Where can I get more information about radiation treatment?
Call us at 1-800-227-2345 for additional resources, help, or just to talk. Cancer Information Specialists are available 24/7 to answer your questions. Radiation treatment is often targeted at one specific area of the body, so side effects can vary depending on the body part being treated.
What do you need to know about radiation treatment?
Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for some types of cancer. It may be used to cure a cancer or shrink tumors, stop cancer from coming back, or treat symptoms of cancer that has spread. It’s normal to have questions about how to help someone getting radiation treatment.
What is an radiotherapy treatment?
Radiation is one of the most common treatments for cancer. Other names for radiation treatment are radiation therapy, radiotherapy, irradiation, and x-ray therapy. What is radiation therapy? Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons, to destroy or damage cancer cells.
Who will care for me during my radiation therapy?
During your radiation therapy, a team of highly trained medical professionals will care for you. Your team may include these people: Radiation oncologist: This doctor is specially trained to treat cancer with radiation. This person oversees your radiation treatment plan.
What radiation therapy feels like?
The most common early side effects are fatigue (feeling tired) and skin changes. Other early side effects usually are related to the area being treated, such as hair loss and mouth problems when radiation treatment is given to this area. Late side effects can take months or even years to develop.
What can I expect at my first radiation treatment?
During your first visit, your doctor will evaluate your need for radiation therapy and its likely results. This includes reviewing your current medical problems, past medical history, past surgical history, family history, medications, allergies and lifestyle.
Can you feel radiation during treatment?
You may need anesthesia to block the awareness of pain while the radioactive sources are placed in the body. Most people feel little to no discomfort during this treatment. But some may experience weakness or nausea from the anesthesia. You will need to take precautions to protect others from radiation exposure.
Is radiation therapy 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.
Do you feel sick after first radiation treatment?
Radiation therapy near the abdomen, pelvic region or head You may feel sick (nauseated), with or without vomiting, for several hours after each treatment. Your radiation oncologist may prescribe medicine (antiemetic) to take at home before and after each session to prevent nausea.
Is radiation worse than chemo?
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.
What should you not do during radiation?
Avoid raw vegetables and fruits, and other hard, dry foods such as chips or pretzels. It's also best to avoid salty, spicy or acidic foods if you are experiencing these symptoms. Your care team can recommend nutrient-based oral care solutions if you are experiencing mucositis or mouth sores caused by cancer treatment.
How much weight do you lose during radiation treatment?
Weight changes during the radiotherapy were as follows: 78.7% of patients lost weight, 8.5% gained weight (0.7 −3.6 kg), and 12.8% had no weight change. Weight loss was significant (t-test two-paired, p-value <0.001) and ranged from 1.1% to 18.9%.
What are the worst side effects of radiotherapy?
Treatment areas and possible side effectsPart of the body being treatedPossible side effectsHead and NeckFatigue Hair loss Mouth problems Skin changes Taste changes Throat problems, such as trouble swallowing Less active thyroid gland6 more rows•Jan 11, 2022
Do you lose your hair with radiation treatment?
Radiation therapy can also cause hair loss on the part of the body that is being treated. Hair loss is called alopecia. Talk with your health care team to learn if the cancer treatment you will be receiving causes hair loss.
Can you wear clothes during radiation?
Wear loose, soft, cotton clothing over the area being treated. Avoid stiff or starched clothing near the area being treated. Do not put anything but mild soap (such as Dove) and lukewarm water on the skin in the treated area, unless the doctor or nurse says that it is safe to do so.
How long after radiation do you start to feel better?
Most side effects go away within 1–2 months after you have finished radiation therapy.
What Is Radiation Therapy?
Radiation therapy uses high-energy particles or waves, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons, to destroy or damage cancer cells.Yo...
Who Gets Radiation Therapy?
More than half of people with cancer get radiation therapy. Sometimes, radiation therapy is the only cancer treatment needed.
What Are The Goals of Radiation Therapy?
Most types of radiation therapy don’t reach all parts of the body, which means they’re not helpful in treating cancer that has spread to many place...
How Is Radiation Therapy given?
Radiation therapy can be given in 3 ways: 1. External radiation (or external beam radiation): uses a machine that directs high-energy rays from out...
Who Gives Radiation Therapy Treatments?
During your radiation therapy, a team of highly trained medical professionals will care for you. Your team may include these people: 1. Radiation o...
Does Radiation Therapy Cause Cancer?
It has long been known that radiation therapy can slightly raise the risk of getting another cancer. It’s one of the possible side effects of treat...
Does Radiation Therapy Affect Pregnancy Or Fertility?
Women: It’s important not to become pregnant while getting radiation – it can harm the growing baby. If there’s a chance you might become pregnant,...
Questions to Ask About Radiation Therapy
Before treatment, you’ll be asked to sign a consent form saying that your doctor has explained how radiation therapy may help, the possible risks,...
Will I Be Radioactive During Or After External Radiation Treatment?
External radiation therapy affects cells in your body only for a moment. Because there’s no radiation source in your body, you are not radioactive...
What Are Some Common Side Effects of Radiation? How Do I Handle them?
Radiation treatment is often targeted at one specific area of the body, so side effects can vary depending on the body part being treated. However,...
Does This Person Need Any Kind of Special Food Or Drink During Treatment?
People undergoing radiation to the head, neck, or stomach area may have trouble with nutrition because they feel nauseated or too fatigued to eat a...
Should I Take Precautions to Make Sure The Radiation They Receive During Treatment Isn't Harmful to Me?
Patients receiving external radiation therapy are only exposed to radiation during treatment itself. But there are two types of radiation treatment...
When should radiation therapy be given?
Radiation therapy may be given before, during, or after these other treatments to improve the chances that treatment will work. The timing of when radiation therapy is given depends on the type of cancer being treated and whether the goal of radiation therapy is to treat the cancer or ease symptoms.
