j_luh
Member since Jan 19, 2019
Recent Comments
Re: “Cancer, Part 1: The Unwinnable War”
Dr. William Nelson, director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins said it best, "The war on cancer will not be won in one dramatic battle, it will be a series of skirmishes."
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/23/394132747/why-the-war-on-cancer-hasnt-been-won
Posted by
j_luh
on 01/19/2019 at 6:23 PM
Re: “Living with Cancer”
This is why radiation therapy is often given in "fractions" over 10 to 44 treatments over 2 to 8.5 weeks, depending on the tumor type. If the full dose was given at once, that could be lethal, but the cumulative dose given over a longer period is what ultimately results in tumor death (not patient death). With fractionated treatment the goal is not to kill the cancer with the first treatment, but rather using the entire course for "tumoricide." If a patient is getting surgery after treatment, a lower dose of radiation (and chemo) is given with the understanding that there will be residual tumor at the time of surgery.