If you have a pacemaker, ICD or cochlea implant a hearing implant in your ear , you must tell your doctor or radiographer before or during your first planning appointment. Radiotherapy can affect how these devices work, so your treatment has to be planned to allow for them. Before treatment starts, your radiotherapy team advise you about looking after your skin. This is because you will need to take extra care of the skin in the area being treated, to avoid a skin reaction.
How you take care of your skin will depend on the type of treatment you are having. Feeling tired is a common side effect of radiotherapy. It may be useful for you to think about help with day-to-day tasks before you start treatment.
It may also be helpful to plan how you will travel to the hospital. If you are worried about this, let the staff in the radiotherapy department know. Research shows that stopping smoking may make radiotherapy treatment more effective. It can also reduce the side effects of treatment. If you smoke, try to stop.
Many hospitals provide help or advice on how to quit smoking. Ask your clinical oncologist, radiographer, or specialist nurse if your hospital provides this service. If you are working or you are a student, it is a good idea to talk to your employer or tutors. They can make arrangements to support you and organise your time off during treatment.
If you would like to talk about your treatment or how you are feeling, Macmillan is here to support you. You can do the following:. Your first planning session usually lasts 30 to 60 minutes, but it may take longer or need more than one visit.
Your session will usually involve the following:. Your team will tell you what to expect and if there is anything you need to do to prepare. For example, you may be asked to follow a special diet or drink plenty of water. You should ask them any questions you have about your treatment. A CT scan takes lots of pictures from different angles to build up a 3D picture of the inside of your body. This helps plan the precise area for your radiotherapy.
Before your scan, the radiographer may ask you to change into a hospital gown. MRI scans use magnets to give a detailed picture of the area that needs treating.
PET scans use low-dose radioactive glucose a type of sugar to measure the activity of cells in different parts of the body. If you have a mould or mask , it will be carefully fitted to help you lie still during your scan.
If you feel uncomfortable while having any of these scans, tell the radiographers so they can make you more comfortable. It is important you lie still, so your position can be recorded. This is because you need to be in exactly the same position when you have the radiotherapy treatment.
The information from the scan then goes to a planning computer, which works out the precise dose and area for your treatment. You may have markings made on your skin to help the radiographers position you accurately for treatment. Usually, tiny permanent markings are made in the same way as a tattoo. The marks are the size of a pinpoint and are only made with your permission. If you have a mould or mask, the marks may be made on this.
If you are concerned about having permanent marks, let your radiographers know. They can discuss other options with you. Your team plans your treatment carefully to reduce your risk of side effects. However, most people have a few side effects during or after radiotherapy. We have more information on the side effects of radiotherapy. After your radiotherapy has finished, your oncologist or radiographer will explain your follow-up. This depends on the type of cancer and the type of radiotherapy you had.
Instead, you might get advice about problems you should look out for. You will also get details of someone to contact if you need to. These may be with the specialist who recommended the radiotherapy. But, if one area of the body has already received the safe lifetime dose of radiation, another area might still be treated if the distance between the two areas is large enough.
Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells, it can also affect nearby healthy cells. Damage to healthy cells can cause side effects. Radiation therapy can be expensive. It uses complex machines and involves the services of many health care providers.
The exact cost of your radiation therapy depends on the cost of health care where you live, what type of radiation therapy you get, and how many treatments you need. Talk with your health insurance company about what services it will pay for. Most insurance plans pay for radiation therapy. To learn more, talk with the business office at the clinic or hospital where you go for treatment. If you need financial assistance, there are organizations that may be able to help.
To find such organizations, go to the National Cancer Institute database, Organizations that Offer Support Services and search for "financial assistance. Radiation can cause side effects that make it hard to eat, such as nausea , mouth sores, and throat problems called esophagitis.
Since your body uses a lot of energy to heal during radiation therapy, it is important that you eat enough calories and protein to maintain your weight during treatment. If you are having trouble eating and maintaining your weight, talk to your doctor or nurse.
You might also find it helpful to speak with a dietitian. For more information about coping with eating problems see the booklet Eating Hints or read more about side effects. Some people are able to work full-time during radiation therapy. Others can work only part-time or not at all. How much you are able to work depends on how you feel. Ask your doctor or nurse what you may expect from the treatment you will have. You are likely to feel well enough to work when you first start your radiation treatments.
As time goes on, do not be surprised if you are more tired, have less energy, or feel weak. Once you have finished treatment, it may take just a few weeks for you to feel better—or it could take months. You may get to a point during your radiation therapy when you feel too sick to work. Talk with your employer to find out if you can go on medical leave.
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Questions to Ask About Cancer. Choices for Care. Talking about Your Advanced Cancer. Planning for Advanced Cancer. Advanced Cancer and Caregivers. Questions to Ask about Advanced Cancer. Most people have several treatment sessions, which are typically spread over the course of a few weeks. Read more about what happens during radiotherapy. As well as killing cancer cells, radiotherapy can damage some healthy cells in the area being treated. The radiation from implants or injections can stay in your body for a few days, so you may need to stay in hospital and avoid close contact with other people for a few days as a precaution.
You can expect these steps before beginning treatment:. Meeting with your radiation oncologist. The doctor will review your medical records, perform a physical exam, and recommend tests.
You will also learn about the potential risks and benefits of radiation therapy. This is a great time to ask any questions or share concerns you may have. Giving permission for radiation therapy. If you choose to receive radiation therapy, your health care team will ask you to sign an "informed consent" form. Signing the document means:. Simulating and planning treatment. Your first radiation therapy session is a simulation. This means it is a practice run without giving radiation therapy.
Your team will use imaging scans to identify the tumor location. These may include:. Depending on the area being treated, you may receive a small mark on your skin. This will help your team aim the radiation beam at the tumor. For radiation therapy to the head or neck, you may receive a thermoplastic mask. This is a mesh mask that is molded to your face and secured to the table. It gently holds your head in place. It is important for your body to be in the same position for each treatment.
Your radiation oncology team cares about your comfort. Talk with the team to find a comfortable position that you can be in every time you come in for radiation therapy. Tell them if you experience anxiety lying still in an immobilization device.
Your doctor can prescribe medication to help you relax. After the simulation at your first session, your radiation therapy team will review your information and design a treatment plan. Computer software helps the team develop the plan. What happens during your radiation therapy treatment depends on the kind of radiation therapy you receive. External-beam radiation therapy delivers radiation from a machine outside the body.
It is the most common radiation therapy treatment for cancer. Each session is quick, lasting about 15 minutes. Radiation does not hurt, sting, or burn when it enters the body.
You will hear clicking or buzzing throughout the treatment and there may be a smell from the machine. Typically, people have treatment sessions 5 times per week, Monday through Friday.
This schedule usually continues for 3 to 9 weeks, depending on your personal treatment plan.
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