Basics of Radiation and Chemotherapy Treatments
There are many standard treatments, and a majority of them are being tested in clinical trials. Some clinical trials are open and are being used today, only to patients who have not started treatment. There are seven different ways to help certain people with pancreatic cancer treatment. The seven treatments are: whipple procedure, which is when, the head of the pancreas, the gallbladder, part of the stomach, part of the small intestine, and the bile duct are removed; total pancreatecomy removes the whole pancreas, part of the stomach, part of the small intestine, the common bile duct, the gallbladder, the spleen, and the nearby lymph nodes; distal pancreatecomy is when the body and the tail of the pancreas and usually the spleen are removed; surgical billary bypass is where the doctor will cut open the gallbladder or the bile duct and sew it into the small intestine to create a new pathway around the new blocked area; endoscopic stent placement is a treatment that a small tube is inserted in a blocked up area to allow drainage; and gastric bypass is the last treatment that the stomach can be directly sewn to the small intestine so the patient can continue to eat normally. So therefore, the cancer patients may have to go through these several different types of treatments to feel better (Institute).
Radiation and Chemotherapy are other treatments that use high-energy x-rays or other type of radiation to kill cancer cells and to keep them from growing. The two types of radiation are External Radiation therapy and Internal Radiation. The External radiation uses a special type of machine that the cancer patients lay on. Then a giant box-shaped machine with lasers does a complete one-hundred and eighty degrees around the patient. The machine detects the where the cancer is. I’ve seen pictures of the incredible machine and it’s interesting because a big unit like that can detect and cancer by circling a patient. My grandfather had to go through this step many times for his cancer to die down. Internal Radiation uses a radiation substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters, which are placed in the body, closely to the cancer. Those two types of radiation are things a cancer patient must do to slow down the cancer and even get rid of it.
Chemotherapy is another cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells in the body. But people need to be careful, because the chemotherapy treatments can also kill the healthy cells moving around in the body. Those will usually cause some side effects in the body after awhile. Chemotherapy works by either being taken through the mouth or injected into a vein or muscles. The drugs enter the bloodstream and reach cancer cells throughout the body. The way chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated. Losing hair on your whole body is a part of chemotherapy. When I first saw my uncle, he looked like Stone Cold Steve Austin. My cousins and I would always tease him about looking like that so he would feel good. Having cancer is a very sad subject in my family.
Radiation and Chemotherapy are other treatments that use high-energy x-rays or other type of radiation to kill cancer cells and to keep them from growing. The two types of radiation are External Radiation therapy and Internal Radiation. The External radiation uses a special type of machine that the cancer patients lay on. Then a giant box-shaped machine with lasers does a complete one-hundred and eighty degrees around the patient. The machine detects the where the cancer is. I’ve seen pictures of the incredible machine and it’s interesting because a big unit like that can detect and cancer by circling a patient. My grandfather had to go through this step many times for his cancer to die down. Internal Radiation uses a radiation substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters, which are placed in the body, closely to the cancer. Those two types of radiation are things a cancer patient must do to slow down the cancer and even get rid of it.
Chemotherapy is another cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells in the body. But people need to be careful, because the chemotherapy treatments can also kill the healthy cells moving around in the body. Those will usually cause some side effects in the body after awhile. Chemotherapy works by either being taken through the mouth or injected into a vein or muscles. The drugs enter the bloodstream and reach cancer cells throughout the body. The way chemotherapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated. Losing hair on your whole body is a part of chemotherapy. When I first saw my uncle, he looked like Stone Cold Steve Austin. My cousins and I would always tease him about looking like that so he would feel good. Having cancer is a very sad subject in my family.
