Radiation Therapy Mask for Hellebore Roots: See How We Fight Cancer

Cancer Revolution, a new exhibition at the Science Museum in London, is behind cancer treatment, from this mask worn by throat cancer patients for treatment to the black Helebors root, the treatment used in the 1700s. Explore some progress.

health

May 18, 2022

To Gege Li

This eclectic object selection is linked by a single goal of defeating one of the most common but deadly illnesses.They form part of Cancer Revolution: Science, Innovation, and HopeAn exhibition developed by the British Science Museum Group, exploring the advances behind cancer treatment.

Some cancer treatments are tricky. People may need to take medications to manage side effects, as shown by the one-month supply of medications to people with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma seen in the first image. These are intended to mitigate the unwanted effects of chemotherapy such as pain and blindness.

During radiation therapy, a mask molded into the affected area of ​​the patient is used to keep the mask stationary so that it can be given exactly the radiation dose that the patient with laryngeal cancer shown in the second image would wear.

The other objects in the exhibition are: An early device for producing X-rays for radiation therapy from around 1917, used to treat tumors near the surface of the skin (third image). An anatomical model of the inside of the abdomen of a 6-year-old girl (fourth image). It is 3D printed so that the surgeon can plan the removal of her tumor. A radium capsule placed inside the patient’s body to provide local radiation therapy (fifth image). And a jar of black hellebore roots (Hellebore Nigger) (6th image), used to treat cancer in the 1700s.

The Cancer Revolution has been held at the Science Museum in London since May 25th.

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