The fight against cancer: the weapons of physics

Cancer is an old and not yet finally defeated scourge of humanity. Chemical therapies, radiation therapy, surgery, hormone therapy and many others, have allowed humans to rise some partial victories, but the final triumph still arises as a desire to be delayed until the distant future. Several of these partial victories have been achieved with the help of a powerful weapon: ionizing radiation. In this study we will journey through the history of radiotherapy, the use of radiation in the fight against cancer, since the discovery of X rays by W.C. Roentgen, in 1895, to the sophisticated medical advances of today. We will see how this story has involved an ongoing exchange between science and technology, a permanent interaction between explaining and doing, between interpreting and acting. Finally, we will see how education plays (or should play) a key role in this process: education of the society so that its members can judge with greater certainty the true value of science and technology, and the contribution of both to health and welfare of human beings. (author)