About one half of all cancer patients receive some type of radiation therapy during the course of treatments. Radiation therapy uses a high energy radiation to shrink cancer cells, or kill them or shrink tumors.

Radiation has changed through the years since Cobalt, not being the only radioactive material being used. Sometimes radiation is used by a machine which much looks like a Cat Scan, this is called, An External Beam radiation therapy. Sometimes, a radioactive material is placed in the body, near cancer cells

. This is called internal radiation therapy. Sometimes a radioactive isotope is used. Systemic radiation therapy uses a radioactive iodine which travels in the blood to kill the cancer cells.There are always risks involved with using any Radiation therapy. Radiation can also damage normal cells, leading to side effects. The amount of radiation that normal tissue can safely receive is known for all the parts of the body. Thankfully, doctors use this knowledge to help them decide where to aim radiation during the treatments.

A Radiation Oncologist beings treatment with simulation. During this process, imaging with Cat Scans it shows the location of a tumor and also, the normal areas. Your skin may be marked with small points that target the area to be treated. Small tattoo like dots. This process usually takes 30 minutes to two hours and is an essential part of treatment planning.

This can be a lengthy process and requires patience from the patient. However, most Radiation treatments itself, only take 1 to 5 minutes.

Sometimes Radiation is given to try to cure, and sometimes, to try to reduce symptoms of a cancer. In the hopes to improve the quality of life.

The type of radiation therapy prescribed by a radiation oncologist depends on many factors, including:

The type of cancer.

The size of the cancer.

The cancer’s location in the body.

How close the cancer is to normal tissues that are sensitive to radiation.

How far into the body the radiation needs to travel.

The patient’s general health and medical history.

Whether the patient will have other types of cancer treatment.

Other factors, such as the patient’s age and other medical conditions.

All in all, Radiation therapy is never easy but, it is doable.

Patients who receive most types of external beam radiation therapy (a machine) usually have to travel to the hospital or an outpatient facility up to 5 days a week for several weeks. One dose (a single fraction) of the total planned dose of radiation is given each day. Occasionally, two treatments a day are given. To get the greatest benefit from therapy, you must go for all of your scheduled treatments. Skipping or delaying treatments will reduce the effectiveness of radiation treatment. Skin in the treated area may become sensitive and easily irritated and needs special care, especially while bathing.

Fatigue is a common side effect of radiation therapy regardless of which part of the body is treated. Nausea with or without vomiting is common when the abdomen is treated and occurs sometimes when the brain is treated.

Late side effects of radiation therapy may or may not occur:

Fibrosis (the replacement of normal tissue with scar tissue, leading to restricted movement of the affected area).

Damage to the bowels, causing diarrhea and bleeding.

Memory loss.

Infertility (inability to have a child).

A Secondary Cancer

Life can seem bleak while on Radiation, but if you take it one day at a time, it works.

Dad just came in at the kitchen when mom asked her about it.  Dad confirmed that he
did got the console and was laughing when he challenged mom.  I was laughing too and
like “Hoho, Ill be the judge”.  Mom laughed too and was up to the challenge but the
thing is she doesn’t know how to play the Wii.  I happened to convince her by telling
her that I’ll be on her side and told her that it was easy and I would teach her how to
play it.  So, it’s two against one.  LOL.  Mom however, said that we’ll play the game
after dinner since after it, we were not doing anything.

And so we ate our dinner and I went to the living room to set up the Wii console.
Mom washed the dishes and dad did something.  Right after mom was finished washing
the dishes, she joined me at the living room.  At that moment, I was playing “Tennis
MAsters”. So, I showed mom how to use the remote as something like a tennis racket.
She was so amazed.  I let her tried it and she was having fun and totally amazed by
the game saying that it was great and she’s like the one really playing the tennis
game and competing.

Dad arrived a moment later.  Dad was hilarious as she was striking the
casserole like a bell yelling “Let the dancing battle begin”.  I was laughing too!  So,
I went to get Wii fit and put it inside the console.  Both of them were having a
hard time playing it but managed to learned it later, well I did show them. Well, dad won
the game.  Mom said it’s because he already played it before.  Mom also said that dad
should wait until she learns it too.

Well, the three of us had fun playing the Wii that we lose track of time.  It was
past 12 when the three of us went to our bedrooms to sleep.  Mom really had fun
playing the console.  Because of the dancing game, she even mentioned that
she’ll lose weight and be sexy again.  Haha!

