Radiotherapy

The three main treatments for cancer are radiotherapy, surgery, and chemotherapy depending of a number of different factors. These include the type of cancer that you have, where it is in your body, what the cancer cells look like when examined microscopically, and whether they have spread to other parts of your body.

Radiotherapy works by destroying your cancer cells using high-energy radio waves. The way that these radio waves are given are designed to do as little harm as possible to the rest of the body. Before your treatment starts, you have a planning session with your doctor and the nurses who will look after you, so that you all know what is going to be involved and how to best cope with any immediate or long term side effects. Some of you described this planning session as just a ’chat’.

Depending on which part of your body is going to be treated, a plastic mask or shield may be made to hold the part of the body having radiotherapy still and make sure the radiotherapy reaches only just the right place. This nearly always happens if your treatment is for a tumour of your brain, head or neck. You may also be given tiny skin tattoos to indicate the precise place where the radiotherapy beams will be aimed during your treatment. During your radiotherapy treatment itself everyone else (including your parents) has to leave the room to absolutely make certain they don’t receive any of the radiotherapy waves. You do however remain in constant communication with the staff treating you via an intercom.

Talks about having radiotherapy and describes having a face mask made.

Describes having a mask made and feeling uncomfortable during the radiotherapy preparation session.

Describes what happened at his radiotherapy session.

Although radiotherapy can be given as the main treatment for cancer, it is often given as an added therapy after surgery or chemotherapy, to prevent recurrence.

His mother explains that they were amazed that radiotherapy could be so successful at treating her son's type of brain tumour (anaplastic germinoma).

Had 3 weeks of radiotherapy after chemotherapy as a precautionary measure. Found it more 'dull' than 'frightening'.

Radiotherapy is also sometimes given if some other first line of treatment does not control your cancer.

Received six weeks of radiotherapy after her chemotherapy failed to control her cancer.

Had three weeks radiotherapy towards the end of his chemotherapy because the cancer had spread to his spinal fluid.

Occasionally a young person with a brain tumour being treated with radiotherapy had to stay in hospital. But most of you lived at home and attended an out-patients clinic for the daily radiotherapy treatment. This could of course be really disruptive since many patients having this treatment had to attend for radiotherapy every day, Monday to Friday, for up to six weeks. One of you said he felt a bit guilty that his parents had had to spend so much time driving him to his daily appointments. It is, in some cases, possible to have your radiotherapy at a hospital that is more local to your home, in order to save travelling time.

Recalls being taken for numerous radiotherapy sessions while he was in intensive care, and afterwards.

Gives tips to other young people starting radiotherapy.

Once all the initial preparations have been made the actual daily sessions may be quite quick - 10 or 20 minutes - although the whole visit can take considerably longer if the clinic is crowded. This can have the advantage of being able to chat to other patients who you might see every day for several weeks!

Radiotherapy doesn’t have to take over your whole life, and some of you who received radiotherapy as out-patients continued with your normal routines including attending school and seeing your friends.

Continued to go to school during her 5 weeks of daily radiotherapy.

Side effects of radiotherapy
Tiredness can be an annoying and common side effect and may last for quite a period of time. What other side effects you may get depend on which part of the body is being treated. Radiotherapy to the head often does cause hair loss. Also your skin can become very dry or appear severely sunburned in the place where the radiotherapy beam has been directed.

Certain areas of the brain, if treated with radiotherapy can interfere with growth especially in younger adolescents, though this can be treated using special injections of ’growth hormone’. Other hormone problems may occur with similar treatment in which case you will be seen by a specialist doctor called an endocrinologist. He/she will make sure that you are given the hormone substitutes that you need. Those people who had both chemotherapy and radiotherapy sometimes said that radiotherapy was easy - even pleasant - compared with chemo but it did appear that people treated with both did tend to sometimes have additional long term side effects.