are its side effects?

Radiation therapy is one of the basic treatments in the world of cancer. It may be a supplement to treatment or the basis of it. Here is the most important thing you should know about radiation therapy.

With the development of medicine, treatments for malignant and benign tumors have diversified. In this article, we will discuss one of the internationally approved treatments, which is radiotherapy. What is radiotherapy? How it works? What are the circumstances of his ion?

What is radiotherapy?

In fact, about half of the people who suffer from cancer today are treated with radiation. Some of them limit their treatment to radiation only, while for others doctors combine it with other treatments such as chemotherapy. There are several types of radiation therapy:

Brachytherapy: It requires implanting radiation seeds at the site of the tumor itself to destroy cancer cells.

External radiation therapy (modulated and 3D): These are two methods that rely on an individual design for each patient, during which the method of radiation beam intervention is determined by making a special mold that suits the patient.

It is worth knowing that a more common type of radiation therapy is external beam radiation, which is used for almost all types of cancer.

When is radiotherapy chosen?

As we mentioned previously, radiotherapy is often accompanied by other cancer treatments, such as surgical treatment and chemotherapy. The main goal of radiotherapy is to reduce the size of tumors and kill cancer cells. Rays may also target healthy cells, but it is not necessary that they suffer the damage caused to them. Cancerous cells, as healthy cells have the ability to revive themselves.

Radiation therapy may be chosen in each of the following cases

Alleviating certain symptoms of advanced stages of cancer.

Basic treatment to eliminate tumors.

Use it in conjunction with other treatments (fighting the tumor from the inside and outside).

Shrinking the tumor before surgery.

Eliminating remaining cancer cells after surgery.

How to prepare for radiotherapy?

After the doctor decides that this treatment is the most appropriate method for this stage of your overall treatment journey, the specialist doctor will determine for you the treatment plan, the appropriate dose or radiation beam and its frequency. After that, you will undergo a radiation simulation session, during which the treatment conditions will be simulated and a fixed plan and template will be prepared from which During which the locations for directing the radiation beams are determined.

During the simulation session you will undergo CT scans or X-rays to determine the full extent of the tumor and determine where the radiation is focused.

How is radiotherapy performed?

In general, one round of radiotherapy extends 5 days a week for 10 weeks, while one session lasts about 10-30 minutes, while the number of treatment rounds varies according to the doctor’s plan for the size and location of the tumor.

During the session, you lie down on the radiation treatment table, and the medical team will fix you in a position that exactly matches what was approved during the simulation, using the template that the doctors had previously prepared for you, and after lying down, a linear accelerator device will be used that directs and directs the rays according to the coordinates that were monitored. The radiation machine moves around you and the table and may buzz, but in any case, don''t worry about that.

Follow-up treatment after radiotherapy

After undergoing a few treatment sessions, the doctor will be able to compare the effect of the doses on the tumor and on your general health. Therefore, you will undergo a series of computed tomography and radiological examinations as well, and then the doctor will tell you about your condition. If you suffer from side effects of treatment, tell your doctor about them and do not suffer from them alone. He may have some means to alleviate it.

Side effects and risks associated with radiotherapy

Regardless of the type of radiation therapy a person uses, the side effects are often the same. In terms of the skin, the following changes may occur:

skin dryness.

Redness and burning.

Skin peeling.

Hardening of wounds.

The rest of the side effects are related to the area of the body that is being treated, but they may include:

Diarrhea.

Earaches.

Mouth ulcers.

Dry mouth.

Nausea and vomiting.

Impotence.

sore throat.

swelling.

Trouble swallowing.

Difficulty urinating.

These side effects go away within two months since the last x-ray session, but some effects may continue or even appear six months after the end of treatment, and late effects may include:

Oral problems.

Lymphedema or tissue swelling.

Infertility.

New secondary cancer.