Your experience of radiation treatment

Your doctor has referred you to the radiation oncologist. You might need extra tests done. Why? This is to work out what treatment is best to treat your cancer. In some cases, a course of radiation treatment might be given to cure your cancer or prevent recurrence. If the aim is to improve your symptoms, the course of radiation might be shorter. The higher the dose, the greater likelihood of damaging the healthy parts of your body. Therefore, a lot of effort goes into protecting those areas.

External radiation

A course of radiation treatment is given over a number of days or weeks. Each treatment is known as a ‘fraction’. Fractions are usually given daily from Monday to Friday with a rest at the weekend to help normal cells recover.

External radiation delivers a beam of radiation by a treatment machine called a linear accelerator. A superficial therapy machine is used for the treatment of skin cancer. The choice of treatment machine depends on the type of cancer and the affected part of your body. Some machines are better at treating cancers near the surface of the skin, while others are used to treat cancers deeper in the body. While you lie still, the machines are moved up and down and around you so that the radiation can be directed at the tumour from different angles and it is similar to having an X-ray taken. During this treatment you do not see or feel anything.