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Radiotherapy is more likely to be used to treat cancer in elderly patients than in young ones. Explain why. Why is radiotherapy used to treat young people at all?

Short Answer

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Radiation has an effect on healthy human tissue when it is used for radiotherapy. The long-term implications of this radiation dosage or cancer therapy are currently unclear.

Step by step solution

01

Definition of radiotherapy 

Radiotherapy, commonly known as radiation therapy, is a cancer treatment that involves the use of concentrated radiation to kill or destroy cancer cells, preventing them from growing or spreading. Different types of radiation, including as x-rays, gamma rays, and proton beams, may be used in different types of radiotherapy.

02

Explanation for why radiotherapy used to treat young people 

Radiotherapy is one of the most powerful techniques to combat cancer cells in our bodies today. Because cancer cells spread quickly, the radiation kills them and prevents them from replicating. However, because cancer cells are tightly linked to important organs, radiation exposure to cancer cells also exposes healthy tissues. Because the long-term effects of even tiny doses of radiation over a longer period of time are yet unknown, it is common practise to provide radiotherapy to the elderly.

On the other hand, while radiotherapy is not the only technique to treat cancer, it is common practise for younger adults and children to explore alternative options first and then use radiotherapy as a last resort, due to the uncertainty about the long-term effects of radiation.

When it comes to radiotherapy, an accelerator is utilised to create $\gamma$ rays that are designed to destroy cancer cells; it is common practise to employ 60 Co $\gamma$ rays.

Rays are targeted from either side of the cancer cells or tumour to more efficiently target the cells in well-defined and precise malignancies. It is difficult to exclude healthy tissue even when this is computed with extreme precision. As a result, there is a chance that radiation will have a negative long-term effect.

Hence, radiation has an effect on healthy human tissue when it is used for radiotherapy. The long-term implications of this radiation dosage or cancer therapy are currently unclear.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

(a) Calculate the number of grams of deuterium in a \(80,000 - L\) swimming pool, given deuterium is \(0.0150\% \) of natural hydrogen.

(b) Find the energy released in joules if this deuterium is fused via the reaction\(^2H{ + ^2}H{ \to ^3}He + n\).

(c) Could the neutrons be used to create more energy?

(d) Discuss the amount of this type of energy in a swimming pool as compared to that in, say, a gallon of gasoline, also taking into consideration that water is far more abundant.

(a) Calculate the energy released in the neutron-induced fission (similar to the spontaneous fission in Example\(32.3\)) \(n{ + ^{238}}U{ \to ^{96}}Sr{ + ^{140}}Xe + 3n\), given \(m{(^{96}}Sr) = 95.921750{\rm{ }}u\) and \(m{(^{140}}Xe) = 139.92164{\rm{ }}u\).

(b) This result is about \(6{\rm{ }}MeV\) greater than the result for spontaneous fission. Why?

(c) Confirm that the total number of nucleons and total charge are conserved in this reaction.

This problem gives some idea of the magnitude of the energy yield of a small tactical bomb. Assume that half the energy of a 1.00 - kT nuclear depth charge set off under an aircraft carrier goes into lifting it out of the waterโ€”that is, into gravitational potential energy. How high is the carrier lifted if its mass is 90,000 tons?

(a) Calculate the energy released in the neutron-induced fission reaction\(n{ + ^{239}}Pu{ \to ^{96}}Sr{ + ^{140}}Ba + 4n\), given \(m{(^{96}}Sr) = 95.921750{\rm{ }}u\)

And

\(m{(^{140}}Ba) = 139.910581{\rm{ }}u\).

(b) Confirm that the total number of nucleons and total charge are conserved in this reaction.

Table 32.1 indicates that \(7.50\,mCi\)of \({}^{99m}{\rm{Tc}}\) is used in a brain scan. What is the mass of technetium?

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