- Home
- Pleural mesothelioma
- Treatment
- Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy for pleural mesothelioma
Also known as radiotherapy, radiation therapy is the use of targeted radiation to kill or damage cancer cells so they cannot grow, multiply or spread.
Radiation therapy may be used at different stages of pleural mesothelioma treatment and in different ways:
- as palliative treatment to relieve pain or other symptoms caused by tumours and improve quality of life
- after chemotherapy and surgery (adjuvant radiation therapy) to help kill any remaining cancer cells.
Learn more about:
Listen to podcasts on Making Treatment Decisions and Coping with a Cancer Diagnosis
Having radiation therapy
Treatment is carefully planned to destroy as many cancer cells as possible while causing the least harm to your normal tissue.
The initial appointment to map out the treatment (simulation) may take a few hours. You will have CT scans of the affected area, and your skin may be marked with a special ink. This makes sure that the radiation is directed at the same place on your body every time you receive radiation therapy. Although the ink is permanent, the mark is only the size of a freckle.
Radiation therapy is usually given every day Monday to Friday as an outpatient treatment. A session usually lasts about 20 minutes because the radiation therapists have to set up the equipment and position you, but the treatment itself takes only a few minutes.
The length of the treatment course will vary depending on why you’re having radiation therapy – it might involve 1–10 sessions for up to two weeks for palliative treatment, or longer if radiation therapy is combined with other treatments with the aim of long-term control. Radiation therapy doesn’t hurt and you aren’t radioactive afterwards.
Side effects of radiation therapy
Radiation therapy may cause various side effects during treatment or shortly afterwards, but most side effects go away after the treatment stops. Your doctors and nurses will tell you what side effects to expect and how to manage them.
The side effects of radiation therapy vary depending on the area of the body treated, but can include:
- fatigue
- peeling, cracked skin that looks red or sunburnt and may be uncomfortable
- painful swallowing
- loss of hair in the treatment area.
Radiation therapy to the chest area can cause difficulty swallowing and symptoms of reflux for a few days or weeks, sometimes leading to weight loss. If high doses of radiation therapy are given to the chest area, it may cause permanent changes (fibrosis) in the lung tissue.
For more on this, see Radiation therapy.
Video: What is radiation therapy?
More resources
A/Prof Brian McCaughan, Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW; Theodora Ahilas, Principal Lawyer, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, NSW; Prof David Ball, Director, Lung Service, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Shirley Bare, Consumer; Cassandra Dickens, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Cancer Care Coordinator – Thoracic Malignancies, Sunshine Coast University Hospital, QLD; Penny Jacomos, Social Worker, Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia, SA; A/Prof Thomas John, Medical Oncologist, Senior Clinical Research Fellow, Austin Health, and Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, VIC; Victoria Keena, Executive Officer, Asbestos Diseases Research Institute, NSW; Penny Lefeuvre, Consumer; Jocelyn McLean, Mesothelioma Support Coordinator, Asbestos Diseases Research Institute, NSW; Prof David Morris, Peritonectomy Surgeon, St George Hospital and University of New South Wales, NSW; Caitriona Nienaber, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Western Australia; Prof Anna Nowak, Medical Oncologist, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, and Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine and Pharmacology, The University of Western Australia, WA; Prof Jennifer Philip, Palliative Care Specialist, St Vincent’s Hospital, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital, VIC; Nicole Taylor, Acting Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma Cancer Specialist Nurse, The Canberra Hospital, ACT. We also thank the health professionals, consumers and editorial teams who have worked on previous editions of this title. Previous editions of this title and related resources were funded in part by the Heads of Asbestos Coordination Authorities and a donation from Lyall Watts.
View the Cancer Council NSW editorial policy.
View all publications or call 13 11 20 for free printed copies.
Need to talk?
Support services
Coping with cancer?
Speak to a qualified health professional someone who has been there, support groups & forum
Need legal and financial assistance?
Practical advice and support during and after treatment
Looking for transport, accommodation or home help?
Practical advice and support during and after treatment
Cancer information
Advanced cancer
Advanced cancer is when cancer has spread from its original site or has come back. Learn more.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy uses radiation, such as x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams or protons, to kill cancer cells or damage them so they cannot grow or multiply. Learn more.
Patient rights and responsibilities
What you can reasonably expect from your health care professionals