You have been referred by your doctor to the Department of Radiotherapy at the UMC Utrecht. The reason is that you have a tumor or a benign abnormality that can be treated with radiotherapy (possibly in combination with surgery or chemo/immunotherapy). Here, you can read what treatment with radiotherapy entails. Another word for radiotherapy is radiation.
Side effects can also vary per patient. You can read information about this in a separate folder. You will receive this folder at the Radiotherapy department, if the information applies to you. We recommend that you also let your partner, family member or friend read this folder so that they will also have information about your treatment.
What is radiotherapy?
Radiotherapy is a medical treatment with radiation. Usually it involves X-rays or electron radiation. Both types of radiation are generated by electricity in a device: a 'linear accelerator'. This linear accelerator, which is also called a radiation device, produces a beam of radiation. This beam can be compared to a beam of light and can be switched on and off. The beam of radiation is precisely aimed at the area that needs radiation.
How does radiation work?
In the human body, new cells are constantly being formed and old cells are dying. If there are cells that divide faster than normal, the balance is disturbed. A growth or tumor can then develop; for the sake of readability, we will speak of a tumor in this leaflet. By this we mean both malignant and benign tumors.
Radiation can damage the cells of the tumor so much that they cannot divide any further and therefore die. Tumor cells are much more sensitive to radiation than healthy cells.
With external radiation, the tumor is irradiated from the outside. The radiation passes through the skin. Irradiation of healthy tissue is avoided as much as possible. However, there are also healthy cells in the area to be treated. These healthy cells are then also inhibited in their growth, but they generally recover sufficiently to not cause permanent damage.
For some types of tumors, internal radiation is used, also called brachytherapy. In this case, we use radioactive material that emits radiation. This material is introduced into the body for a short period of time. These treatment techniques and special devices treat the tumor from very close by. For some types of tumors, both forms of radiation are combined. This brochure describes the procedure for external radiation.
Separate brochures are available for internal radiation.
We can use radiotherapy to cure cancer. We call that a 'curative treatment'. A curative treatment can consist of different forms:
- Adjuvant therapy. This is radiotherapy after surgery. Radiotherapy is then given to destroy any remaining tumor cells and invisible metastases.
- Neoadjuvant therapy. This is radiotherapy before surgery. The aim of this is to to reduce the size of the tumor so that it can be removed more easily by the surgeon.
- Complete treatment. Radiotherapy can also be used as a complete treatment. The radiotherapy should destroy the tumor completely. This treatment can be given for a limited number of tumor types, and only if there are no metastases outside the radiation area.
If patients can no longer be cured, we can also give radiotherapy. We call this a 'palliative treatment'. Radiotherapy can then be given for the following reasons:
- Inhibiting tumor growth. This can reduce your pain.
- To stop bleeding in the tumor.
- To ensure that surrounding organs are less affected by the tumor.
Palliative radiotherapy is often short-term. It is beneficial because it improves the patient's quality of life.