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External Beam Radiation Therapy

External beam radiation therapy (also called EBRT, or sometimes just “RT”) is a radiation oncology procedure. It uses high-dose radiation to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors. A machine aims radiation at cancer with high accuracy when treating a specific body part.

EBRT is used to treat several cancers, including breast, lung, prostate, colorectal, uterine, leukemia, melanoma, and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Types of external beam radiation therapy3-D conformal radiation therapy

Here, CT, MRI, and PET scan images help plan the treatment area. A computer program analyses the images to design radiation beams that conform to the tumor shape.

HOW IT WORKS

It delivers beams from different directions. The precise shaping helps to use higher radiation doses on cancer.

TREATMENT SCHEDULE

The treatment is given once a day on weekdays. The number of treatments varies according to the type, stage, and size of cancer.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)

It is an advanced type of 3-D conformal radiation therapy to treat cancer and noncancerous tumors.

HOW IT WORKS

The small radiation beams are targeted at the tumor from different directions. It is possible to change the beam strength in some areas to give higher doses.

TREATMENT SCHEDULE

Generally given once a day on weekdays. The number of treatments varies according to the type, stage, and size of cancer.

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)

It uses imaging scans for treatment planning and during radiation therapy sessions.

HOW IT WORKS

The computer processes CT, MRI, or PET, scans to detect tumor size and location. The repeated imaging helps the radiation dose to be adjusted during the treatment. It improves the accuracy of treatment.

TREATMENT SCHEDULE

The treatment is given once a day on weekdays. The number of treatments depends on the type, stage, and size of cancer.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)

It uses high-energy and high-focused beams to treat brain and central nervous system tumors. It is an option if surgery is risky due to age, health problems, or tumor location.

HOW IT WORKS

A head frame limits the movement during treatment. The small radiation beams are targeted at the tumor from various directions. Each beam has a precisely aimed radiation dose delivered to the site.

TREATMENT SCHEDULE

The treatment is given once a day in a single dose or up to five doses.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT)

It is useful for small, isolated tumors located outside the brain and spinal cord. It is useful when surgery is not an option due to age, health problems, or the tumor location.

HOW IT WORKS

It uses special equipment to hold the body during treatment. It delivers a precise beam to the limited area.

TREATMENT SCHEDULE

Stereotactic radiation is given once a day in more than one dose, up to five doses.

Side Effects

Standard radiation therapy treatments may cause side effects depending on the treatment period and the body part being treated. For example:

Skin changes

Fatigue (Tiredness)

Nausea and vomiting

Hair Loss

Diarrhea

Difficulty swallowing

Tenderness and inflammation

Urinary symptoms like burning, blood in urine, pain

Questions to ask before treatment

What will be the length of the therapy?

What happens before the first treatment?

How to relax before treatment sessions?

What to wear for treatment?

What happens during a treatment session?

Will external beam radiation therapy make me radioactive?

What is Proton Therapy?

EBRT can be given using two types of particles:

Photons

Protons

PHOTONS (LIGHT PARTICLES)

The machine uses photon beams to reach the tumor. These beams can give off (“scatter”) some of their energy along their path and it also doesn’t fully stop after reaching the cancer. This is why photon beams cause some of their side effects in normal tissue in their path (like diarrhea because of gut inflammation).

PROTONS

Proton particles can reach tumors deep in the body without scattering radiation along their path. They stop once they get to the cancer, thus decreasing healthy tissue’s exposure to the radiation. It doesn’t always work better than regular photon-based EBRT, but proton-beam therapy is generally used for brain cancer and cancers in children.

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Ankr - Cancer Platform For Education and Cancer Navigation

Ankr is a Cancer Platform to educate and navigate the patients and developed by a team of cancer experts and patients. We have over 50 years of combined cancer care experience and a passion to put patients first in all that we do.

Benefits of Ankr Cancer Platform

Learning Center

Education is key to success when it comes to fighting cancer. Ankr has a powerful learning center that helps you get trusted information anytime, anywhere.

Best Cancer Treatment

Ankr’s revolutionary artificial-intelligence algorithm cuts the clutter and gives you the options relevant for you. Just put your cancer type and stage to get started.

