Tomotherapy has been described as a complex form of treatment that delivers radiation beams to the different sections of the targeted cancer cells in portions and not as a whole like in other forms of radiology treatment. The shape, size and intensity of this radiation beams are adjusted in order to effectively destroy the cancer cells.
Delivery of different intensities of radiation in Tomotherapy is beneficial as it offsets the negative effects of patients movements as the patients receive treatment and the changes that the tumor undergoes in terms of shape and size. As a result, the patients do not suffer as many side effects and the course of medication takes a shorter time.
Voluntary or involuntary movements made by the patient while receiving radiation treatment causes major setbacks in the effective delivery of the treatment. The movements can cause the radiation beams to attack the surrounding healthy tissues and miss the actual cancer cells. In other cases, the cancer cells might not get treated because of the changes in shape that the tumor undergoes.
Patients who are likely to suffer the most are those with lung cancer because of the inconvenience caused by their breathing. Another cause for concern is how rapid that the lung cancer cells grow and change in shape and size. This makes it even more difficult for the physicians to properly treat their patients. Those patients who suffer from prostate cancer are also at a disadvantage because if their rectums or bladders fill up, their prostate glands tend to shift further complicating the treatment procedure.
Due to the above, specialists designed the Tomotherapy or helical Tomotherapy mode of treatment whose machine is doughnut shaped. The machine also has a table on which the patient lies as he goes through the machine. Before the procedure begins, the physician has already taken images that are three dimensional that assist him in properly diagnosing his patient.
An added advantage of this advanced form of treatment is the way it can keep a record of all the doses of radiation given to a patient and the exact location on the tumor that it was delivered to. This will aid the physicians in determining the effectiveness of the path chosen in treatment of the cancer. The physician can then alter the plans in order for maximum treatment to be achieved.
Delivery of different intensities of radiation in Tomotherapy is beneficial as it offsets the negative effects of patients movements as the patients receive treatment and the changes that the tumor undergoes in terms of shape and size. As a result, the patients do not suffer as many side effects and the course of medication takes a shorter time.
Voluntary or involuntary movements made by the patient while receiving radiation treatment causes major setbacks in the effective delivery of the treatment. The movements can cause the radiation beams to attack the surrounding healthy tissues and miss the actual cancer cells. In other cases, the cancer cells might not get treated because of the changes in shape that the tumor undergoes.
Patients who are likely to suffer the most are those with lung cancer because of the inconvenience caused by their breathing. Another cause for concern is how rapid that the lung cancer cells grow and change in shape and size. This makes it even more difficult for the physicians to properly treat their patients. Those patients who suffer from prostate cancer are also at a disadvantage because if their rectums or bladders fill up, their prostate glands tend to shift further complicating the treatment procedure.
Due to the above, specialists designed the Tomotherapy or helical Tomotherapy mode of treatment whose machine is doughnut shaped. The machine also has a table on which the patient lies as he goes through the machine. Before the procedure begins, the physician has already taken images that are three dimensional that assist him in properly diagnosing his patient.
An added advantage of this advanced form of treatment is the way it can keep a record of all the doses of radiation given to a patient and the exact location on the tumor that it was delivered to. This will aid the physicians in determining the effectiveness of the path chosen in treatment of the cancer. The physician can then alter the plans in order for maximum treatment to be achieved.
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