Therapeutic Procedures

Radiotherapy :

Radiotherapy [RT] is a term used for treatment of any ailment with radiation.

Radiation slows down or stops the multiplying capacity of the tumor cells thus controlling the growth of the tumor. RT is effective in treating many kinds of cancer and many patients have had RT as their only mode of treatment. More than half of the cancer patients undergo RT either as the only mode of treatment or in combination with surgery or medicine or both.

During RT there will be some side effects depending upon the area of treatment in the body.

Common complaints of patients during RT is nausea, vomiting, hair loss,[if being treated on the scalp or head]

RT can be given externally where huge machines are used to direct the high energy rays or particles at the cancer sites. Commonly used machines are cobalt-60 and linear accelerators.

People involved with the treating of the patients are radiation oncologists the doctors who after the diagnosis of the tumor plans and decides the area to be treated based on the various investigations and the reports.

Medical physicists the people who take care of the machines to the maintenance and the calculations of the treatment planed by the oncologist.

Radiotherapy technologist the people who executes the plan of the oncologist and physicists, these are the people who are responsible for the correct delivery of the dose to the tumor and time to time keep a watch on the patients’ well being and has to bring to the notice of the doctor if they need any medication for the reactions.

The treatment of the patient is carried on from a single dose of palliation to a 35 fractions of radical treatment. The treatment is given to a patient from Monday to Friday with the weekends off, this is done because along with the cancer cells normal cells also gets destroyed in order to recuperate the normal cells two days of rest is given to the patients.

The normal responsibilities of a radiotherapy technologist are to take care of the machines with regular preventive maintenance along with the engineers.

To keep a close observations on the reactions of the patients on RT and to bring to the notice of the doctors as and when need be felt by them.

Instruct them on the do’s and the don’ts’

Act as a counselors for the interactions are more between the technologist and the patient, as they treat them and see them every day and only once a week the oncologist sees them to see their reactions or only as and when they have problems.

At present most of the malignant diseases are only being treated by radiation therapy.

There are 3 methods of using radiation

• Teletherapy
• Brachy Therapy
• Surface Moulds

Teletherapy in this method as the name suggests the treatment source is at a distance.

Brachy Therapy where the source is placed inside the body cavities or in the tissues.

Surface Moulds a mould with wax is made of the surface to be treated and the source is inserted into the wax mould and placed on the surface.

Cobalt 60 is a nuclear reactor product of cobalt 58 having a half life of 5yrs and an energy of 1.25m.v mostly used in the teletherapy units or HDR BRACHY THERAPY UNITS.

Caesium 137 is a nuclear fission product with a half life of 30 yrs and an energy of .66mv comes usually in pellets tubes or in needle form for the MDR [MEDIUM DOSE RATE] brachy therapy units or for the surface moulds.

Information relating to specific areas of the body receiving Radiation Therapy:

Head and Neck

Abdomen

Brain

Breast

Chest

Pelvis/Prostate