All the Latest Treatments

Our library has over 500 treatments, all written by scientific experts in an easy to understand way. Whether you want to read about the latest and greatest, or the old and trustworthy, we got ’em all.

Your information is safe

We use industry’s highest-level security infrastructure. Also, bank-like encryption and industry-leading security practices to protect your information.

Friends and family sharing

Use Ankr app to make audio recordings of your Doctor’s office visits and share it seamlessly with friends and family, anytime, anywhere.

Customized to you and your Doctor

Ankr works with many health systems around the country to give you customized content, timely updates on clinic changes. Ask your doctor if they are on Ankr platform!

Information

In our national survey, only 4 out of 10 cancer patients and caregivers reported receiving “Appropriate and Adequate” information. What if we told you that decades of research shows that giving patients good quality knowledge at the right time can:

· prevent treatment complications

· decrease need for ER visits and hospital admissions

· improve quality-of-life

· decrease financial toxicity for patients and their health systems

Ankr was created by an internationally-renowned, award-winning team of Doctors, nurses and patients who firmly believe that knowledge is power. Don’t just take our word for it — read this Cancer Care Report on our website from a survey of over 3000 patients like you that came to the exact same conclusion.

Convenience

If your clinic gave you a thick paper binder with important information in your first visit as a cancer patient, that’s a red flag! Will you be able to read it in the middle of the night when you are about to throw up? Or find your Doctor’s number to call with questions? This is 2021, and 88% of patients and caregivers like you expect that their cancer team to use digital tools in the cancer care. Only 34% are and we at Ankr are on the mission to change that. Ankr is designed to work seamlessly with your cancer clinic — no matter how big or small — to make your convenience their priority. To help you in your journey and keep track of all the important information in the palms of your hands. Anytime. Anywhere!

Ask your Doctor if they are in the Ankr Care Network — if not, advocate for change by contacting us.

Support

You don’t have to walk this road alone and your caregivers don’t have to get frustrated by lack of accurate and timely updates. Here are some of the features in the Ankr platform to support you:

· Record your entire clinic visit (in audio) and share with family anywhere. in the world within seconds.

· Create your personal cancer journal by taking written or audio notes.

· Keep a list of all your medications, from any provider you see.

· Learn about side effects and prevent complications.

· Stay updated with your clinic — learn of schedule changes, patient seminars and more.

Ankr is free and available to download now. What are you waiting for?

Ankr is a Free Cancer Platform

Absolutely! We believe that cancer education makes a huge difference. We want Ankr to be accessible and useful for everyone. So, you can use the basic version of Ankr for free, forever!

Data Security

We care deeply about data privacy. As a result, our entire platform uses highest security standards (similar to your bank) and is compliant with government-established security best practices.

We also do not (and will never) show advertisements. Ankr is supported by our wonderful community of patients through their Ankr Pro subscriptions.

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Cough

Cough is your body’s way of responding when something irritates your throat or airways. An irritant stimulates nerves that send a message to your brain. The brain then tells muscles in your chest and abdomen to push air out of your lungs to force out the irritant.

An occasional cough is normal and healthy. If it persists for several weeks or one that brings up discolored or bloody mucus may indicate a condition that needs medical attention. While an occasional cough is normal, a cough that persists may be a sign of a medical problem.

How Bad is Cough?

Mild: Mild symptoms; nonprescription intervention indicated.

Moderate: Moderate symptoms, medical intervention indicated; limiting instrumental activities of daily life (preparing meals, managing money, shopping, doing housework, and using a telephone).

Severe: Severe symptoms; limiting self-care activities of daily life (eating, dressing, getting into or out of a bed or chair, taking a bath or shower, and using the toilet).

How to Manage Mild Cough?

Over-the-counter remedies can help in a number of ways. Expectorants thin mucus and make it easier to hack up.

Drink warm fluids, inhale warm, moist air, and use drops. Add a spoonful of honey to hot tea, or choose a drop that has it.

Avoid triggers. If you have allergies or asthma, remove allergens from your home. Keep pets out of your bedroom. Use air conditioners to filter air.

