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Radiation
treatment
, which gives the benefit of treating the affected area without exposing the
healthy cells and tissue, is another treatment used to treat mesothelioma.
This is a speedy and commonly used method for many types of cancer, as well as mesothelioma.
It works through the placements of radioactive sources in the affected area,
which then give out radiation to kill off the abnormal cells. The radiation
continues to transmit for around a year, working to destroy the tumour.
Radiation therapy can be used alongside surgery, or if the patient is not well
enough for surgery can be used alone.
Answers to some of the
most Frequently Asked Questions about radiotherapy are given below.
Question: What is Radiotherapy?
Ans: Radiation is a special kind of energy carried by waves or a stream of
particles. It can come from special machines or from radioactive substances.
Radiotherapy
is a local treatment. It uses high energy rays to kill the affected cells. It
may be given to the patient after surgery, to try to stop the cancer coming
back. You may also be given combined treatment with radiotherapy and
chemotherapy This is to try to slow the cancer down and keep it under
control. In mesothelioma, radiotherapy is used to try to control
symptoms. It can be effective at controlling pain and fluid
collection in the lungs or abdomen..
Question: How is radiation therapy performed?
Ans: The radiotherapy treatment is
given in the hospital radiotherapy department. The treatment is usually given
once a day from Monday to Friday with a rest over the weekend. The length of
the treatment will depend on the area you are having treated. Radiation therapy
can be performed either internal or external. Some patients undergo both these
types one after the other.
Question: What are the benefits that I can reap out of
radiotherapy?
Ans: Radiation therapy is an effective way to treat mesothelioma in
almost any part of the body. For Mesothlioma patients, even when curing the cancer is not
possible, radiation therapy still can bring relief. Many patients find the
quality of their lives improved when radiation therapy is used to shrink tumors
and reduce pressure, bleeding, pain, or other symptoms of cancer.
Question: What are the risks involved in taking up this
treatment?
Ans: Like many other treatments for disease, there are risks for patients who
are receiving radiation therapy. The brief high doses of radiation that damage
or destroy cancer cells also can hurt normal cells. When this happens, the
patient has side effects. The risk of side effects is usually less than the
benefits of killing cancer cells.
Your doctor will not advise
you to have any treatment unless the benefits -control of disease and relief
from symptoms -are greater than the known risks. Although it will be many years
before scientists know all of the possible risks of radiation therapy, they now
know that it can control cancer.
Question: What is the cost involved in undergoing radiation therapy?
Ans: Treatment of cancer with radiation can be costly. It requires very
complex equipment and the services of many health care professionals. The exact
cost of your radiation therapy will depend on the type and number of treatments
you need. Please contact your doctor for a detailed plan on the type of
radiotherapy to be performed and the cost involved in it.
Question: What are the side
effects of taking radiation treatment?
Ans: The most common side effects of radiotherapy
are
·
The skin of the area that is teatedbecomes red
·
Feeling of tiredness all the time
·
Loss of hair in the treated area
Your skin may look slightly sunburned in the area that has been
treated. Do not use any creams or
lotions unless the radiotherapy centre has given them to you.
Tiredness usually comes on towards the end of a course of
treatment. It may take some weeks to go completely after your course
of treatment is over.
Other side effects of radiotherapy vary depending on where in the body is being
treated. If your abdomen is being treated, you may feel sick or have
diarrhoea. These side effects are usually controllable with
anti-sickness or anti-diarrhoea medicines.
If youy chest is being treated, it is quite common to develop a dry sore throat
and to have difficulty in swallowing during the treatment. If this happens it
may affect your ability to eat, and to swallow certain liquids.
While you are having radiotherapy, your radiographer or a physiotherapist may
ask you to do particular exercises. This is to help prevent stiffness and
aching in the chest and shoulder, which some people develop after treatment is
over.
Like the general side effects, specific side effects can get worse towards the
end of your treatment and then gradually clear up after it has finished.
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