Tanner Elkins
Mrs. McKoy
English 2-Block: 2
15
November 2013 Radiation;
the Never Ending Effects
Radiation
used on childhood cancer should be stopped. This type of treatment can cause many
problems in the future for the child. [TE1] It even
causes problems while going through the treatment as a child. There are
many types of radiation; CT scans, MRIs, and
Radiology. [TE2] [TE3] There
was a girl named Sophie who went through radiation treatment. There was cancer
in her body which is called Brain Cancer. While she went through the machine,
she wondered if the laser was actually doing her any good, but she knew that it
was
burning or killing her skin cells [TE4] like
fire set loose on paper. She also has to wear a protective cover-up that look like some type
of alien mask.[TE5] The effects
from radiation can be serious especially in the future for an adult who had
cancer in their childhood; the effects are significantly low
IQ scores, it damages skin cells, and causes cancer or increases the chance of
getting cancer again.[TE6] [TE7]
It’s
important to realize that radiation can lower IQ scores over time [TE8] even as
the patient or child gets older. In the article, “Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Treatment,”
The National Cancer Institute explains that[TE9] , “Survival rates
have increased over recent decades for children with brain tumors; however, long-term [TE10] cognitive
effects due to their illness and associated treatments are emerging.”[TE11] In making
this comment, The National Cancer Institute informs [TE12] us about survival rates are increased with
radiation, but there are many long term effects after treatment like decreasing
IQ scores. Radiation is bad just like this effect is. They both can be harmful
and radiation gives the child a low IQ. In the same way, The National Cancer Institute observes
that, [TE13] “The negative impact of radiation treatment has
been characterized by changes in intelligence quotient (IQ) scores, which have
been noted to drop about 2 to 5 years after diagnosis with an attenuation of
the decline 5 to 10 years afterward, followed by stabilization of the IQ scores
20 to 40 years after diagnosis.” [TE14] The National Cancer Institute’s point is that [TE15] the IQ scores drop over the years after
their treatment for children who’s been diagnosed with Brain Cancer. Both the
cause and the effect are closely related by showing how the IQ score drop over
the years from the radiation treatment.
Next, Nicky
Phillips claims that, [TE16] “Given the high number of patients who need
the treatment, a team of Melbourne
Another effect from radiation is that it
causes cancer or increases the chance of getting cancer again. Stephanie
Innes states that[TE22] , “The change is an effort to
minimize the amount of radiation children get, since recent studies have raised
concerns that the large doses of radiation in computed tomography (CT) scans
may pose a cancer risk." [TE23] Stephanie’s
point is that [TE24] there should be a better way to treat children with radiation and it may
cause cancer again for the child. Both the cause and the effect relate to each
other closely by how radiation can increase the chance of getting cancer again
and may happen in a different area or the same area as before.
If the doctors create a new type of
treatment, then the survival rates as well as reducing the effects from the
treatment will be better. Many children will be happy after their treatment and the fact
that they will not have later effects that are quite negative in their future
life. [TE25] This is a big problem and what’s the point of increasing the survival
rates, but having many negative effects to all of the survivors. Wouldn’t it be
nice, if the children talk about their stories about how their treatment helped
them like a kid getting an awesome birthday present for their birthday, instead
of having later effects to the survivors. The Survivor rates should be kept
high, but also the later effects are unacceptable. This issue should be changed
for all children around the world.