Common viruses are the most likely causes. Over time your airways will heal and it will stop.

Elevate your head with extra pillows while sleeping.

Use cough drops to soothe your throat.

Gargle with warm salt water regularly to remove mucus and soothe your throat.

Avoid irritants, including smoke, tobacco and dust.

Add honey or ginger to hot tea to clear your airway.

Use decongestant sprays to unblock your nose and ease breathing.

How to Manage Moderate and Severe Cough?

Call your doctor if you have cough or if it involves any one of these:

Coughing up thick, greenish-yellow phlegm

Wheezing

Fever

Shortness of breath (Dyspnea)

Fainting

Ankle swelling

Abnormal weight loss

What Causes Cough?

Flu

Common cold

Laryngitis

Bronchitis

Pneumonia

Hay fever

Chronic bronchitis

Asthma

Allergies

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)

Smoking

Throat disorders

Some medicines

CANCER RELATED COUGH

Non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer

Cancers that affect the upper respiratory tract

Any cancer that has spread to the lungs or chest

Cancer treatments (chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy)

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Chest Pain

Chest Pain ranges from a sharp stab to a dull ache. Sometimes it feels crushing or burning. In certain cases, the pain travels up the neck, into the jaw, and then radiates to the back or down one or both arms.

How Bad is Chest Pain?

Mild: Mild pain without limiting any activities of daily life.

Moderate: Moderate pain; limiting instrumental activities of daily life (preparing meals, managing money, shopping, doing housework, and using a telephone).

Severe: Severe pain; limiting self-care activities of daily life (eating, dressing, getting into or out of a bed or chair, taking a bath or shower, and using the toilet).

How to Manage Mild Chest Pain?

Lie down in a comfortable position with your head up.

Stop doing activities that causes pain. Remain calm.

If you have regular adult aspirin, chew one (as long as you are not allergic to aspirin). Chewing more than one will not do any good and may cause unwanted side effects.

Antacids or certain procedures for acid reflux and heartburn, which may treat the symptoms

Anti-anxiety medications, which may treat chest pain related to panic attacks

How to Manage Moderate to Severe Chest Pain?

Seek emergency treatment immediately if you think you may be having a heart attack and especially if your pain is new, unexplained, or lasts more than a few moments. Call your doctor, if you have any of these symptoms along with the pain:

A sudden feeling of pressure, squeezing, tightness, or crushing under your breastbone that spreads to your jaw, left arm, or back.

Sudden, sharp pain with shortness of breath, especially after a long period of inactivity.

Nausea, dizziness, rapid heart rate or rapid breathing, confusion, ashen color, or excessive sweating.

Very low blood pressure or heart rate.

Fever, chills, or coughing up yellow-green mucus.

Dysphagia (Painful swallowing).

Severe pain that does not go away.

What Causes Chest Pain?

While it is a well-established sign of a heart attack, it can also be caused by many other less serious conditions.

HEART-RELATED CAUSES

The following are heart-related causes of pain:

Heart attack

Certain chemotherapy medications like 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).

Angina, which is pain caused by blockages in the blood vessels leading to your heart.

Pericarditis, which is an inflammation of the sac around the heart.

Myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart muscle).

Cardiomyopathy, which is a disease of the heart muscle.

Aortic dissection (A rare condition involving a tear of the aorta, the large vessel that comes off of the heart).

GASTROINTESTINAL CAUSES

The following are gastrointestinal causes are

Heartburn (GERD/Acid Reflux

Swallowing problems related to disorders of the esophagus

gallstones

inflammation of the gallbladder or pancreas

LUNG-RELATED CAUSES

The following are lung-related causes are

pneumonia

viral bronchitis

pneumothorax

a blood clot, or pulmonary embolus

bronchospasm

Bronchospasms commonly occur in people who have asthma and related disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

MUSCLE- OR BONE-RELATED CAUSES

The following are causes related to the muscles or bones:

bruised or broken ribs

sore muscles from exertion or chronic pain syndromes

compression fractures causing pressure on a nerve

OTHER CAUSES

Shingles can cause pain. You may develop pain along your back or before the shingles rash becomes apparent. Panic attacks can also cause chest pain.