Radiotherapy Session #2 and Radiotherapy 101

Today's session was like lightning quick. She took about 10 mins only...guess there was no one else and the radiologist was just waiting for her.

Anyway I've got a new name for the Radiotherapy Room - "The Oven". It sure looks like one and I'll post a pic tomorrow. Basically she goes into this room with the radiologist. She lies down on this platform with a rotating arms. The radiologist walks out of the room and shuts what looks like steel blast doors. After a few seconds later a red light on top of this door is lit indicating treatment in progress. The radiologist maintains visual communication via a CCTV from his counter. Inside, X-ray blasts are shot from both arms of the machine.

Anyway we've confirmed this afternoon that the reason for her nauseousness is due to the beams penetrating through her stomach.

So what is Radiotherapy?

External radiotherapy is the most common type of radiotherapy used. It is usually given as a course of several treatments over days or weeks while internal treatment may only happen once or a small number of times.

External radiotherapy is usually given during outpatient visits to a hospital cancer centre. A machine directs the high-energy rays, usually x-rays, at the cancer site and a small area of normal tissue surrounding it. The patient is positioned carefully on a treatment couch and then the machine will be directed exactly at the area to be treated, often from different angles.

Treatment takes several minutes and is painless. Before the patient starts a course of radiotherapy, they will usually need to attend the hospital for treatment planning. External radiotherapy doesn’t make one radioactive and one can safely mix with other people, including children, at anytime.

What are the Side Effects?
There are hardly any side effects. But because radiotherapy affects normal tissues within the treatment field, the side effects will vary depending on which part of the body is being treated and the number of treatments one has. Most side effects are temporary and they are rarely severe. They start at varying times during treatment anddisappear in the weeks after the end of it.

Some side-effects may not start until treatment has finished. Tiredness is quite common, particularly towards the end of treatment and this may last for sometime afterwards.

Very few people feel sick during radiotherapy – it depends on which part of the body is being treated. Some people feel sick at the beginning of a course of treatment but find that nausea often disappears within a day or two. Others start to feel sick later on.