Radiation Therapy and Diagnostic Radiography
The confusion between Radiation Therapy (RT) and Diagnostic Radiography (DR) is understandable because both subjects are usually advertised / publicised together, and these facilities and departments in hospitals are often situated in close proximity with each other. Although these two subjects are very much related, there are fundamental differences between them.
Let's first examine the similarities. Ignoring the given fact that both are highly specialised fields within an institution of the healthcare sector, it is obvious that these two studies deal with radiation. This is present in both titles. The two fields are also highly related because information from DR is used to supplement the treatment provided during RT. Further information can be obtained from DR in the midst of RT. This is why the facilities are often physically close to each other.
The main difference is that RT is a treatment process, while DR is a diagnosis process. DR aims to obtain information, while RT uses that information to treat the condition (usually cancer). DR is photography within the body, dealing with many patients and a wide range of radiography techniques including, but not limited to, tomographies (CT, CAT), MRI and X-Rays. As such, DR is also mobilised for situations like a simple fracture, where the treatment process may not be as drastic as RT.
The main concept of RT is this:
1. Shoot beams of radiation into the body
2. Hit the correct places.
3. Avoid the uninfected area.
4. Small doses each time, over a long, consistent period of treatment,
This means that RT deals with very precise calculations of position and dosage. Dosimetrists measure the correct dosage of radiation with each exposure, and draw up a treatment plan which can span over several months, with daily exposure. The therapist also has to make sure restraints are placed correctly so the beams intersect at the right place.
Imagine this circle as the cross section of a body / organ.
The red arrows show which direction the radiation would be beamed in. Each individual arrow carries a small dose, insufficient to cause any tissue damage. But continued exposure at the intersection point would heighten the dose at that point. This is where the malicious cells would be.
In contrast, DR is very broad, and it aims to provide a clear picture showing all the information and everything related.
Because of the nature of the treatment, RT is very patient oriented, and the therapists would deal with one (or very few) patients at a time. DR, in contrast, deals with many patients day in and day out. My brain likes to imagine them as the prostitutes of medical imaging. This gives great opportunities for radiographers to specialise in all kinds of imaging. Angioscopies are also considered a type of DR. This is where a flexible needle like probe is inserted into the blood vessel, imaging the circulatory system.
RT is not lacking in the interest department either. Any form of cancer treatment utilising radiation can be considered RT.
Sidenote here, any form of uncontrolled growth of cells can be considered "cancer". As such, it is not even easily diagnosed, let alone treated. Ballparking the entire field of "cancer" as "cannot be treated" (like a lot of medically illiterate people do) is stupid. Cancer is too broad to be classified this way. But I digress.
Brachytherapy is when the radiation source is inserted and embedded into / next to the malicious cells within the patient's body, slowly decaying with minimal contact with healthy tissue.
This has been a brief discussion of the differences between DR and RT. Thank you for reading. :)
