Perspective for Female Medical Physicists
- Department of Radiology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi (Pakistan)
- Center for Physics Education, Karachi (Pakistan)
Due to cultural and religious reasons, Pakistani women can be reluctant to seek medical attention for disorders affecting their genitals or breasts. As a result, in the case of cervical and breast cancers, oncological treatment is often not received until the diseases are in the late stages. Once a cancer is classified and the tumor marked, the role of the medical physicist begins. Medical physicists' responsibilities include treatment planning, supervising treatment through radiation, dosimetry, contouring, training, equipment selection, education, research, and supervising radiotherapy facilities. In brachytherapy, isotopes are placed at the tumor site in the form of wires or seeds. There are very few female medical physicists in Pakistan. This leads to further hesitation on the part of many women to seek treatment. To help female patients obtain needed medical care, female physics students should be encouraged to pursue the emerging field of medical physics. This would provide a new professional opportunity for female physics students and give comfort to female patients.
- OSTI ID:
- 21301136
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1119, Issue 1; Conference: 3. IUPAP international conference on women in physics, Seoul (Korea, Republic of), 8-10 Oct 2008; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3137861; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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