Radioactive Pt. 2.5!!!

Unspeakable speaks:
You asked..well here it is. This is what the machine used to give radiation looks like. There are different variations of this machine used to administer the external beam radiation therapy.



What is external beam radiation therapy?
Glad you asked.... External beam radiation therapy comes from a machine that aims radiation at your cancer. The machine is large and may be noisy (sounds like you getting a tattoo..but 2x's louder...my opinion). It does not touch you , but rotates around you, sending radiation to your body from many directions. External beam radiation therapy is a local treatment, meaning that the radiation is aimed only at a specific part of your body. For example, if you have lung cancer, you will get radiation to your chest only and not the rest of your body.


For the First timers.....what you should look forward to:
What happens before your first external beam radiation treatment?
You will have a 1-2 hour meeting with your doctor or nurse before you begin radiation therapy. At this time, you will have a physical exam, talk about your medical history and maybe imaging tests. Your doctor or nurse will discuss with you external beam radiation therapy, its benefits and side effects, and ways you can care for yourself during and after treatment. You can then choose whether to have external beam radiation therapy.

If you agree to have external beam radiation therapy, you will be scheduled for a treatment planning session called a simulation. At this time:

• A radiation oncologist and radiation therapist will define your treatment area (also called a treatment port or preferably treatment field.) This refers to the places in your body that will get radiation. You will be asked to lie very still while x-rays or scans are taken to define the treatment area.

• The radiation therapist will then put small marks (tattoos or dots of colored ink) on your skin to mark the treatment area. You will need these marks throughout the course of radiation therapy. The radiation therapist will use them each day to make sure you are in the correct position. Tattoos are about the size of a freckle and will remain on your skin for the rest of your life. Ink markings will fade over time. Be careful not to remove them and make sure to tell the radiation therapist if they fade or lose color.
  

**** Information is courtesy of****
National Cancer Institute
Call 1-800-4-Cancer (800-422-6237)
www.cancer.gov

NH Publication No. 08-7157