The **half-life** of a medical isotope is crucial in selecting it for diagnostic or therapeutic use because it directly affects how long the isotope remains active and how it behaves inside the body. Half-life is the time it takes for…
Radiation therapy, a common and effective treatment for many types of cancer, uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors. While it is a powerful tool in fighting cancer, a natural question arises: can radiation therapy itself cause…
Doctors balance killing tumors with gamma rays against harming healthy tissue through a combination of precise targeting, careful dose planning, and advanced technology that maximizes radiation delivery to cancer cells while minimizing exposure to surrounding normal tissues. Gamma rays are…
Radioactive seeds are implanted in some cancers as a form of internal radiation therapy called **brachytherapy**. This treatment involves placing tiny radioactive seeds directly inside or very close to the tumor, where they emit radiation over time to kill cancer…
Targeted alpha therapy (TAT) is a cutting-edge cancer treatment that uses alpha-emitting radioactive isotopes attached to molecules designed to specifically seek out and bind to tumor cells. The key advantage of this approach lies in the unique properties of alpha…
Using alpha emitters in medicine, particularly in cancer treatment, carries several significant risks despite their powerful ability to destroy tumor cells. Alpha particles are highly energetic and cause intense damage to targeted cancer cells due to their high linear energy…
Doctors use gamma rays in radiotherapy primarily to treat cancer by targeting and destroying cancerous cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Gamma rays are a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation capable of penetrating deep into the body, making…
Beta radiation is chosen for treating eye and bone cancers primarily because of its physical and biological properties that make it highly effective and safe for targeting tumors in these sensitive and complex areas. Beta particles have a moderate penetration…
Alpha radiation kills cancer cells in therapy primarily through the emission of alpha particles—helium nuclei consisting of two protons and two neutrons—that deliver a highly concentrated burst of energy over a very short distance inside the body. This intense energy…
Gamma rays penetrate deeper than beta particles primarily because of their fundamental nature and interaction mechanisms with matter. Gamma rays are high-energy electromagnetic radiation—photons with no mass and no electric charge—while beta particles are high-speed electrons or positrons with mass…