A 33-year-old member asked:
If radioactivity can cause cancer, do cancer radiation treatments radiate the people around the patients?
2 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in

Dr. Addagada Raoanswered
General Surgery 58 years experience
NO: Patients who received radiation, the radiation energy like gamma rays dissipates in the tissues immediately, and patients can not re emit radiation, and safe to other people. Similarly implantable so called ' radiation seeds' are safe to other people and environment.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Gurmukh Singhanswered
Pathology 51 years experience
No, except..: External beam radiation does not make the patient radioactive and they do not emit radiation. The exception being the few cases in which radioactive material is implanted in the patient, e.g., radioactive seeds for treatment of prostate cancer.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Jun 23, 2020
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