Radiation Therapy & Chemotherapy

• Radiation therapy - a method used to target leftover cells after a tumor is removed

  • Radiation therapy is a local treatment (only affects the tumor area)

  • Method:

    • High-energy rays stop/slow the growth of cancerous cells

    • Either done through a machine shooting beams into the body or through radiation pellets

  • Side Effects: soreness, sensitivity, skin looking burnt, nausea, fatigue, etc.

• Chemotherapy - a treatment used to target metastasized cancer cells

  • Metastasized cells - cancerous cells that travel away from the original tumor site to the rest of the body

  • Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment (throughout the body)

  • Method:

    • Drugs are injected into the bloodstream that target rapidly dividing cells

  • Side Effects: hair loss, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, lack of appetite, thinning skin, mouth sores, gum sensitivity, anemia, etc.

Biofeedback Therapy

• Biofeedback therapy makes patients aware of previously unconscious actions such as responses to pain or panic

• Benefits:

  • Less painful and invasive

  • Patients are not reliant on drugs

• Examples:

  • Yoga

  • Meditation

Amputation/Prosthetics

• Amputation - the surgical procedure of removing a limb

  • Typically happens when chemotherapy and radiation fail

• Prosthetics

  • Prosthetics have advanced throughout history to become more responsive to the patient’s wishes

Physical/Occupational Therapy

• Therapy used to accommodate patients to life without previous limbs

• Involves strengthening what’s left of the limb

• Physical therapists build strength in gross and fine skills

  • Gross skills - broader range of movements

  • Fine skills - small and concentrated range of movement (writing)

• Occupational therapists help patients relearn daily activities

  • Ex: how to zip a jacket up