Radiotherapy is used to treat all kinds of cancer. It uses radiation to destroy cancer cells by damaging the DNA of those cells. This radiation is targeted to the site of the tumour to cure or shrink the tumour. The aim is always to direct as much of the radiation as possible at the cancerous cells, with as little affecting the healthy cells surrounding it as possible.

However, while radiotherapy is a targeted treatment, it can still cause side effects in the healthy cells surrounding the cancer. The good news is that these side effects are typically localised to the area of treatment.

There are also some general side effects of radiotherapy to be aware of.

Tiredness

One of the most common side effects of radiotherapy is tiredness. There are many factors that can make you feel tired during your treatment, ranging from how stressed or anxious you feel about it to how far you have to travel for each treatment.

Of course, we can’t forget that your body is working hard to fight the cancer and this in itself can cause fatigue. Your body will also use energy to repair healthy cells following radiotherapy, all of which can contribute to you feeling more tired or lethargic than usual.

You may also find that you feel more tired as your treatment progresses. This is normal, although if you have any concerns you should discuss them with your doctor or radiotherapist.

There are some simple steps you can take to help alleviate your tiredness during your treatment. Drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated is important, as is eating a healthy and balanced diet.

Eating the right diet to support your body before, during and after treatment can minimise the side effects you experience as well as reduce the amount of time it takes you to recover once your course of radiotherapy has finished.

Changes to your eating habits

That said, radiotherapy can sometimes make it difficult for you to eat or drink, or it can make you feel nauseous. This side effect is most common in patients whose radiotherapy treatment is targeted at areas like the head, brain, neck or stomach.

Your radiotherapist will talk to you about the possibility of such side effects before you start your treatment and will ensure you have support to manage this as your course of radiotherapy progresses.

If you do find that eating is difficult during radiotherapy, concentrate on consuming high protein, high energy foods, such as meat, fish, eggs, pulses (like lentils and beans) and dairy products. This will help your body recover, even if you are eating less frequently or smaller amounts than usual.

Sore skin

You may experience soreness on your skin around the area of your treatment. In some cases the skin reddens and in others it can feel itchy or sore. You often won’t notice any skin reactions early in your treatment, but as your radiotherapy course continues they can appear.

It’s important to talk to your radiographer about any skin reactions you experience. In the vast majority of cases, the skin will recover within a few weeks of the treatment finishing. In the meantime, the best advice is to wear loose-fitting items of clothing made from natural fibres and to avoid rubbing the skin in the affected area.

You can still wash it with soap and water, but pat it dry carefully afterwards to avoid damaging the skin further.

What about hair loss?

Many people are concerned about hair loss during their cancer treatment. When you are having radiotherapy, hair loss is usually restricted to the site of the treatment. That means you will more than likely keep the hair on your head, unless this is where your radiotherapy is directed.

There is a chance that your hair may not regrow after your treatment finishes, but your doctor will discuss this with you along with the other side effects you may experience to help you cope and ensure you are prepared for what’s to come.

Emotional side effects

We also can’t overlook the emotional side effects of receiving a cancer diagnosis and going through treatment. These side effects are not restricted to undergoing radiotherapy and can surface at any point during your journey.

It’s important to talk about how you’re feeling both with your doctor and those closest to you. Feeling anxious or scared is normal. At Amethyst we offer psychological support to all of our patients to help them and their loved ones manage the emotional strain of fighting cancer.

Learn more about our advanced radiotherapy and support services on the Amethyst Group website.

When private radiotherapy was first used to treat cancer patients in the early 20^th century, it was as a means of palliative care to ease the suffering of the dying. While it is still often used this way today, for most of the past century, it has also had a role in extending life and, in some cases, defeating cancer altogether.

Outcomes for patients will depend on a range of factors, from the type of cancer to age and, most importantly, how early the cancer is diagnosed. Nonetheless, two factors have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. One is that there are more diagnoses, while the other is an increase in successful treatments.

Cancer Rates Up – But So Is Survival

The latest UK data has highlighted this. Cancer Research UK’s Cancer in the UK report, published this month, revealed that over the past 50 years, the proportion of people in Britain being diagnosed with cancer has risen by 47 per cent. However, the mortality rate has fallen by 22 per cent over the same period.

Most notably, the proportion of people who get cancer but survive at least another ten years is now one in two, compared with one in four in the early 1970s.

The diagnostic element is an important factor, as better and earlier detection is important in tackling cancer, in particular by treating it before metastasis takes place – the point at which cancer cells break away from the area initially affected and migrate to other parts of the body.