How does radiation help cancer?
When radiation is combined with surgery, it can be given: 1 Before surgery, to shrink the size of the cancer so it can be removed by surgery and be less likely to return. 2 During surgery, so that it goes straight to the cancer without passing through the skin. Radiation therapy used this way is called intraoperative radiation. With this technique, doctors can more easily protect nearby normal tissues from radiation. 3 After surgery to kill any cancer cells that remain.
What is intraoperative radiation therapy?
During surgery, so that it goes straight to the cancer without passing through the skin. Radiation therapy used this way is called intraoperative radiation.
What is brachytherapy with liquid source?
Learn more about brachytherapy. Internal radiation therapy with a liquid source is called systemic therapy. Systemic means that the treatment travels in the blood to tissues throughout your body, seeking out and killing cancer cells.
What is the best radiation treatment for thyroid cancer?
A systemic radiation therapy called radioactive iodine, or I-131, is most often used to treat certain types of thyroid cancer.
What is the treatment for cancer that has spread to the bone called?
Pain from cancer that has spread to the bone can be treated with systemic radiation therapy drugs called radiopharmaceuticals.
Why do people with cancer need radiation?
Why People with Cancer Receive Radiation Therapy. Radiation therapy is used to treat cancer and ease cancer symptoms . When used to treat cancer, radiation therapy can cure cancer, prevent it from returning, or stop or slow its growth. When treatments are used to ease symptoms, they are known as palliative treatments.
How is radiation given?
Radiation therapy can be given in 3 ways: 1 External radiation (or external beam radiation): uses a machine that directs high-energy rays from outside the body into the tumor. It’s done during outpatient visits to a hospital or treatment center. It's usually given over many weeks and sometimes will be given twice a day for several weeks. A person receiving external radiation is not radioactive and does not have to follow special safety precautions at home. 2 Internal radiation: Internal radiation is also called brachytherapy. A radioactive source is put inside the body into or near the tumor. With some types of brachytherapy, radiation might be placed and left in the body to work. Sometimes it is placed in the body for a period of time and then removed. This is decided based on the type of cancer. Special safety precautions are needed for this type of radiation for a period of time. But it's important to know if the internal radiation is left in the body, after a while it eventually is no longer radioactive. 3 Systemic radiation: Radioactive drugs given by mouth or put into a vein are used to treat certain types of cancer. These drugs then travel throughout the body. You might have to follow special precautions at home for a period of time after these drugs are given.
What is the treatment for cancer that has returned?
To treat cancer that has returned (recurred) If a person's cancer has returned (recurred), radiation might be used to treat the cancer or to treat symptoms caused by advanced cancer. Whether radiation will be used after recurrence depends on many factors.
What doctor is trained to treat cancer?
Radiation oncologist: This doctor is specially trained to treat cancer with radiation. This person oversees your radiation treatment plan. Radiation physicist: This is the person who makes sure the radiation equipment is working as it should and that it gives you the exact dose prescribed by your radiation oncologist.
How does radiation help cancer cells?
But cancer cells grow and divide faster than most normal cells. Radiation works by making small breaks in the DNA inside cells. These breaks keep cancer cells from growing and dividing and cause them to die.
Why do people get radiation to their head?
This is done to help prevent cancer from spreading to the head even before it can.
How many people with cancer get radiation?
More than half of people with cancer get radiation therapy. Sometimes, radiation therapy is the only cancer treatment needed and sometimes it's used with other types of treatment. The decision to use radiation therapy depends on the type and stage of cancer, and other health problems a patient might have.
What is the best treatment for cancer?
Radiation may be used by itself in these cases to make the cancer shrink or completely go away. In some cases, chemotherapy or other anti-cancer drugs may be given first. For other cancers, radiation may be used before surgery to shrink the tumor ...
What are the side effects of radiation?
Some people may have many side effects, while others may have very few. The most common side effects are skin problems and fatigue.
What is caregiving during radiation treatment?
October 18, 2019. Taking care of someone with cancer may involve learning some basics about radiation treatments. Radiation therapy is one of the most common treatments for some types of cancer. It may be used to cure a cancer or shrink tumors, stop cancer from coming back, ...
How long after radiation therapy can you touch a patient?
With systemic radiation therapy, you may also have to avoid the person's bodily fluids for a few days after treatment.
What is systemic radiation?
Another type is systemic radiation, when a radioactive drug is used and either given by mouth or put into a vein. External and internal radiation therapy mostly affect only the part of the body that has cancer while systemic radiation travels throughout the body.
How does radiation work?
Radiation works by breaking the DNA in cancer cells which helps keep them from growing and can cause them to die. Most of the time, radiation is aimed at only the area that has cancer. It doesn’t reach the rest of the body.
How to help a cancer patient with fatigue?
Staying active while also getting enough rest and eating a healthy diet may help. Talk to the cancer care team about other ways to manage fatigue. External beam radiation can make the skin in the area being treated look and feel like it’s been sunburned. It may hurt or itch, peel, or become flaky.
Can you use lotion on cancer?
Try to protect the area from rubbing or scratching. Tight or stiff clothes may bother the skin. Ask the cancer care team whether it’s OK before using anything on the skin, including soaps, lotions, deodorants, medicines, perfumes, cosmetics, or powder.
What is radiation cystitis?
Radiation cystitis is the inflammation of the bladder due to exposure from radiation treatments.
Common symptoms reported by people with radiation cystitis
Reports may be affected by other conditions and/or medication side effects. We ask about general symptoms (anxious mood, depressed mood, fatigue, pain, and stress) regardless of condition.
Treatments taken by people for radiation cystitis
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Compare treatments taken by people with radiation cystitis
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