Use radiation with caution

An increasing number of patients, more than half of all cancer patients, receive radiation therapy these days. Radiation therapy saves countless lives, and serious accidents are rare. However, as technology advances, with linear accelerators becoming common, patients are unaware of the risks involved if these powerful, complex machines don’t function properly or if all the safety precautions are not followed.

Though doctors do well to understand all the processes involved and follow all the safety regulations and not just rely on computer systems and processes, patients should also make sure that only a licensed radiation oncologist is performing the procedure. They should also inquire about all the risks involved.
Talking of risks, one can go through a radiation overdose, which can be potentially fatal and cause adverse gene mutations, as radiation can penetrate right into the human DNA.
Patients must inquire about safer, newer machines with 160 Leaf MLC, which deliver radiation quicker and are safer than their predecessors. They should also find out about the half-life of the radioactive substance and its possible side-effects.
Side-effects from radiation are usually caused by the irritation of normal tissue in the treatment area. The types and severity of side-effects vary from patient to patient, and many times patients find that the effects are a little more pronounced towards the end of the treatment. These can vary from nausea and vomiting to organ failure. Therefore, when side effects occur, a physician should be contacted so that the patients can be monitored and apt intervention is provided.
During the first few days after treatment, the patient should preferably sleep and avoid close and prolonged contact with other people, especially children and pregnant women because they are more sensitive to radiation. Breastfeeding mothers should be especially careful because some types of radiation can get into the breast milk. Special hygiene precautions should be taken while using lavatories. Patients are advised to drink large amounts of fluid to eliminate as much urine as possible. They should take lemon candies or drink lemon juice to produce more saliva and in this way prevent radiation retention within the salivary glands.

The writer is a Senior Consultant, Radiation Oncology, Indraprastha
Apollo Hospital

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