At the same time, there are other reasons for an increase in diagnoses, not least an ageing population.

The Global Picture

The UK situation is anything but unique. Survival rates are improving around the world thanks to improved diagnostics, but also more advanced treatments. Indeed, data published by the World Population Review has shown that some countries are outperforming Britain, and indeed other Western countries, in many areas.

For example, the highest five-year survival rates for stomach cancer are to be found in South Korea, followed by Japan and Jordan. Europe is also outperformed by Japan, the US and others in lung cancer survival. However, in breast cancer, the survival rate in most European countries is over 80 per cent. Prostate cancer survival rates are higher still.

Across the globe, these figures will be much more favourable than they were not just half a century ago, but more recently. Moreover, while ageing populations and advances in diagnostics make higher case rates likely in the coming years, survival rates can be expected to continue to improve as new and better treatments emerge.

The Role Radiotherapy Plays In Better Outcomes

The improvements in treatment have certainly not all come from radiotherapy, with other kinds of therapy and new drugs emerging with great regularity. Nonetheless, the advancement in the use of radiotherapy has made a huge difference.

This has included the use of more focused stereotactic radiosurgery that can target precise areas such as tumours without harming sensitive surrounding tissue (a particular priority in brain cancer cases), plus the advancement in scanning techniques to enable better targeting and monitoring of the delivery of radiation.

Further benefits can arise when the calibration of doses is aided by technological advances and research indicating how high (or low) a dosage may be beneficial in various circumstances, through a better understanding of the balance between the benefits of treating the cancer and any associated side-effects of treatment.

Austrian Research Offers Lung Cancer Breakthrough

Among the very latest developments has been research showing that high-dose radiation therapy can improve prospects for lung cancer patients without increasing the risk to the patient. This was the conclusion of a study run by Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, in the Austrian city of Krems, the journal Cure Today reports.

Pulmonologist Dr Felix Schragel explained that the postulated risk was that higher doses of radiation might lead to more pneumonitis cases, which manifests in the form of dangerous lung inflammation. However, the study showed that patients given higher doses actually had lower rates of pneumonitis.

Furthermore, the data indicated a higher survival rate for lung cancer patients given the higher dose, with a 93 per cent one-year survival rate for those who had the higher dose, which remained steady after four years.

This research could help improve outcomes for patients with lung cancer when undergoing radiotherapy treatment. In the same way, patients with brain, prostate, breast, neck and other cancers may similarly benefit from other recent – and future – advancements in treatment.

Radiotherapy is not new, but the understanding of how best to deploy it and the technology to deliver it in the right amounts and precise locations are continuing to advance. In using the latest technology and insights, we aim to get the best possible outcome for every patient.

Learn more about our advanced radiotherapy treatments for different cancers on the Amethyst Group website.

May has been Brain Tumour Awareness Month in multiple countries, which makes this a very good time to consider what progress has been made in developing the understanding and awareness of brain tumours, as well as advances in treatments.

When it comes to matters as serious as cancer, it really is relevant and important to understand how far we have come and what kinds of treatments exist. This is especially true if you or a loved one is a sufferer.

Of course, it can be easy to lose track of the themed days and months on the calendar, with a plethora of awareness days and months for various causes, many of them medical. Indeed, in the US, a type of brain tumour – Glioblastoma – has its own awareness day in July.

The US, Canada and Australia mark brain tumour awareness month in May, whereas the UK does so in March. In either case, this provides a very good opportunity to take stock of what has been discovered about tumours and also how they have been treated, as well as providing extra impetus (and funding) to research efforts around the world.

The Treatments We Have Now

The standard way to treat brain tumours is either excision by physical surgery or the use of radiotherapy. Sometimes a combination of both may be used. Patients coming to our radiotherapy centres may receive a range of different forms of treatment.

Among the different forms of radiotherapy for tumours is external beam radiotherapy, which involves directing a beam of radiation at the tumour from a source outside the body, usually using a linear accelerator machine.

The development of this treatment has not just been down to the invention and subsequent fine-tuning of the linear accelerator itself, but accompanying technology such as MRI and CT scans. This makes possible 3D conformal radiation therapy, where a 3D map of the tumour helps guide the delivery of the radiation.

Intensity modulated radiation therapy is a variation of this, where the strength of the radiation can be varied between different beams used in the treatment of a tumour. This is especially useful where the area targeted is closer to normal brain tissue, enabling the exposure of such tissue to harmful radiation to be minimised.

