The Cancer Fight, from Hiroshima to Houston

Ritsuko Komaki

Answers for all the questions from the lesson ‘The Cancer Fight, from Hiroshima to Houston’ included in the CHSE +2 book ‘Invitation to English – 1’.

Think it out – 1

1. How did Hiroshima become a part of world history?
Answer – The atomic bomb explosion by the U.S. on Hiroshima in 1945 and the deadly aftermath of radiation exposure made it a part of the world history.

2. What are the three traumatic events of Ritsuko’s childhood?
Answer – The three traumatic events of Ritsuko’s childhood were the death of almost half of her relatives including her father & Sadako Sasaki, her closest friend, and finally, the fact that she grew up in the shadows of the killer radiation unleashed by the bomb explosion.

3. What were the results of these experiences for Ritsuko?
Answer – Ritusko was devastated by the tragic loss of her near and dear ones. At the same time, she became determined to understand and fight cancer.

4. What is Dr Komaki’s specialization?
Answer – Dr Komaki’s specialization is proton-based radiation therapy.

5. What is she famous for?
Answer – She is famous for her extensive research in the safe and most effective proton radiation beam therapy.

6. How do oncologists view position radiation beam therapy?
Answer – For oncologists, the effective proton radiation beam therapy is the safest yet the most effective way of therapy available today.

7. Why does she prefer to work in a university?
Answer – Komaki prefers university over private institutions when it comes to her work and research as she firmly believes that pioneering cancer treatment work is done very efficiently and rigorously in a university. Private clinics and hospitals lack the manpower and organization to vet the patients and conduct and monitor treatment on patients.

8. Do you think she likes to teach? Why do you think so?
Answer – Dr. Komaki likes to teach as she is keen on propagating her new ideas and findings among many more number of cancer doctors.

9. What is she more interested in: research and patient care or money? Why do you think so?
Answer – Komaki is a dedicated and pioneering cancer doctor. She is keen to find ways to alleviate the sufferings of cancer patients. For a person of such missionary zeal, money is much less than conducting path-breaking research.

10. What is her mission in life?
Answer – Her mission in life is to develop new and effective means to cure cancer and pass on her skills to as many new doctors as possible, so that doomed cancer patients get a new lease of life.

11. Explain the meaning of this expression: (she) no longer fears it.
Answer – “She no longer fears it”- means that she no longer fears the deadly disease of cancer.

Think it out – 2

1. What is proton therapy?
Answer – It’s type of treatment of cancer where powerful proton particles are aimed at cancerous tumors to destroy the latter.

2.What are the damaging side effects of proton therapy?
Answer – The powerful proton rays hace high efficacy in destroying cancer cells, but they cause some collateral damage in the process by attacking healthy cells in the vicinity. The patient could develop pneumonitis, esophagitis, and bone marrow toxicity.

3. What are the advantages of proton therapy over photon therapy?
Answer – Proton therapy has a definite edge over photon (X-ray) therapy because of three reasons. First, it can be pinpointed to hit the cancer cell only, and thus leave the adjoining healthy cells relatively unaffected. Secondly, like the photon cells, it does not come out of the cancer cells to damage healthy cells on its way. Thirdly, the efficiency of the photon cells therapy is much lower than that of proton therapy.

4. Do you think proton therapy is more effective at certain stages of cancer?
Answer – For treating localized cancer in the initial stages that has not spread, proton therapy is highly effective. It suits young children and adults with cancer-affected lungs.

5. For what stage of cancer is proton therapy the most useful?
Answer – For treating young children in the initial stages and old patients, proton therapy is quite beneficial.

6. For which age groups is proton therapy the best? Why?
Answer – Proton therapy serves well for treating very young and very old patients.

7. Why do her patients think proton therapy is fabulous?
Answer – Proton therapy is effective, but it causes side effect. The onset of side effects confirms that the proton therapy is working. Thus, the patients feel reassured that the treatment is working. So they hail proton therapy.

Think it out – 3

1. What different kinds of therapies were used for treating cancer before the use of proton therapy?
Answer – Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, & photon therapy were used for treating cancer before proton therapy got added to the cancer surgeon’s array of tools for treatment of the disease.

2. What did Komaki initially learn about treating cancer?
Answer – Initially, Komaki learnt that surgery was the only recourse for both the doctors and patients to combat cancer. She came to know about the efficacy of radiation later.

3. What did she learn about cancer treatment in the USA?
Answer – In the U.S., she came to learn about the revolutionary proton therapy.

4. What two things did Komaki learn about radiation?
Answer – She learnt that localized radiation treatment was less harmful than the chemotherapy. She also realized that it was un-focused nature radiation that caused so much collateral damage to the patient’s body.

5. How did Komaki and her husband start proton therapy at Anderson Cancer Center?
Answer – Komaki and her husband started proton therapy in the Anderson Cancer Center by pushing the same unit they had in Houston.

6. When did proton therapy first start?
Answer – The advent of proton therapy happened in 1954.

7. What is Komaki’s opinion on proton therapy?
Answer – Komaki’s expertise on proton therapy holds immense promise for the future of cancer cure and research. It would prove to be a giant stride to alleviate the sufferings of and even cure cancer patients.

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