Does radiation therapy hurt?

By admin | Published: November 13, 2009

No, radiation therapy does not hurt while it is being given. But the side effects that people may get from radiation therapy can cause pain or discomfort. This book has a lot of information about ways that you, your doctor, and your nurse can help manage side effects.

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What does radiation therapy do to healthy cells?

By admin | Published: November 13, 2009

Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells, it can also affect nearby healthy cells. The healthy cells almost always recover after treatment is over. But sometimes people may have side effects that do not get better or are severe. Doctors try to protect healthy cells during treatment by:

Using as low a dose of radiation as possible. The radiation dose is balanced between being high enough to kill cancer cells yet low enough to limit damage to healthy cells.

Spreading out treatment over time. You may get radiation therapy once a day for several weeks or in smaller doses twice a day. Spreading out the radiation dose allows normal cells to recover while cancer cells die.

Aiming radiation at a precise part of your body. New techniques, such as IMRT and 3-D conformal radiation therapy, allow your doctor to aim higher doses of radiation at your cancer while reducing the radiation to nearby healthy tissue.

Using medicines. Some drugs can help protect certain parts of your body, such as the salivary glands that make saliva (spit).

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How long does radiation therapy take to work?

By admin | Published: November 13, 2009

Radiation therapy does not kill cancer cells right away. It takes days or weeks of treatment before cancer cells start to die. Then, cancer cells keep dying for weeks or months after radiation therapy ends.

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What does radiation therapy do to cancer cells?

By admin | Published: November 13, 2009

Given in high doses, radiation kills or slows the growth of cancer cells. Radiation therapy is used to:

Treat cancer. Radiation can be used to cure, stop, or slow the growth of cancer.

Reduce symptoms. When a cure is not possible, radiation may be used to shrink cancer tumors in order to reduce pressure. Radiation therapy used in this way can treat problems such as pain, or it can prevent problems such as blindness or loss of bowel and bladder control.

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Who gets radiation therapy?

By admin | Published: November 13, 2009

Many people with cancer need radiation therapy. In fact, more than half (about 60 percent) of people with cancer get radiation therapy. Sometimes, radiation therapy is the only kind of cancer treatment people need.

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How is radiation therapy given?

By admin | Published: November 13, 2009

Radiation therapy can be external beam (when a machine outside your body aims radiation at cancer cells) or internal (when radiation is put inside your body, in or near the cancer cells). Sometimes people get both forms of radiation therapy. To learn more about external beam radiation therapy, see “External Beam Radiation Therapy”. To learn more about internal radiation therapy, see “Internal Beam Radiation Therapy”.

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Fighting Cancer and Radiation treatments

By admin | Published: November 13, 2009

What is radiation therapy? Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) is a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and stop them from spreading. At low doses, radiation is used as an x-ray to see inside your body and take pictures, such as x-rays of your teeth or broken bones. Radiation used in cancer treatment works in much the same way, except that it is given at higher doses

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Dry Mouth Therapy using the Dry Mouth Pump

By admin | Published: November 13, 2009

The dry mouth pump is a dry mouth therapy solution for dry mouth caused by radiation therapy in cancer patients

dry mouth pump

dry mouth pump

The dry mouth pump is micro processor driven which releases small amounts of liquid (5-10ml) for a user-set duration at user-set intervals. The liquid used can be water, saline solution, or an antibacteria formula to mention a few. The unit comes with a rechargeable battery that is self-chargeable making it portable. The mouth piece is a small comfortable fitting sponge attached to the small tubing.

When is the dry mouth pump used?

Dry mouth therapy is required anytime air passes through the mouth.  The air expedites drying of the mouth tissues. The tissues then stick to each other or adjacent parts of the mouth such as the teeth, lips, gums, palate, and inner cheeks. Air passes through the mouth when

  1. sleeping
  2. speaking
  3. exercising

The dry mouth pump can be used for dry mouth therapy during all three of these periods.

Sleep causes you to inhale and exhale large amounts of air. Unfortunately, you cannot chew gum and take sips of water without interrupting your sleep. Consequently, the dry mouth pump becomes an integral part in wetting your mouth during your uninterrupted sleep.

Speaking requires large air intake and exhaling as well. This rapidly dries the mouth, which tends to cause the mouth to stick. This can be resolved by more than frequent sips of water which interrupts speaking. Again, the dry mouth pump serves by wetting the dry mouth without interruption of speaking.

Exercise or any form of work performed by the body adversely effects dry mouth. It is annoying and inefficient to stop working every few moments to sip water. The dry mouth pump is the wetting solution in dry mouth therapy. Surprisingly, it does not take a large amount of liquid to satisfy dry mouth. However, the dry mouth pump is equipped with a boost button if needed.

Dry Mouth Pump Features

The dry mouth pump has many versitle options.

  • On/Off Button
  • Boost Button
  • Preset Daytime Button
  • Preset Night time Button
  • Display
  • Program Buttons
  • Charging Adaptor
  • Convenient Portable Case
  • Comfortable Uninhibiting Mouth Piece
  • Unobtrusive tubing

How do you use the dry mouth pump for dry mouth therapy?

Fill the vessel with the solution of your choice. Turn the unit on and select the program buttons to program the unit. You can program the unit at any time if you need to change your settings but it only needs to be done once if you want to change the default settings. Set the mouth piece in your mouth where it is most comfortable for you then select the daytime or night time button. That’s it.

If you require a boost, simply click the boost button.

The unit is completely portable and can be worn inconspicuously during your daytime activities. At night, set the unit on your night stand, plug it in to recharge and set it for night time use.  It is your dry mouth therapy for years to come allowing you to live your life again.

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