Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy, also called radiation therapy, is a treatment that uses radioactive or ionising radiation to destroy cancer cells or slow down their growth. It is often combined with other treatments, such as surgery and chemotherapy, to effectively combat cancer. Radiotherapy can also be used to treat benign tumours and other conditions.

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What does radiotherapy do?

The aim of radiotherapy is to deliver energy to body tissues using radiation. This energy damages the cells, causing cancer cells to stop growing or to die. Radiation can also affect healthy cells in the treated area, which may cause side effects such as redness or sensitivity of the skin. However, the radiation itself is painless.

The exact area to be treated varies from patient to patient. The duration, intensity, and number of sessions are always determined individually.

Radiotherapy can be administered in two ways:

External radiotherapy: the most common type, where a radiation machine directs beams from outside the body towards the tumour.
Internal radiotherapy (brachytherapy): a radioactive source is placed inside or near the tumour.

What do we treat?

The radiation oncologist targets the tumour itself or, after surgery, the area where the tumour was located (the so-called ‘tumour bed’). Treatment is often delivered with a wide margin, covering lymph nodes that may contain cancer cells. Each patient receives an individualised treatment plan.

Like surgery, radiotherapy is a local treatment—it only works in the area being irradiated. Other therapies, such as hormone therapy or chemotherapy, act throughout the entire body. Thanks to modern equipment, radiotherapy is a highly precise treatment. The goal is to deliver a sufficiently high radiation dose to the tumour while protecting the surrounding healthy tissues as much as possible. As a result, healthy cells are less damaged and usually recover well, while the cancer cells are destroyed.

Not every patient or type of cancer requires the most advanced techniques. Your radiation oncologist will determine together with you which method is best suited to your situation.

Results

Radiotherapy works gradually. This means that it is often difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to see during treatment whether the therapy is effective. The absence of side effects during the treatment series does not mean that the therapy is ineffective.

The outcome is usually assessed a few weeks later, often using imaging techniques.