Radiation is toxic to the human body, and increased levels can cause injury to tissue systems from free radical damage. Exposure can be acute or chronic, and symptom severity depends on many factors like total dose, dose rate, distribution of dose...
Radiation therapy for breast cancer is a treatment that uses radiation energy to kill rapidly-dividing cancer cells in the breast. The treatment is potentially curative and it can be a substitute for invasive surgery. It can also be combined with...
According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2009 in the United States, approximately 12,290 new diagnoses of laryngeal cancer were made, and 3,660 individuals died from the disease. Cancer of the larynx, also known as the voice box, is often...
Red blood cells transport oxygen through your body to keep you alive and healthy. The cells need the help of a protein called hemoglobin to accomplish their task. When your supply of red blood cells or hemoglobin is low, you develop anemia. Lack...
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. There are dozens of chemotherapy drugs, and the oncologist tailors the drug regimen to the specific type of cancer. Doctors consider chemotherapy to be a systemic treatment, as the drugs kill cancer...
According to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 11,000 women discover that they have cervical cancer each year. Cervical cancer is the most common type of cancer involving the female reproductive tract. If detected early, cervical...
Human blood contains three classifications of specialized cells: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. The protein hemoglobin, the main component of red blood cells, carries oxygen throughout the body. Medications, conditions and...
Low white blood cell numbers, a condition known as neutropenia, results from a number of conditions such as infection, anemia and certain cancers. Neutropenia is often a side effect of cancer chemotherapy and radiation treatments that are toxic to...
One of the more rapidly growing options for breast cancer treatment is radiation therapy--more specifically, external radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is the use of ionizing radiation to treat malignant tumors in the body, and it is used to...
White blood cells play a vital role in the immune system as they scavenge the blood for invading bacteria, viruses and fungi. Certain medical conditions can cause white cell levels to become low, a condition known as neutropenia. While mild...
Abdominal, or stomach, cancer occurs when malignant cancer cells grow and spread within the abdomen. Signs and symptoms may include stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, abdominal bloating and difficulty swallowing. The treatment for abdominal cancer...
The bone marrow produces and releases red blood cells, or RBCs, into the bloodstream. RBCs remain in the circulation for approximately four months before replacement with new blood cells. A normal red blood cell count depends on a matched balance...
When you're undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for cancer, it's not unusual for you to feel tired. You may even be diagnosed with anemia, which means your cells don't get enough oxygen because your iron stores are too low. It might be tempting...
Often patients with breast cancer will receive radiation therapy treatment following the surgical removal of breast cancer. Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to treat malignant tumors in the body, and treats many different types of cancer....
Approximately 12 million blood transfusions occur annually in the United States, according to America's Blood Centers. Many medical conditions and diseases can lead to a critically low level of red blood cells, the oxygen-carrying component of the...
Radiation therapy is the use of energy, often called ionizing radiation, to kill cancer cells and eliminate tumors. The radiation energy damages the genetic material inside the cells thereby inhibiting them from growing and dividing. Radiation...
Iron is an essential metal for human physiology. It is a fundamental part of proteins and enzymes used to transport oxygen in the blood to muscles and tissue of the body. Iron is also necessary for cell growth. According to the National Institutes...
If you experience unexplained fatigue, weakness or shortness of breath, your doctor may order a series of blood tests including a complete blood count. A complete blood count reveals your number of red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin...
White blood cells play a key role in defending the body against invading bacteria and viruses. When white blood cell levels become too low, a condition known as neutropenia, an individual may become more susceptible to infection. A number of...
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and breast cancer incidence and death rates increase with age. According to the Society, 89 percent of women are alive five years after diagnosis, 82...
Radiation therapy has been in use as a cancer treatment for many decades. The X-rays of radiation therapy target the DNA of cancer cells, but despite precautions, surrounding healthy tissue is invariably damaged, and side effects occur. The amount...
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, promotes healing by raising air pressure and oxygen level in a hyperbaric chamber, according to MayoClinic.com. Health care providers prescribe hyperbaric oxygen therapy for decompression sickness, commonly...
All of the body’s bones have a soft, fatty tissue inside them called bone marrow. Normally, the bone marrow makes blood stem cells, or immature cells that develop into mature blood cells over time. Stem cells in the bone marrow produce blood...
Blood consists of protein-rich liquid and platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells, collectively known as formed blood elements. A complete blood count, or CBC, includes counts of the formed blood elements along with other measurements...
Aplastic anemia is a disorder in which a person's bone marrow does not produce sufficient red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, which transport oxygen, fight infections and allow blood to clot, respectively. Children with aplastic...
Bladder carcinoma is a form of cancer that originates in your bladder (your body's receptacle for urine). An abnormal growth of cells usually forms on the inner lining of your bladder. Some risk factors for developing bladder carcinoma include...