Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is a technique in which ionising radiation, rather like high intensity X-rays, are used to destroy cancer cells. This technique is mainly used for cancers that are localised in one part of the body (usually solid tumors). It is used to treat cancers of the brain, breast, skin, uterus and prostate gland.

External radiotherapy involves a machine called a linear accelerator, which focuses high-energy radiation beams onto the area requiring treatment. External beam radiotherapy is completely painless and involves a series of daily treatments over a number of days or weeks.

The radiation may damage healthy tissues through which it passes before reaching the targeted organ or tumor. The damage is minimised by using a converging beam, which comes to a focus at the target. A single treatment takes only a few minutes.

Radiation produced inside the body can introdue placing a small piece of radioactive material temporarily inside the body near the cancerous cells or diseased tissue or the use of a radioactive liquid that is swallowed or injected.

The radiation emitted is painless, through the procedure to insert the source can sometimes cause mild discomfort. The radioactive pellets/ material remain in the body and emit gamma rays, although with steadily reducing intensity.

The purpose of radiotherapy is to destroy cancer cells while causing as little damage as possible to normal calls.

Curative treatment, sometimes called radial treatment, aims to give long term benefits to people. Sometimes radiotherapy is given on its own or it may be given alongside other treatment. Radiotherapy may be given before surgery to shrink a tumor or after surgery to stop the growth of cancer cells that may remain.

Pallative treatment aims to shrink tumors and reduce pain or relieve other cancer symptoms. It may also prolong life.

Depending on which part of the body is treated, possible side-effects immediately after radiotherapy may include:

• tiredness
• loss of appetite
• feeling sick and vomitting
• diarrhoea
• red, sore or itchy skin.

It can also cause long-term effects, such as:

• darkening of your skin
• hair growth in different textures and colours
• hair loss permanent
• red marks on skin from broken blood vessels
• swelling of arms and legs - lymphoedema
• infertility.