The Emergence Of The Gamma Knife

Another form of radiotherapy is stereotactic radiosurgery. This involves a particularly precise focus of the radiation beam on a specific area of the tumour.

This is commonly carried out with a gamma knife, which, despite its name, is not a knife but a device designed to produce a very concentrated beam of radiation, with the great benefit of minimising radiation exposure to surrounding tissue.

Radiotherapy has been used since the turn of the 20^th century, but the gamma knife was a more recent development, which can be attributed to the Swedish neurosurgeon Lars Leksell, who patented it in 1967. A second version was produced in the 1970s as the technology improved, but this has been about fine-tuning a great device, not reinventing it.

In this context, it is useful to observe that there is already a huge amount that can be done to help patients with brain tumours, especially through radiotherapy, often through surgery and sometimes through other methods such as chemotherapy, although the latter is usually deployed in combination with other treatments rather than being used on its own.

What Are The Latest Advancements?

Nonetheless, an article published in the journal Cure Today has highlighted how new developments have further enhanced the power of radiotherapy to offer better treatments for patients with fewer side effects.

The article focused on a discussion to mark Brain Tumour Awareness Month in which Dr Ranjit Bindra, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine in the US, stated that proton therapy and image-guided precision have been major contributors to improvements in both areas.

He also noted that individualised and evidence-based cancer care can be made even better by close collaboration between all those involved, from neurosurgeons to radiation oncologists.

Positive news about developments such as proton therapy may also point the way towards a brighter future, with Dr Bindra striking an optimistic note about what further research can achieve, provided sufficient funding is available.

He commented: “As long as we maintain that funding, we will continue to make wonderful discoveries and change the lives of patients with brain cancer.”

Reasons To Be Positive

What this year’s Brain Tumour Awareness Month (be it March or May) has helped to highlight, therefore, is that radiotherapy continues to advance and deliver better outcomes with fewer side-effects for patients, with good reasons to expect further progress in the years ahead.

At Amethyst, we already use the best radiotherapy techniques and technology to seek optimal outcomes for patients, whether for brain tumours or other cancers. In the years to come, we may be able to do even more.

Learn more about our advanced radiotherapy treatments for brain tumours on the Amethyst Group website.

There are several options available for treating tumours, but whilst the majority of radiotherapy treatments use an external source of radiation, brachytherapy implants a radiation source inside the body close to a tumour to destroy it from within.

It is most commonly associated with treatment for prostate or cervical cancer, although it has been used as part of breast, oesophageal, eye and skin cancers, as well as exceptionally rarely during the treatment of brain tumours.

Because a lot of people who receive treatment for cancer do so through some form of external beam radiotherapy (EBT), it can sometimes be difficult to know what to expect during internal brachytherapy.

Here are answers to some of the most common questions people have about internal radiotherapy.

Why Is Brachytherapy Used?

Brachytherapy is a highly accurate and precise set of treatments where radioactive material is placed in the body close to or directly inside the tumour in order to destroy it from within. This can either be temporary using a catheter or using radioactive seeds implanted next to the tumour.

These are known, respectively, as high-dose rate and low-dose rate brachytherapy.

As a primary cancer treatment, brachytherapy is primarily used to allow for higher doses of radiation to be applied to a target area without damaging healthy nearby tissue.

The principle is similar to the highly accurate external Gamma Knife treatment, although it can be applied in other places in the body besides the brain.

It can also be used as part of a combination treatment with external beam radiotherapy or surgery, although it is rare for brachytherapy to be combined with chemotherapy.

Brachytherapy is over 120 years old, and was one of the first versatile types of radiotherapy treatment, and is a proven, safe and effective treatment for a multitude of different types of cancer.

How Long Does Treatment Take?

One advantage of brachytherapy is that it does not require as many sessions as conventional external beam radiotherapy.

High-dose rate brachytherapy typically takes only one or two sessions because a much higher dose of radiation can be used per session, although this can vary depending on your treatment plan. Each session typically lasts no more than 20 minutes from where the radioactive material is in position.

Meanwhile, low-dose rate brachytherapy is typically implanted in a single procedure that takes less than a day but gives off radiation for a few months.

In most cases, you can go home after treatment, although there are some cases where it might be safer to remain for observation for a few nights.

As with other types of radiotherapy treatment, however, you will need someone to take you to and from the hospital due to the anaesthetic used for treatment.

Radioactivity After Treatment

One question that is sometimes asked regarding brachytherapy regards radioactivity following treatment, and whether any precautions need to be made before and after treatment.

