Chemotherapy vs Radiotherapy
Cancer
was once known to be the most incurable disease. It is usually caused
by some malfunctioning of the cells inside the human body. There are so
many external and internal causes for this disease. As the time moves
on, the solutions to the problems are given by the professionals in this
field. The two kinds of solutions given for cancer are the chemotherapy
and radiotherapy. The two processes are very different in nature and
depending on the level of disease, one of the two treatments is
recommended for the cancer patients.
Chemotherapy
is that kind of treatment for cancer patients that uses the chemicals
in the process. The result of this treatment causes the unwanted cells
to be damaged by the use of the chemicals. It is true that the drugs
used in the treatment gives a favorable response, but they might cause
damage to some normal cells as well. It is ideal to use this treatment
for those patients who could discover their disease at early stage,
because the drugs positively affect to the roots causing the growth of
the tumors at this stage. This therapy fails in the situations where the
problem is diagnosed at later phases and when the drugs are unable to
cope with the growing number of cancer cell activities. The side effects
includes the damage to the hairs of the body, fatigue, the darkening of
the skin color, reduction in the blood platelets and the swelling in
the digestive system of the body. Two other types include the treatment
by using chemicals at the time when the disease is diagnosed at the
earlier stages and secondly when it is cured and the treatment is
repeated for the preventive care.
The
radiotherapy is also used for the treatment of this disease. But the
process of the treatment is in such a way that the use of rays is done
during the process instead of using chemicals. The main feature of this
process is that, as it does destroy the unwanted cells of the body where
it is conducted, it only has side effects limited to that portion of
the body. The treatment is done for the same purpose- the killing of the
unwanted cells. Different parts of body cells respond differently to
the treatments. At some areas the cells causing the tumor are destroyed
rapidly, while in other parts the affects are not the same. Smaller
tumors will have more positive affects, and not all tumors can be
treated in this way. But this process also destroys the normal cells
too. Radiation can be given to the body from outer as well as inner
side.
The most prominent difference
between the two therapies is the way of their treatment and the side
effects are also different in both. In the Chemotherapy, chemicals are
used to treat the cancer cells and in Radiotherapy, the radiations are
used. The treatment through Chemotherapy involves the treatment of the
whole body, and so the affects are not limited to just a single area of
the body in the end, like the damage to the normal cells of the whole
body. As for the Radiotherapy, the treatment is applied on a specific
area and thus, the reactions are just limited to that part and it can
also be applied externally. It is said that the radiotherapy is less
painful than the other one. In the chemotherapy all the past and present
details are counted before the treatment, in radiotherapy the process
is a bit shorter one.
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