Your doctor will explain why you need to have radiotherapy and what will be involved. If you have any questions or want more information, please ask your doctor, radiographer or nurse.

The aims of this section

What is radiotherapy?

Radiotherapy is a method of treating cancer that uses carefully measured doses of radiation. The treatment takes a few minutes and is painless. Your doctor will explain your treatment and any side effects that you may experience.

Any side effects that you experience during your treatment are usually temporary. However, there could be a small risk of long term or late side effects, which can be permanent.

Before you can start your treatment, your doctor will ask you to sign a consent form. This form is a record that you agree to the treatment and that you have understood what is involved. Please ask any questions you may have before you sign the form. Your doctor will be available to answer all your questions.

Before your radiotherapy can start, we will pinpoint the area requiring treatment. To ensure the accuracy of radiotherapy planning and treatment, all our equipment is subject to an extensive programme of planned preventative maintenance.

How radiotherapy works

Radiotherapy affects all the cells of your body within the area being treated. The rapidly growing abnormal cancer cells are destroyed because they are unable to repair themselves. However, other rapidly growing normal cells e.g. your skin cells, hair follicle cells, bone marrow cells, the lining of your mouth, stomach and intestines, are also sensitive to the treatment, which is why you may experience side effects. These side effects are usually temporary because once your treatment has finished, the damaged normal cells are replaced by healthy cells.

What is treatment planning?

Every patient who is to have radiotherapy will need to have their treatment worked out especially for them. To give your treatment accurately, careful treatment preparation is required.
There are a number of different ways of planning your treatment, depending on which area of your body is affected. These are:

Your doctor will explain how we will plan your treatment.