Single trip travel insuranceRadiotherapy
Radiotherapy is the use of high energy x-rays and similar rays (such as electrons) to treat disease. .Since the discovery of x-rays over one hundred years ago, radiation has been used more and more in medicine, both to help with diagnosis (by taking pictures with x-rays), and as a treatment (radiotherapy). While radiation obviously has to be used very carefully, doctors and radiographers have a lot of experience in its use in medicine.
Many people with cancer will have radiotherapy as part of their treatment. This can be given either as external radiotherapy; external radiotherapy is normally given as a series of short, daily treatments in the radiotherapy department, using equipment similar to a large x-ray machine. Each treatment is called a fraction. Giving the treatment in fractions ensures that less damage is done to normal cells than to cancer cells.
The number of treatments you have depends on several factors, including:- your general health
- the type of cancer being treated and where it is in the body
- Whether or not you have had, or are going to have, surgery, chemotherapy or hormonal therapy as part of your treatment.
- by putting solid radioactive material (the source) close to or inside the tumour for a limited period of time
- By using a radioactive liquid, which is given either as a drink or as an injection into a vein.
The process of putting solid radioactive material close to or inside the tumour is called brachytherapy and giving a radioactive liquid, either as a drink, a capsule, or as an injection into a vein is called radioisotope treatment.
Radiotherapy works by destroying the cancer cells in the treated area. Although normal cells can also be damaged by the radiotherapy, they can usually repair themselves.
Radiotherapy treatment can cure some cancers and can also reduce the chance of a cancer coming back after surgery. It may be used to reduce cancer symptoms.
