Renal Cell Carcinoma Treatment 2 Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to destroy cancerous cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy, External radiation therapy(Such as Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy (3-D CRT)①) and Internal radiation therapy (uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer). Usually, renal cell carcinoma patient receive external beam therapy, where the radiation beam is generated by an external device (linear accelerator).
The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type and stage of the cancer being treated. It is often given in divided doses called fractions. When used to relieve symptoms, radiotherapy is usually given for a few minutes every day for a few days. For many patients, treatment will take several weeks, and they may need to come along every weekday during that time. Your doctor will tell you how many treatment sessions you need, and how frequent they will be.
Radiation has a limited role in the treatment of kidney cancer. Kidney tumors are not very sensitive to radiation, but healthy kidneys are, so radiation as a frontline treatment is not viable.
Radiation therapy can be administrated
(1) Before surgery, as a neoadjuvant treatment – to shrink the tumor (in a small number of patient)
(2) After surgery, Radiotherapy may be advised in addition to surgery which aims to kill any cancerous cells which may have been left behind following an operation, and reducing the risk of cancer relapse.
(3) As a palliative treatment – to ease pain and other symptoms of advanced kidney cancer that has spread to bone, brain or other areas of the body.
After positioning you will be left alone for a few minutes while treatment is given, but you can still talk to your radiographer via an intercom
Its most common side effects include:
- Discomforting skin sensations (skin pain, red skin, itching and burning skin sensations, desquamation – the exterior layer of the skin sheds, and even atrophies – the skin tissues die).
- Loss of any body hair in the treatment area
- Feeling or being sick
- Breathing difficulties (because the radiation beam affects the lungs).
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
These effects are usually mild when the radiotherapy is given to relieve symptoms. The doctor who plans your radiotherapy (clinical oncologist) will be able to advise you about what to expect. Usually side effects disappear gradually once your course of treatment is over but it is important to let your doctor know if they continue. See a detailed side-effect of radiotherapy on cancer research UK.
①A procedure that uses a computer to create a 3-dimensional picture of the tumor. This allows doctors to give the highest possible dose of radiation to the tumor, while sparing the normal tissue as much as possible. Also called 3-dimensional radiation therapy.This technique is commonly used to treat cancers in most parts of the body but is particularly useful in treating prostate cancer, lung cancer and certain brain tumors.
check out the Chinese traditional food therapy-during radiation therapy.
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According to a recently published study in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, using treatment planning techniques such as intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) could be beneficial for malignant pleural mesothelioma patients.
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