Also known as radiotherapy, this treatment uses a controlled dose of radiation, such as focused x-ray beams, to kill or damage cancer cells. Radiation therapy for stomach cancer is commonly used to control bleeding.
Radiation therapy is usually given as a short course (1–14 days). Occasionally, a longer course of radiation therapy (5–6 weeks) will be given, either before or after surgery, or if surgery is not possible.
Each treatment takes about 15 minutes and is not painful. You will lie on a table under a machine that delivers radiation to the affected parts of your body. Your doctor will let you know your treatment schedule. Possible side effects include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and loss of appetite.
For more on this, see our general section on Radiation therapy.
→ READ MORE: Palliative treatment for stomach cancer
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Key resource
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Prof David I Watson, Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Flinders University, and Senior Consultant Surgeon, Oesophago-Gastric Surgery Unit, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Prof Bryan Burmeister, Senior Radiation Oncologist, GenesisCare Fraser Coast and Hervey Bay Hospital, QLD; Kieran Cahill, Consumer; Jessica Jong, Clinical Dietitian, Upper GI and Hepatobiliary Services, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; John Leung, Consumer; Prof Rajvinder Singh, Professor of Medicine, University of Adelaide, and Director, Gastroenterology Department and Head of Endoscopy, Lyell McEwin Hospital, SA; Dr Sarah Sutherland, Medical Oncologist, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW; Paula Swannock, Upper GI Cancer Nurse Consultant, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, VIC; Rebecca Yeoh, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Queensland.
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