Easy Read – Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy uses radiation beams to kill cancer. It also called ‘radiotherapy’. This information will help you understand what happens during radiation therapy and what side effects you may have.
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What is radiation therapy?
This information is about radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is treatment for cancer.
Radiation therapy is also called ‘radiotherapy’.
Having radiation therapy can feel scary. You can ask your doctors questions about anything you do not understand.
Radiation therapy uses radiation beams to kill cancer.
You cannot see the radiation beams.
How you have radiation therapy?
The main way to have radiation therapy is from a big machine. This is called external beam radiation therapy.
The machine sends radiation beams to the part of the body where cancer was found.
Radiation therapy does not make you radioactive.
Where you have radiation therapy
You have radiation therapy in a hospital or treatment centre.
A doctor called a radiation oncologist will plan the radiation therapy.
Radiation therapists will give you the treatment.
Your radiation oncologist will tell you how many times you will have radiation therapy.
This may be Monday to Friday for 3 to 7 weeks.
Before radiation therapy starts
Before you start radiation therapy you go to the hospital to have planning scans. This is called simulation.
You will have a CT scan.
Sometimes other scans may also be done.
The scans can take 10 minutes to 1 hour.
The CT scan helps plan where on your body you will have radiation therapy.
You might have some tiny marks put on your skin to make sure you have radiation therapy in the same place every time.
The marks are usually permanent. This means that they will stay on your skin forever.
Having radiation therapy
You will lie on a bed under the radiation therapy machine. The radiation therapists help you get into the right position.
You will need to keep still while having radiation therapy.
People who need radiation therapy to the head or neck have to wear a special mask. This keeps the head still.
Radiation therapy does not hurt.
You will not see or feel the radiation beams.
The radiation therapists will leave the room before they start the machine.
The radiation therapists can see and hear you on a television screen.
The radiation therapy machine moves around you. The machine makes loud noises.
You stay under the radiation therapy machine for only 5 to 10 minutes.
You can go home the same day. You do not stay in hospital overnight.
What are the side effects?
Some people feel sick after they have radiation therapy. We call these side effects.
The side effects will depend on the part of your body treated with radiation therapy.
Side effects usually start 2 to 3 weeks after radiation therapy starts.
Most people do not get all the side effects.
The doctor or nurse will tell you what side effects may happen and how to feel better.
Radiation therapy may make you feel very tired.
The skin where you had treatment might get red.
Hair may fall out in the area where you get radiation therapy. This may be your armpit, chest or head.
Radiation therapy to the head may cause a small patch of hair to fall out. This usually grows back when your radiation therapy ends.
Radiation therapy might make you feel like vomiting. We call this nausea.
Food may taste different. You might not enjoy eating as much.
You might get sores in your mouth.
You may have runny poo. We call this diarrhoea.
You may need to wee a lot.
Some side effects can happen a long time after you finish treatment.
Ask your doctor if you notice anything unusual.
Coping with side effects
It might take a few weeks or months for side effects to stop.
Exercise and eating healthy food can help you feel better.
You might worry about cancer and side effects.
You can talk to:
- a doctor
- your family or friends
- a counsellor.
More Easy Read resources
Prof Deborah Bateson AM, Professor of Practice, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney; Diane Davey, Operations Manager Cancer Services, Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre; A/Prof Fiona Day, Medical Oncologist, Calvary Mater Newcastle; Dr Annie Ho, Radiation Oncologist, Macquarie University Hospital, Mater Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital; Laila Khan, Lead, Cancer Council Liaisons – Greater Sydney, Cancer Council NSW; Elfa Moraitakis, Chief Executive Officer, SydWest Multicultural Services; Jenny Nguyen, Community Fundraising Coordinator, Cancer Council NSW; Dr Abhijit Pal, Medical Oncologist, Liverpool Hospital and Bankstown Hospital; Kate Pallot, Lead Cancer Council Liaison Regional and Rural, Cancer Council NSW; Amparo Rojo, Consumer; Rafi Sharif, Consumer; Dr Jess Smith, Medical Oncologist, GenesisCare Campbelltown; Dr Janelle Weise, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health (now incorporates 3DN), University of NSW; Lauren Winkler, Postdoctoral Fellow and Project ScreenEQUAL Coordinator, The University of Sydney.
We also gratefully acknowledge the contributions of all focus group participants from Arab Council Australia and SydWest Multicultural Services who generously shared their time, experiences and perspectives.
This content was assessed using the SHeLL Health Literacy Editor, a tool developed by the Sydney Health Literacy Lab to evaluate and improve the clarity of written health information: Ayre J., Bonner C., Muscat D.M., Dunn A.G., Harrison E., Dalmazzo J., Mouwad D., Aslani P., Shepherd H.L., McCaffery K.J., “Automated Health Literacy Assessments of Written Health Information: Development of the SHeLL (Sydney Health Literacy Lab) Health Literacy Editor v1”, JMIR Formative Research, 2023, e40645. DOI: 10.2196/40645.
View the Cancer Council NSW editorial policy.