For example, your side effects could be worse if you are also having chemotherapy.
During your treatment
Because of this, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) don't allow you to drive for at least a month after treatment. You will also learn about side effects and how to care for yourself during your treatment.We suggest you read through this at least once before you start radiation therapy, and then use it as a reference in the days leading up to your radiation treatments so that you can do all you can to prepare. For example, scar tissue can affect the way your lungs or your heart works. They will use your simulation images to plan the angles and shapes of your radiation beams. Steroids can help to reduce swelling and sickness. We read every comment, but we’re not able to respond. You will hear your therapists speaking to each other as they work, and they will explain to you what they are doing.
Like the mask, it ensures that you are in the correct position during your simulation and treatments. The most annoying and uncomfortable side effects of radiation therapy involve the skin of the area being treated. However, your normal cells are able to repair themselves in a way that cancer cells cannot.Radiation can be given to treat primary tumors in your brain or tumors that have spread to your brain from another part of your body (metastasized).
It targets a small area in your brain with high doses of radiation and delivers lower doses of radiation to the normal tissue around it. After the tattoos are made, your therapists will take several photographs of you in your simulation position. The beam films will be repeated throughout your treatment. Generally, we use whatever has worked for us in the past.
You usually have blood tests to check for this. Although your therapists will walk in and out of the room during your simulation, there will always be someone who can see and hear you. If you need to change your schedule for any reason, speak with your radiation therapist.If you are receiving stereotactic radiosurgery, your radiation oncology team will tell you about the length of your appointment times and this will vary depending on how many sites are being treated.During the time between your simulation and start of treatment, your radiation oncologist will work with a team to plan your treatment.
But some can continue, or start some months or years later. You may also have long term side effects which Occasionally, your nurse may start an intravenous (IV) line so that contrast (dye) can be given to you before your scan. You can cover your scalp with a scarf, turban, wig, or toupee if it makes you feel more comfortable.If you want to wear a wig or hairpiece, try to get one before your hair falls out because it will be easier to match your hair color and style. Your treatment team can give you anti sickness tablets. If you have symptoms of cancer contact your doctor.Radiotherapy to the brain can cause short term side effects such as tiredness and sickness. You will lie on your back exactly as you did during your simulation.Special x-rays called beam films will be taken to make sure that your position and the area being treated are correct. These side effects usually improve a few weeks after treatment. You might like to cover your head with a soft hat, scarf or wig until your hair grows back. They will help you manage any side effects you might have. This is because, although radiation kills cancer cells, it is also a risk factor for developing them. You will not see or feel the radiation, but you may hear the machine as it moves around you and is turned on and off.
You will not see or feel the radiation.Stereotactic radiosurgery can be used in some tumors and is even more precise. You may have all, some, or none of these.Radiation therapy to the brain may cause brain swelling. You will be in the treatment room for 15 to 90 minutes, depending on your treatment plan. These images will be done on an x-ray machine called a simulator or on a computed tomography (CT) scan machine (see Figure 3).