This is where radiotherapy is delivered directly at the tumour during breast cancer surgery. This treatment is not available at every NHS hospital, only those with an intrabeam machine.
Women should avoid becoming pregnant while having radiotherapy, as the treatment could harm the baby. Use an effective method of contraception, such as a condom, and contact your care team immediately if you think you may be pregnant. Men having radiotherapy may sometimes be advised to use contraception during treatment and possibly for several months afterwards. Macmillan has more information about sex during cancer treatment.
Read about the side effects of radiotherapy. Some people decide that the benefits of radiotherapy are not worth the poor quality of life due to the side effects.
If you're struggling with the treatment and are having doubts about whether to continue, it's a good idea to speak to your care team. Your team can give you advice about the likely benefits of continuing with treatment, but the final decision to continue or stop is yours.
Page last reviewed: 25 February Next review due: 25 February Before treatment starts Deciding to have treatment If you're diagnosed with cancer, you'll be cared for by a team of specialists. For example, you may want to ask about: what the aim of treatment is — for example, is it being used to cure the cancer, relieve your symptoms or make other treatments more effective? Planning your treatment Your treatment will be carefully planned to ensure the highest possible dose is delivered to the cancer, while avoiding damage to nearby healthy cells as much as possible.
Your treatment Radiotherapy is usually given daily over several weeks. Before treatment starts, your care team will create a plan that outlines: the type of radiotherapy you'll have how many treatment sessions you'll need how often you'll need treatment Most people have 5 treatments each week 1 treatment a day from Monday to Friday, with a break at the weekend. Further information: Macmillan: radiotherapy Cancer Research UK: planning external radiotherapy How radiotherapy is given Radiotherapy can be given as: external radiotherapy — where a machine directs beams of radiation at the cancer a radioactive implant inside your body near the cancer a radioactive liquid that you swallow or have injected directly at the tumour during surgery intrabeam radiotherapy External radiotherapy During external radiotherapy, you lie on a table and a machine directs beams of radiation at the cancer.
Radiotherapy implants Radioactive implants metal wires, seeds or tubes may be used to treat cancer in areas of the body where they can be placed inside the body without surgery such as the vagina. 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. The first appointment is usually 4 to 8 weeks after treatment has finished.
They will check how you are by asking you questions. If needed, they will arrange for you to have an appointment at the clinic. This means you do not have set appointments but can contact the team and arrange one if you are worried.
This may not be suitable for everyone. You still have any tests or scans you need as normal. Follow-up appointments are a good opportunity to discuss any problems or worries you have. It may help to make a list of questions beforehand, so you do not forget anything important.
If you feel anxious, it can help to have a friend or family member with you. You will be told who to contact if you have any problems or notice any new symptoms after treatment. This may be your specialist nurse or cancer doctor. Do not wait until your next appointment, just ask for an earlier one. After having radiotherapy, there is a small risk you will have side effects that:. Before you decide to have cancer treatment, your team will explain your risk of developing these side effects.
Even if it is not very likely, it is important that you understand and think about these long-term risks. Side effects of radiotherapy can change how you feel about having sex. It is normal to be less interested in sex if you are tired , unwell or anxious. Changes caused by radiotherapy may change how you feel about your body or make you feel less confident. For a time, men may find it difficult to get or keep an erection. Remember that most of these side effects are usually short-term and get better after you finish treatment.
Some people feel embarrassed talking about their sex life. Other types of cancer respond best to combination treatments, which is using more than 1 treatment for a patient's treatment plan. For instance, this may include radiation therapy plus surgery, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy. External-beam radiation therapy is the most common type of radiation therapy. It delivers radiation from a machine outside the body. It can treat large areas of the body, if needed. A machine called a linear accelerator, or linac, creates the radiation beam for x-ray or photon radiation therapy.
This helps target the tumor while avoiding healthy tissue near the cancer cells. Most treatments are given every weekday for several weeks.
Form-fitting supports or plastic mesh masks are used for radiation therapy to the head, neck, or brain to help people stay still during treatment. Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy 3D-CRT. Detailed 3-dimensional pictures of the cancer are created, typically from computed tomography CT or magnetic resonance imaging MRI scans. This allows the treatment team to aim the radiation therapy more precisely.
It often means that they can safely use higher doses of radiation therapy while reducing damage to healthy tissue. This lowers the risk of side effects. For instance, dry mouth is common after radiation therapy for head and neck cancer.
But 3D-CRT can limit the damage to the salivary glands that causes dry mouth. Intensity modulated radiation therapy IMRT. This is a more complex form of radiation. Proton beam therapy.
This treatment uses protons rather than x-rays. A proton is a positively charged particle. At high energy, protons can destroy cancer cells. The protons go to the targeted tumor and deposit the specific dose of radiation therapy. Unlike with x-ray beams, there is very little radiation dose beyond the tumor. This limits damage to nearby healthy tissue. Currently, doctors use proton therapy to treat certain types of cancer.
This therapy is relatively new and requires special equipment. Therefore, it is not available at every medical center. Learn more about proton therapy. Image-guided radiation therapy IGRT. This refers to the practice of using daily images of each treatment field to confirm patient positioning and make sure the target is in the field. These daily images are compared to the images used to plan treatment. IGRT allows your doctor to make each treatment field smaller.
This allows better targeting of the tumor and helps reduce damage to healthy tissue. Stereotactic radiation therapy SRT. This treatment delivers a large, precise radiation therapy dose to a small tumor area.
The patient must remain very still. Head frames or individual body molds help limit movement. SRT is often given as a single treatment or in fewer than 10 treatments. Some patients may need more than one course of SRT. Internal radiation therapy is also called brachytherapy.
This type of radiation therapy is when radioactive material is placed into the cancer or surrounding tissue. Implants may be permanent or temporary and may require a hospital stay.
Permanent implants.
0コメント