• Radiotherapy

    Radiotherapy treats cancer by using high-energy x-rays to destroy the cancer cells while doing as little harm as possible to normal cells. Radiotherapy may be given in several different ways

    • External Beam Radiotherapy (Teletherapy) - Uses ionising radiation from a external radiotherapy machine called a linear accelerator.
    • Brachytherapy - Refers to radiation that is placed in direct contact with (or very close to) a tumour to deliver a concentrated dose of radiation directly to the cancer. It is commonly used in the treatment of cervical, endometrial and prostate cancers.
    • Stereotactic radiotherapy

    Radiotherapy treatment that aims to cure the cancer will often mean that you need to go to the hospital every weekday for several weeks.
    Each treatment only takes a few minutes, but travelling to and from the hospital and waiting for the treatment may take up a large part of the day.
    Some people manage to continue to work during radiotherapy treatment, but may need to reduce their hours. Other people stop working completely while they’re having radiotherapy and for a few weeks afterwards.

    Side effects

    Radiotherapy may make you feel tired. Radiotherapy is a local treatment, treating a particular part of the body so other side effects will depend on the area of the body being treated. For example women receiving radiotherapy to the pelvis for gynaecological cancer may experience cytstitis and diarrhoea because of the effect on the bladder and bowel. The side effects tend to begin a couple of days after the treatment starts and may slowly worsen as treatment goes on. The effects may continue for several weeks after the treatment has ended and then usually improve gradually. However, the tiredness can take longer to disappear and some people find it is many months before they regain their energy.

    Resources

    Cancer Council - Understanding Radiotherapy (PDF 1.08MB)

    NSW Cancer Council