what is the difference between chemotherapy and radiation theryapy?

Answer 1

Radiation Therapy.

Definition:

Radiation therapy, sometimes called radiotherapy, x-ray therapy radiation treatment, cobalt therapy, electron beam therapy, or irradiation uses high energy, penetrating waves or particles such as x rays, gamma rays, proton rays, or neutron rays to destroy cancer cells or keep them from reproducing.

Purpose:

The purpose of radiation therapy is to kill or damage cancer cells. Radiation therapy is a common form of cancer therapy. It is used in more than half of all cancer cases. Radiation therapy can be used:
alone to kill cancer
before surgery to shrink a tumor and make it easier to remove
during surgery to kill cancer cells that may remain in surrounding tissue after the surgery (called intraoperative radiation)
after surgery to kill cancer cells remaining in the body
to shrink an inoperable tumor in order to and reduce pain and improve quality of life.

in combination with chemotherapy:

For some kinds of cancers such as early-stage Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and certain types of prostate, or brain cancer, radiation therapy alone may cure the disease. In other cases, radiation therapy used in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy, or both, increases survival rates over any of these therapies used alone.

Precautions:

Radiation therapy does not make the person having the treatments radioactive. In almost all cases, the benefits of this therapy outweigh the risks. However radiation therapy can have has serious consequences, so anyone contemplating it should be sure understand why the treatment team believes it is the best possible treatment option for their cancer. Radiation therapy is often not appropriate for pregnant women, because the radiation can damage the cells of the developing baby. Women who think they might be pregnant should discuss this with their doctor.

Description:

Radiation therapy is a local treatment. It is painless. The radiation acts only on the part of the body that is exposed to the radiation. This is very different from chemotherapy in which drugs circulate throughout the whole body. There are two main types of radiation therapy. In external radiation therapy a beam of radiation is directed from outside the body at the cancer. In internal radiation therapy, called brachytherapy or implant therapy, where a source of radioactivity is surgically placed inside the body near the cancer.

How radiation therapy works:

The protein that carries the code controlling most activities in the cell is called deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA. When a cell divides, its DNA must also double and divide. High-energy radiation kills cells by damaging their DNA, thus blocking their ability to grow and increase in number.
One of the characteristics of cancer cells is that they grow and divide faster than normal cells. This makes them particularly vulnerable to radiation. Radiation also damages normal cells, but because normal cells are growing more slowly, they are better able to repair radiation damage than are cancer cells. In order to give normal cells time to heal and reduce side effects, radiation treatments are often given in small doses over a six or seven week period.


Chemotherapy:

Definition:
Chemotherapy is treatment of cancer with anticancer drugs.

Purpose:

The main purpose of chemotherapy is to kill cancer cells. It usually is used to treat patients with cancer that has spread from the place in the body where it started (metastasized). Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells anywhere in the body. It even kills cells that have broken off from the main tumor and traveled through the blood or lymph systems to other parts of the body.
Chemotherapy can cure some types of cancer. In some cases, it is used to slow the growth of cancer cells or to keep the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. When a cancer has been removed by surgery, chemotherapy may be used to keep the cancer from coming back (adjuvant therapy). Chemotherapy also can ease the symptoms of cancer, helping some patients have a better quality of life.

Precautions:

There are many different types of chemotherapy drugs. Oncologists, doctors who specialize in treating cancer, determine which drugs are best suited for each patient. This decision is based on the type of cancer, the patient's age and health, and other drugs the patient is taking. Some patients should not be treated with certain chemotherapy drugs. Age and other conditions may affect the drugs with which a person may be treated. Heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes are conditions that may limit the choice of treatment drugs. In 2003, research revealed that obesity appears to reduce the effectives of high-dose chemotherapy. Researchers said further study was needed to determine the best dosage for obese patients receiving therapy.

Description:

More than 50 chemotherapy drugs are currently available to treat cancer and many more are being tested for their ability to destroy cancer cells. Most chemotherapy drugs interfere with the ability of cells to grow or multiply. Although these drugs affect all cells in the body, many useful treatments are most effective against rapidly growing cells. Cancer cells grow more quickly than most other body cells. Other cells that grow fast are cells of the bone marrow that produce blood cells, cells in the stomach and intestines, and cells of the hair follicles. Therefore, the most common side effects of chemotherapy are linked to the treatment's effects on other fast growing cells.

Types of chemotherapy drugs:

Chemotherapy drugs are classified based on how they work. The main types of chemotherapy drugs are described below:

Alkylating drugs kill cancer cells by directly attacking DNA, the genetic material of the genes. Cyclophosphamide is an alkylating drug.

Antimetabolites interfere with the production of DNA and keep cells from growing and multiplying. An example of an antimetabolite is 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).

Antitumor antibiotics are made from natural substances such as fungi in the soil. They interfere with important cell functions, including production of DNA and cell proteins. Doxorubicin and bleomycin belong to this group of chemotherapy drugs.

Plant alkaloids prevent cells from dividing normally. Vinblastine and vincristine are plant alkaloids obtained from the periwinkle plant.

Steroid hormones slow the growth of some cancers that depend on hormones. For example, tamoxifen is used to treat breast cancers that depend on the hormone estrogen for growth.

Combination chemotherapy:

Chemotherapy usually is given in addition to other cancer treatments, such as surgery and radiation therapy. When given with other treatments, it is called adjuvant chemotherapy. An oncologist decides which chemotherapy drug or combination of drugs will work best for each patient. The use of two or more drugs together often works better than a single drug for treating cancer. This is called combination chemotherapy. Scientific studies of different drug combinations help doctors learn which combinations work best for each type of cancer. For example, new research in 2003 found that a combination of chemotherapy and gene therapy stopped breast cancer and its metastasis (spread to other organs or parts of the body).

How chemotherapy is given:

Chemotherapy is administered in different ways, depending on the drugs to be given and the type of cancer. Doctors decide the dose of chemotherapy drugs considering many factors, among them being the patient's height and weight.

Chemotherapy may be given by one or more of the following methods:

orally
by injection
through a catheter or port
topically

Oral chemotherapy is given by mouth in the form a pill, capsule, or liquid. This is the easiest method and can usually be done at home.
Intravenous (IV) chemotherapy is injected into a vein. A small needle is inserted into a vein on the hand or lower arm. The needle usually is attached to a small tube called a catheter, which delivers the drug to the needle from an IV bag or bottle.
Intramuscular (IM) chemotherapy is injected into a muscle. Chemotherapy given by intramuscular injection is absorbed into the blood more slowly than IV chemotherapy. Because of this, the effects of IM chemotherapy may last longer than chemotherapy given intravenously. Chemotherapy also may be injected subcutaneously (SQ or SC), which means under the skin. Injection of chemotherapy directly into the cancer is called intralesional (IL) injection.

Answer 2

Basically Chemotherapy involves medicines that are put into your veins//// Radiation Therapy is just what it says, the use of x-rays to treat the ailment.

Answer 3

Marks S already copied and pasted vast information.so i think no need to elaborate.To put it simple, chemotherapy meas giving drugs (like medicines) and radiotherapy means subjecting patient to X-rays from a special source in a hospital.

Answer 4

Simply put:
Chemo therapy is the use of medications (chemicals)

Radiation therapy is the use of radiation to kill the cancer cells.

Answer 5

chemo is drugs intervienously, radiation is xrays pointed at a specific area of your body.