Radiotherapy Services
Precision treatment using advanced ionizing radiation to target and destroy cancer cells.
What is Radiotherapy?
Radiotherapy is the use of ionising radiation to treat cancer and some non-cancerous conditions. Radiotherapy can be used alone or with systemic anti-cancer treatments, or both.
It’s used to:
- Attempt to cure cancer (radical radiotherapy)
- Control/slow down the growth of cancer
- Relieve cancer symptoms
How does radiotherapy work?
Radiation therapy does not kill cancer cells right away. It takes days or weeks of treatment before DNA is damaged enough for cancer cells to die. Then, cancer cells keep dying for weeks or months after radiation therapy ends.
Although normal cells are also affected by radiation, they are better at repairing themselves than the cancer cells. Radiotherapy is often delivered in several small doses, over a specified period of days or weeks.
The prescription written by your Consultant Clinical Oncologist will define the dose and number of treatments (fractions). Both short and long-term side-effects are possible and these are thoroughly discussed with you prior to starting treatment as part of the consent process.
Benefits of Radiotherapy
- Painless, minimal adverse effects on the patient’s daily lives
- Treatment sessions are typically given on an outpatient basis
- Benefits of organ preservation
- Minimal impact on returning back to routine after treatment
- Sessions typically take 10 to 20 minutes
Your Treatment Journey
Understand exactly what happens during your radiotherapy treatment. We have prepared a simple, illustrated guide to walk you through the process step-by-step.
View Treatment PathwayImportance of Radiotherapy in Cancer Care
About 60% of cancer patients will require some form of radiotherapy in their cancer treatment journey. Radiotherapy can be used as either:
Either alone or in conjunction with surgery and/or chemotherapy.
Reduce symptoms to improve the quality of life.
Types of Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy can be delivered in different ways, depending on the type and stage of cancer, and the treatment goal. Your cancer specialist will explain which type of radiotherapy is most suitable for you and why.
External Beam Radiotherapy
Radiation is delivered from a machine outside the body and carefully directed at the cancer. This is the most common type of radiotherapy.
Know MoreBrachytherapy (Internal Radiotherapy)
A radiation source is placed inside or very close to the cancer, allowing a high dose to the tumour while reducing exposure to nearby healthy tissues.
Know More