Response Oncology understands the uniqueness of each patients cancer care. Our specialists private Oncologists work closely with dedicated nursing and support staff to provide privacy and comfort, access to the best medical care, and support for you and your family.
No, external-beam radiotherapy doesn’t make patients radioactive, as the radiation fields are designed to pass through the body.
However, there are precautions in place to minimise the radiation released by internal radiation implants.
Radiotherapy utilises high-energy x-rays to permanently damage the DNA of cancer cells, causing them to die. At the same time, radiotherapy is designed to minimise the nearby healthy tissues damages.
There are two method of radiotherapy delivery:
External-beam radiotherapy involves using a modern and sophisticated machine called a linear-accelerator, which designed to deliver painless high-energy radiation fields to the target area.
This type of radiotherapy typically requires daily outpatient sessions over a number of days or weeks.
Internal radiotherapy comprises inserting small piece(s) of safe radioactive material temporarily or permanently inside the target area requiring treatments (also known as brachytherapy). This insertion requires simple surgical procedure, which is usually a day procedure.
The method of radiotherapy delivery will be advised by your consultant radiation oncologist, taking into account the type and stage of patients’ cancer and patients’ preference.
We are aiming to cure cancers with radiotherapy, which can be use alone or in combination with chemotherapy.
Radiotherapy can be utilised prior to surgery to improve the outcome of surgery (neoadjuvant radiotherapy) or after surgery to eliminate any potential residual cancers that may be left behind (adjuvant radiotherapy).
Radiotherapy is also an effective way of controlling symptoms in patients with incurable cancers.
Cancer Council Australia: www.cancer.org.au
Cancer Treatments Online: www.eviq.org.au
Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia: www.prostate.org.au
Breast Cancer Network Australia: www.bcna.org.au
Varian Medical System: patient.varian.com