The answer depends on the type of treatment, as you are only radioactive whilst a source of radiation is inside your body.

You will be treated in a room on your own and may not be able to have visitors if you need to stay as an inpatient, depending on the types of treatment you had.

If you have radioactive seeds implanted, you will be radioactive, although only close to the treatment area.

You are typically safe to be around most people, but you may be advised to avoid holding children or being in close contact with pregnant women as a precaution. They can remain in the same room as you, but hugging or holding them for more than a few minutes may need to be avoided.

Whilst the radioactive seeds will remain in your body forever, the radiation itself will fade after a few weeks or months. As it does, you will no longer need to be careful with close contact.

Are There Any More Precautions To Take After Treatment?

You will receive medications to help ease any symptoms and receive a card with contact details and an explanation of the treatment you have had.

For the first few days after treatment, the area where you had treatment may feel sore, and you will need to avoid intense exercise and heavy lifting for at least three days.

Make sure to stay hydrated, eat a balanced diet and take any pain medication that you have been prescribed.

The symptoms will get easier after the first few weeks, and you will have regular follow-up sessions to ensure that if there are any unexpected issues that they can be addressed by your doctor and multidisciplinary team.

A lot of the preparation for a Gamma Knife radiosurgery treatment is undertaken by your specialist radiotherapy team to ensure that your treatment is as effective, comfortable and comprehensive as is safely possible.

In terms of radiotherapy treatments, Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery is one of the oldest, one of the most precise and one of the most effective treatments for a wide range of brain conditions from primary and secondary cancer to trigeminal neuralgia and other types of brain tumours.

The effectiveness of the treatment and the ability to precisely target specific parts of the brain means that treatment can typically be completed in one day. Unlike conventional surgery, most people who undergo Gamma Knife treatments can go home the same day.

There are some basic preparations to make first, in order to ensure that the treatment is as simple as possible, and most of these are similar to those for any other type of surgery or medical procedure.

Referral And Consultation

The first steps will involve a referral by a doctor and a meeting with a radiation oncologist who will oversee your treatment, check your medical history and run tests to determine if it is the right option for you, often working with your multidisciplinary team to develop a complete treatment plan.

Ultimately, whilst an MDT and specialist oncologists can recommend treatments, the final choice will be yours and you will be supported throughout the planning and decision-making process.

Once you agree, we will arrange for the treatment to be undertaken at a time to suits you, discuss the next steps, look at the treatment room with you and have the chance to answer any questions you may have.

Before The Day Of Treatment

You will need someone to take you to the radiotherapy centre on the day of the treatment and back home, so make sure to make suitable arrangements to ensure you have someone with you. They will be there to take you home and make sure you have everything you need before and after treatment.

Your oncologist will let you know what medications you should take the night before and in the morning.

You should wash your hair, but avoid using anything other than shampoo in your hair if you tend to use conditioner or topical solutions as part of your hair care routine.

Avoid putting on makeup, take out any piercings that you can so they do not interfere with MRI scans and opt for loose-fitting clothing. You want to be as comfortable and relaxed as possible.

Planning And Preparation

Depending on the appointment and type of treatment, the first step when you arrive for your Gamma Knife treatment will involve preparing you for the treatment, the final imaging scans and the final planning process.

Because Gamma Knife is typically a one-day procedure, the planning is often done the day of your treatment because precision is key and the closer the scans are to the treatment, the more accurate it will be.

You should not eat after midnight the night of the treatment in order to settle your stomach.

Fitting The Gamma Knife Frame Or Mask

Depending on the treatment you are having, you will either have a lightweight metal frame or a plastic mesh mask fitted tightly to your face or head.

If a frame is being fitted, you will receive four shots of local anaesthetic to numb parts of your head so the frame can be fitted. This part will not be painful but might feel tight for a few minutes.

This is often done during the imaging process, and you will get a chance to relax in another room. Whilst the treatment is painless, sedation is available to help you relax as well, and throughout the treatment process, you will be able to talk to your doctors at any time.

Gamma Knife Treatment

When it is time for the treatment, the frame will be fitted to the bed of the Gamma Knife machine and the plan will start as soon as both you and the doctors are ready.

The treatment itself can last between 20 minutes and four hours depending on the nature and complexity of the treatment, but you will be told beforehand how long you should expect treatment to take.

As it is not a surgical treatment, you may hear a chime, a bell or just be told directly that the treatment is completed, whilst the radiotherapist will take off the mask or frame and apply a bandage to your head.