• Question: What are the main type of cancers hat develop after being exposed to radiation?

    Asked by jackyboy1999 to Clare, Mariana, Robert, Susanne on 21 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Robert Insall

      Robert Insall answered on 21 Nov 2012:

      Radiation can cause all manner of cancers. People who are exposed to nuclear radiation often get leukaemia, though. The sun’s radiation causes skin cancers, in particular melanoma.

    • Photo: Clare Taylor

      Clare Taylor answered on 21 Nov 2012:

      Ionizing radiation, which is the kind of radiation given off by radioactive materials has enough energy to damage DNA, and this can lead to cancer. As Robert says, leukaemia is the most common cancer in people who have been exposed to this type of radiation, but cancer of the thyroid can also happen. Children are more susceptible to this type of radiation than adults because their bodies are still developing and growing.

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