Dad said like “Ok guys, help me set up this one”.  James and I were surprised because
what he was asking us to set up was a Nintendo Wii.  I was surprised and said like
“Wow dad! You really did get it.”  And so, James and I set up the console.  James did
all the setting up actually as I wasn’t familiar with it.  He’s also the one who set
up the thing back when we were at Mike’s place.

So, when everything was set up, we tried a game.  The cool thing about it is that
three of us get to pay the game all at the same time.  The Wii had four controller
ports and dad managed to get four controllers.  The game we played was a war game.
I can’t remember the name but it was interesting.  Dad, James, and I were like the
real soldiers and we are on a mission.  The three of us had fun playing the game.

After awhile, dad left us to do something.  Before he left however, he showed me two
games.  It was “Dance Dance Revolution, some sort of a dancing game, and “Tennis Masters”
which was a tennis game.  “Wait until your mom sees this”.  James was laughing because
he heard dad mentioning that she would challenge my mom into a dance as well as the
tennis game. I was laughing too!

Well, I’m glad dad bought the Nintendo Wii.  Now, I can play it alternatively with my
Xbox 360.  What’s good thing about the Wii is that it can be played by both mom and
dad.  So, I guess I will also have fun playing it with them.

During the conversation, I happened to mention about Mike’s new gaming console,
the Nintendo Wii.  So I was like “hey dad, you know about Mike’s console?  So I
told them about the Wii and even told mom that she could now play with it, especially
a tennis game, since she loves playing tennis.  Mom was amazed actually and told that
that was a cool gaming console.

Well, Dad knew about the gaming console already.  He said that he saw it when
he bought me my Xbox 360 for my birthday.  He said the clerk at Sam’s offered
the console to him also.  I was like “Really dad?”  And he said yes.  He told me that
he even tried playing a game.  So, I asked him what game that was but too bad he
couldn’t remember.  But he said the game he tried was a “bowling game” and he said
that it was cool because he was really like the one playing the game.  He also
mentioned that he tried a dancing game.  He said it’s like him really dancing.
Mom and I started laughing.  And dad said like “okay, maybe I’ll show you guys
how I dance there”.  And I was like “hey dad, why don’t you get that game?  Well,
I guess you and mom could play it and it seems like fun.”  Mom didn’t disagree about
this one, I guess because of the “tennis game”.  Dad on the other hand said that
maybe he would get the Nintendo Wii next week right after he gets his paycheck.

So, What could be greater than having both the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii? I
hope that gets that too.

So I began browsing the net about Nintendo Wii and I have found up a couple of
information about it.  The Wii is also a cool console, without exaggeration.  It
really is!.

The Wii’s controller is also wireless.  I have never seen a game console with wireless
controllers.  Now, you don’t have to worry about controller cables on the floor that
might trip you or controllers that malfunction because its cables are damaged, things
like that.  So, it has that advantage.  Like my Xbox, it also has batteries.

The Wii could connect you to the net and download games, new costumes, weapons, etc.
Interesting…It also has a memory, USB ports, and could also be used to store photos,
videos, etc.

Like my Xbox 360, it has a remote.  Its remote is handy.  Actually, it can be used in
some games.  I really don’t know how it works but according to what I have read,
it has a sensor, and this sensor does the work.  It says that if you are playing a
tennis game, it can be used as your racket where you can swing.  Wow!

Now, I wonder if I could get mom and dad to get this.  It is pretty sure interesting
and I would love to have it too.  Well, they just got me my Xbox.  Mom is a frustrated
tennis player and besides the game console is said to be suited even for old people.
Maybe I can use that to get me this one…

One Tuesday morning, James called me up.  He asked me if I was doing anything.  Well,
I wasn’t doing anything that day, but I was planning in playing my Xbox again.  James
asked me to join him and go to Michael’s place.  Michael is also from a neighborhood,
though he was younger than us.  James said Michael had a new console, a new one, but
much different than his PS3 or my Xbox 360.  Well, that made me curious so I decided
to accompany James and go at Mike’s place.

