radiation therapy
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The first is called external radiation, which is the mode of radiation therapy that is usually used most often. You are treated in a radiation treatment room, where the equipment will shoot a high-energy beam of radiation into the tumor, which will only work on the cells for a few seconds. This beam passes quickly through the body and is absorbed by a special protective barrier placed around you.
After receiving external radiation therapy, you do not carry radioactive material on your body, so you do not have to worry about affecting others.
The second type is called internal radiation, which is radioactive material confined in a closed body and implanted next to or inside the tumor. Internal radiation therapy can be divided into high-dose and low-dose. In high-dose internal radiation therapy, a very radioactive source is placed into the body, treated for a few minutes at a time, and then taken out; in low-dose, it is placed inside the body for a few days by implantation.
Internal radiation causes the body to emit small doses of radiation for a short period of time. Those patients who have received a temporary implanted source of radiation therapy usually stay in the hospital, and there are restrictions on visitors. Once the implant is removed, their bodies are no longer carrying radiation.
The third type, called radioactive particle implants, are low-dose radioactive spheres, or “radioactive particles,” that are implanted in the body and can produce radiation effects for weeks or months, but are left in the body forever.
If a particle is permanently implanted in your body, you will have a small amount of radiation in your body as long as the source is still active. However, the radiation effects of the source usually last only a few weeks or months. As with people who have a radiation source temporarily implanted, your body fluids and personal items do not carry radiation. Furthermore, this is a low dose of radiation that travels only within the treated area of the body, so the chance of “irradiating” others is negligible. Of course, for safety reasons, it is recommended that you reduce your exposure to children and pregnant women.