What is Radiation?
Cancer & Radiation
Radiation plays a dual role in relation to cancer. As a treatment, it effectively targets and kills cancer cells, contributing significantly to cancer control and eradication.
Conversely, excessive or uncontrolled exposure to radiation can increase the risk of developing cancer due to DNA damage and mutations in healthy cells.
Balancing these aspects is crucial in medical practices and environmental safety measures.
There is a lot to know about the effects of radiation. Click each of the questions below for more information.
- Radiation is a form of energy that is present all around us.
- Different types of radiation exist, some of which have more energy than others.
- Amounts of radiation released into the environment are measured in units called curies. However, the dose of radiation that a person receives is measured in units called rem.
Radioactive contamination and radiation exposure could occur if radioactive materials are released into the environment as the result of an accident, an event in nature, or an act of terrorism. Such a release could expose people and contaminate their surroundings and personal property.
For more information, view the resources below from the Center For Diseas Control. It can be viewed in a variety of languages and explains how radiation can effect us.
A person can safely absorb small amounts of radation, from sources such as eating a banana, getting an x-ray, or riding in an airplane. The chart above shows the levels of radiation the human body can handle safely.
Types of Radiation:
Radioactive contamination and radiation exposure could occur if radioactive materials are released into the environment as the result of an accident, an event in nature, or an act of terrorism. Such a release could expose people and contaminate their surroundings and personal property.
Radioactive contamination occurs when radioactive material is deposited on or in an object or a person. Radioactive materials released into the environment can cause air, water, surfaces, soil, plants, buildings, people, or animals to become contaminated. A contaminated person has radioactive materials on or inside their body.
External contamination occurs when radioactive material, in the form of dust, powder, or liquid, comes into contact with a person’s skin, hair, or clothing. In other words, the contact is external to a person’s body. People who are externally contaminated can become internally contaminated if radioactive material gets into their bodies.
Internal contamination occurs when people swallow or breathe in radioactive materials, or when radioactive materials enter the body through an open wound or are absorbed through the skin. Some types of radioactive materials stay in the body and are deposited in different body organs. Other types are eliminated from the body in blood, sweat, urine, and feces.
Radioactive materials give off a form of energy that travels in waves or particles. This energy is called radiation. When a person is exposed to radiation, the energy penetrates the body. For example, when a person has an x-ray, he or she is exposed to radiation.
People who are externally contaminated with radioactive material can contaminate other people or surfaces that they touch. For example, people who have radioactive dust on their clothing may spread the radioactive dust when they sit in chairs or hug other people.
People who are internally contaminated can expose people near them to radiation from the radioactive material inside their bodies. The body fluids (blood, sweat, urine) of an internally contaminated person can contain radioactive materials. Coming in contact with these body fluids can result in contamination and/or exposure.
Since radiation cannot be seen, smelled, felt, or tasted, people at the site of an incident will not know whether radioactive materials were involved.
You can take the following steps to limit your contamination.
Pregnant women should consult with their physicians if they have any concern about radiation exposure to their fetus.
The exposure of a fetus to radiation is referred to as prenatal radiation exposure. This can occur when the mother’s abdomen is exposed to radiation from outside her body. Also, a pregnant woman who accidentally swallows or breathes in radioactive materials may absorb that substance into her bloodstream. From the mother’s blood, radioactive materials may pass through the umbilical cord to the baby or concentrate in areas of the mother’s body near the womb (such as the urinary bladder) and expose the fetus to radiation.
Feel prepared for every appointment
Carrying the right information can empower you during your cancer care journey. Use these tools to help organize this information so you can be an active participant in your cancer care.
Keep them handy for use at home and bring them along to your doctor visits and other medical appointments.