What does radiotherapy mean?
Table of Contents
What does radiotherapy mean?
Listen to pronunciation. (RAY-dee-oh-THAYR-uh-pee) The use of high-energy radiation from x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, protons, and other sources to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
What is radiotherapy and how does it work?
Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) is a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. At low doses, radiation is used in x-rays to see inside your body, as with x-rays of your teeth or broken bones.
How is radiotherapy done?
During external beam radiation therapy, you’re positioned on a table and a large machine moves around you sending beams of radiation into precise points in your body. External beam radiation therapy is usually conducted using a linear accelerator — a machine that directs high-energy beams of radiation into your body.
How many times can radiotherapy be given?
Most people have 5 treatments each week (1 treatment a day from Monday to Friday, with a break at the weekend). But sometimes treatment may be given more than once a day or over the weekend.
Which cancers are treated with radiotherapy?
Liver cancer. A type of cancer that starts in the cells of the liver.
What are the side effects of radiotherapy?
Ask your care team about the side effects you might get.
- Sore skin. In some people, radiotherapy can make the skin sore and red (similar to sunburn), darker than normal or dry and itchy.
- Tiredness.
- Hair loss.
- Feeling sick.
- Problems eating and drinking.
- Diarrhoea.
- Stiff joints and muscles.
- Sex and fertility issues.
Is radiation treatment painful?
Does radiation therapy hurt? No, radiation therapy does not hurt while it is being given. But the side effects that people may get from radiation therapy can cause pain and discomfort. This booklet has a lot of information about ways that you and your doctor and nurse can help manage side effects.
Is radiotherapy worse than chemotherapy?
Radiation therapy involves giving high doses of radiation beams directly into a tumor. The radiation beams change the DNA makeup of the tumor, causing it to shrink or die. This type of cancer treatment has fewer side effects than chemotherapy since it only targets one area of the body.