Mike bragged about his new console, saying that his was the coolest!  Well,
nothing could be cooler than my Xbox or James 360, that’s for my opinion.  His
console was really different from my Xbox or James’ PS3.  Mike had a Nintendo one.
It was Nintendo Wii.  The Wii is also a new console released by Nintendo, I didn’t
know that they have released a new one as the last Nintendo console I had was a Sega,
and that was long ago.  The Nintendo Wii though kinda looks awkward but since it is a
new one, I bet it has also some new features.  Now, I am wondering what Nintendo Wii
can do and what games are available for it.

Playing these two games was all I happened to do almost the entire summer break, aside
from helping mom with the chores sometimes.  After the chores are done, it’s either I
go to my room to play with my Xbox or to James’ place to play with his Playstation III.
James and I had played a lot of different games both with Playstation III and Xbox.
It is cool that some games that are available for PS3 are also available for Xbox.
Because of that, James and I could help each other on how to pass each stages and levels.

I still continued playing Perfect Dark: Zero and I teamed up with the other kids playing
the game.  I was second on the leaderboard however as Dave has overtaken me.  James and I
haven’t finished Metal Gear 4 yet though.  The game is really hard!  I can say that it
is the most hardest Metal Gear I have played!  I managed to get far though and a little
bit closer in finishing the game.  Hang in there Solid Snake, I’ll get you through all
of this!

Thanks to the tips and strategies that I have found over the internet, I managed to
finish the game.  My rank though was not that good at the ending.  Well, it is acceptable
since it is only my first time to finish the game.

After a couple of hours when I finished the game, Jim, one of the neighborhood kids
called me up asking if I am doing anything.  Well I sad, “yeah, I’m playing my Xbox”.
He asked me what game I was playing and I said Resident Evil 5, as I restarted to play
the game to get a higher rank.  Jim also had an Xbox 360 and he asked me if I was
interested in exchanging games with him so I told him what available games I have.
At the end, we agreed to exchange my “Tomb Raider Legend” for his “Metal Gear 4”.
I didn’t know that Xbox had Metal Gear as its game.  I played the previous Metal Gear
games before with Playstation 1 and Playstation II.  I have finished all of them and
Metal Gear is a very nice game.  Actually, it’s like Resident Evil, I’m a fan of it too.
And so, Jim and I met up and exchange games.  I asked him if he had finished the game
already but he said not yet and like “it was too hard for me!”  Now that’s interesting.

Later that day, I called James to tell him that I currently have Metal Gear 4 to play
with.  Well, James said that he also had the game on Playstation III!  So I asked him
how is it and how far has he gone through with the game.  Well, he confirmed it to me
that he hasn’t gone that far with the game as it was difficult.  Well, at least he can
guide me up to the part that he reached and I can just look for the game’s tips and
strategies again over the internet.

Too bad, dad didn’t get me that game together with the console.  I asked some of my
friends and even James’s cousin if he has the game available.  Maybe we could lend
each others’ games or something like that in exchange.  None of my friends or even
James’ cousin had Resident Evil 5.  My last choice was Sam’s Video Games and Consoles.
Since it is where I saw the game, maybe it is available there.

Sam’s have the game so I bought it there.  The game however, caused me half of my
savings! Xbox games are also expensive, shoot!  Well, I cannot do anything.  I would
really love to play Resident Evil 5 as the 4th one was cool, however it was in the
Playstation II.

So, that is what I am playing right now.  The game’s graphics again as well as the
sound is much nicer again that it had in the Playstation II.  Definitely, the game
is more fun in the Xbox 360.  I have gotten pretty far already but I have troubles
playing the game as I don’t know some parts of it.  I guess, I have to research on
some strategies and tips on how to finish the game.

When I was playing the game, something very exciting happened.  Well the game asked me
to import my face, whoa!  This means that my face can be placed in the game.  So, I was
wondering how can it be done.  Then, I remembered when I was reading the manual, the
Xbox has an online camera.  That must be it!

So, I checked the camera and tried to operate it.  I played the game for quite sometime
and it was so awesome because I can now see my face beside my name in the leaderboard.
Other players who are playing the game can now recognize who’s one of the best to play
the game!

While playing the game, since it is an online one, I also gained some friends.
I can even talk to them while playing.  This was possible because the Xbox has a
microphone.  Xbox is really cool! Voice chat and even video chat can be done.  Me
and the other players can talk while we are playing.  Because of this, we can
strategize more and play the game more effectively.