Final answer:
An MRI is useful for cancer diagnosis because it provides detailed images using low-intensity radio waves that do not harm human tissue, but these waves lack the energy required to kill cancer cells, making MRI ineffective for cancer treatment.
Step-by-step explanation:
The reason MRI is useful for diagnosing cancer but ineffective in treating it is that the amount of energy carried by radio waves is enough to provide highly detailed two- and three-dimensional images of tissues but not enough to kill cancer cells.
Unlike treatments such as radiation therapy, which uses high-energy radiation to damage the DNA of cancer cells and destroy their ability to divide and grow, the radio waves used in MRI have a much lower intensity. This low intensity presents little to no hazard to human health, and therefore it does not have the capability to treat or destroy cancer cells.