Question

In medicine, to destroy cancer cells ______ rays are used.
A) Ultraviolet
B) Visible
C) Gamma
D) Infrared

Answer 1

Hint: Systemic radiation therapy uses radioactive substances, such as radioactive iodine, that travel in the blood to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells.

Complete step by step solution:
Gamma rays are dominantly used in medicines to destroy the cells that are cancer affected. The gamma rays do not harm the healthy cells, that is, why it is used to destroy the cancer cell. Therefore, the rays used in medicine to destroy cancer cells are Gamma rays.
Radiation therapy of gamma rays kills cancer cells by damaging their DNA. Gamma rays can either damage DNA directly or create free radicals within the cells that can in turn damage the DNA.
Radiation breaks in the DNA inside cells. These breaks keep cancer cells from growing and dividing and cause them to die.
More than half of people who are suffering from cancer get radiation therapy. In later stages of cancer, the cancer cells are not curable with medication. The decision to use radiation therapy depends on the type and stage of cancer, and other health problems a patient might have.
Some cancers are very sensitive to radiation. Radiation may be used by itself in these cases to make the cancer shrink or completely go away. In some cases, when the cancer is in early stage, chemotherapy or other anti-cancer drugs may be given first. For other cancers, radiation may be used before surgery to shrink the tumor which is called pre-operative therapy or neoadjuvant therapy, or after surgery to help keep the cancer from coming back which is called adjuvant therapy.

Note: Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons, to destroy or damage cancer cells. As gamma rays don’t affect the healthy cells, so it is used abundantly. Radiation is applied on the body of the patient in a controlled manner which doesn’t exceed the recommended amount of radiation.