Radiation therapy is a treatment of cancer and other diseases. It uses high-energy particles to damage the genetic code (DNA) in the cancer cells. This makes the cells unable to grow or divide.
There are two main types of radiation therapy:
In certain cases, your doctor may recommend a combination of these. Radiation is often used with other types of treatment, such as surgery, chemotherapy , and immunotherapy (stimulates the immune system to fight infection).
This fact sheet will focus on internal radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy is commonly used to treat solid tumors such as prostate cancer, breast cancer, and head and neck cancers
Internal radiation can cause side effects as the radiation damages your own healthy cells as well as the cancer cells. The side effects will vary, depending on the type and location of treatment. Common side effects of radiation include, but are not limited, to:
Factors that may increase the risk of complications include:
A woman who is pregnant or could be pregnant should avoid exposure to radiation. It could harm a developing fetus.
You may need local anesthesia, which will numb a small area, or general anesthesia , which keeps you asleep during the procedure.
The radiation source will be placed inside your body on or near the affected area. This provides higher doses of radiation in a shorter time. The radioactive sources (such as cesium, iridium, palladium, or iodine) are in the form of wires, seeds, or rods. This treatment is mostly used for cancers of the head and neck, breast , uterus , thyroid , cervix , and prostate . The two main types of internal radiation are:
This depends on the type of cancer treated and the method of internal radiation used.
Anesthesia prevents pain during the procedure. You may be sore when recovering from the procedure depending on where the radioactive material was placed.
You will stay in the hospital until the implant is removed, or in the case of a permanent implant, when the radioactivity has decreased. Doctors usually remove high-dosage implants within a matter of minutes. Low-dosage implants may stay in for a few days. Permanent implants lose their radioactivity within a few days.
Be sure to follow your doctor’s instructions.
You will return to a hospital room while the implant is in place. While the radiation is implanted, you will follow these precautions to prevent transmitting radiation to others:
During treatment, your doctor will want to see you at least once a week. You may have routine blood tests to check for the effects of radiation on your blood cells.
After treatment is completed, you will have regular visits to monitor healing and to make sure the treatment affected the disease as planned. Follow-up care will vary for each person. Care may include further testing, medicine, or rehabilitative treatment.
Tell your doctor if you experience side effects. Many side effects can be controlled with medicine or diet. Your doctor may change or delay the course of your treatment if the side effects are too much. Most side effects will gradually go away after treatment.
After arriving home, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs
RESOURCES:
National Cancer Institute
www.cancer.gov/
Oncolink, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania
http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu/
CANADIAN RESOURCES:
Canadian Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.ca/
Cancer Care Ontario
http://www.cancercare.on.ca/
References:
Definition of radiation therapy. National Cancer Institute website. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/Templates/db_alpha.aspx?CdrID=44971. Accessed June 17, 2008.
Cancer treatment information. Oncolink, University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center website. Available at: http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu/treatment/. Accessed June 17, 2008.
Radiation therapy fact sheets. CancerNet, National Cancer Institute website. Available at: http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/cancertopics/wtk/index. Accessed June 17, 2008.
Radiation therapy for cancer: questions and answers. National Cancer Institute website. Available at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/radiation. Accessed September 29, 2009.
Last reviewed November 2009 by Marcin Chwistek, MD
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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