- External radiation treatment does not make you radioactive.
- Treatments are usually scheduled every day except Saturday and Sunday.
- You need to allow 30 minutes for each treatment session although the treatment itself takes only a few minutes.
- It's important to get plenty of rest and to eat a well-balanced diet during the course of your radiation therapy.
- Skin in the treated area may become sensitive and easily irritated.
- Side effects of radiation treatment are usually temporary and they vary depending on the area of the body that is being treated.
External Radiation Therapy
External radiation therapy is given during outpatient visits. A machine directs the high-energy rays or particles at the cancer and normal tissue around it. The radiation used in external radiation therapy can come from a variety of sources, including an x-ray, electron beam or gamma rays. The type of radiation your physician chooses depends on the type of cancer you have and on how deep into the body the doctor wants the radiation to penetrate. High-energy radiation is used to treat many types of cancer, while low-energy x-rays are used to treat some kinds of skin diseases.
External radiation therapy is usually given five days a week for six or seven weeks. When radiation is used for palliative care, the course of treatment lasts for two or three weeks. These types of schedules help protect normal body tissues in the treatment area. Weekend breaks allow normal cells to recover. The total dose of radiation and the number of treatments needed by the patient will depend on the size and location of the cancer, type of tumor, general health and other treatment the patient is receiving.
Throughout treatment, the radiation oncologist will regularly check on the effects of the treatment. The patient may not be aware of changes in the cancer, but will probably notice decreases in pain, bleeding or other discomforts they may have had, especially after the treatment is completed. Improvement will continue with time. The doctor probably will recommend some tests to be sure that the radiation is causing as little damage to normal cells as possible. Routine blood tests to check the levels of white blood cells and platelets will be ordered.
External radiation therapy does not cause your body to become radioactive. There is no need to avoid being with other people because of your treatment. Even hugging, kissing or having sexual relations with others poses no risk of radiation exposure to them.
Brachytherapy Radiation
Your radiation oncologist may decide that very intense radiation given to a small area of the body is the best way to treat the cancer. Internal radiation therapy or ¡§brachytherapy¡¨ places the source of the high-energy rays as close as possible to the cancer cells so that fewer normal cells are exposed to radiation. With this therapy, a doctor can give a higher total dose of radiation in a shorter time than is possible with external treatment.
The radioactive material, usually in small tubes or containers, is placed directly into or as close as possible to the affected area. Some of the radioactive substances used for internal radiation treatment include radium, cesium, iridium, iodine, phosphorus and palladium. These implants may be temporary or permanent.
Severe pain during implant therapy is not likely. However, if an applicator is holding the implant in place, it may be somewhat uncomfortable. The doctor will order medicine to help you relax or to relieve pain, if needed. Any side effects such as burning, sweating or other unusual symptoms should be reported to the nurse.
The radioactive substance may transmit rays outside the body. Therefore, while receiving brachytherapy radiation, the patient is required to stay in a private room. Although the nurses and other people caring for you will not be able to spend a long time in the room, patients will be given all of the care needed.
The total amount of time that an implant is left in place depends on the dose (amount) of radioactivity with which the patient is treated. The implant may be low dose rate (LDR) and left in place for several days or high dose rate (HDR) and removed after a few minutes. Generally, low dose rate implants are left in place from 1 to 7 days. For some cancer sites, the implant may be left in place permanently. If the implant is permanent, the patient may need to stay in the room away from other people in the hospital for a few days while the radiation is most active. The implant will lose energy each day, so by the time they are ready to go home, the radiation in their body will be much weaker.
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