Presentation By: Jonathan, Marty and Kiran Radiotherapy Presentation By: Jonathan, Marty and Kiran

What is radiotherapy and what is it used for? Radiotherapy is the use of high-energy rays to treat disease Works by destroying harmful cells (in most cases cancer) in an area that is being treated Two types of treatment: Curative Treatment Aims to destroy tumours and cure cancer Palliative Treatment Helps relieve symptoms

Forms of Radiotherapy Three types: External Radiotherapy Internal Radiotherapy 3. Pelvic Radiotherapy

Internal Radiotherapy - What is it? Placement of controlled radioactive material (seeds), into affected area These ‘seeds’ slowly release radiation over several months to kill the cancerous cells Delivers a high concentration and dose of radiation directly to the cancerous area

Internal Radiotherapy - Common Treatments Breast Lung Prostate Head and Neck Perianal (skin around anus)

Internal Radiation - How is it done? Surgeon and radiation oncologist meet and plan for the surgery The radiation oncologist prepares the seed Surgeon cuts you open, and the oncologist implants the seed 4. Patients leave hospital after three to four hours

Internal Radiation - Drawbacks Long term side effects are not recorded Not completely observed Requires highly skilled surgeons and doctors Doctors/surgeons need to know how to properly deliver radiation without harming other cells Radiation is being delivered right next to major arteries If done wrong, will do more harm than good

Internal Radiation - Benefits Highly Effective Radiation is delivered very accurately Minimized risk of side effects due to precise nature Very Quick Short treatment duration (1-5 days) Short recovery time (2-5 days) Can treat many types of cancer Power and intensity of radiation delivered by seed is programmable Surgery can treat harmful cells including tumours

What is Pelvic Radiation? Radiation therapy is applied to any cancerous tumor because of the dangerous ability to control cells growth. Radiation therapy or pelvic radio therapy is using Ionizing radiation in the Pelvic region, generally as part of a cancer treatment control or kill malignant cells. Radio therapy is very effective in the treatment of pelvic tumors. There has been huge improvements with radiotherapy techniques/equipment and the results in patients over the years.

What are the risks of getting pelvic radiation treatment? Radiation therapy can make you have bladder problems which will be a huge change in your life. Bladder spasms Burning or pain during urination Bladder infection Blood in the urine The need to urinate often (frequency) After the surgery, excessive gas could occur when radiation causes irritation and inflammation in the bowel. Gas often begins 2-3 weeks into radiation therapy and can be a huge bother for your lifestyle.

Continuation……… Irritation of the large and small intestine during or after the the radiation therapy to the pelvis will often cause diarrhea. Other possible effects from having radiation therapy to the pelvis is partial loss of bowel control and pain or itching during bowel movements

What are some cons of Pelvic Radiation? Pelvic radiation can cause some effects with the bladder with can cause problems like: Pain or burning sensations Trouble passing urine Blood in the urine And urge to urinate often Pelvic radiation can have a change in lifestyle, after having Pelvic radiation, there will be a change in the nervous system and your sex drive. That could create problems between you and your partner. You will have a change in your sex drive and daily feelings. It’s not just your sex life that changes, your whole body changes. You will always have a burning feeling around that region after the radiation therapy.

Additional information of Pelvic Radiation Radiation therapy to the stomach and abdomen will make you have some irritation of your bladder as well as in your fertility (ability to have children) For men, there could be nerve damage and lost feeling in the general area There will be a change in your sex life, body movements and daily feeling

External Radiotherapy - What is it? External radiotherapy (aka. External Beam Therapy) is the use of high energy beams generated outside the body to destroy infected cells. (mostly Cancer cells) These beams deposit their energy and radiation into the area of a tumor to break it up

External Radiotherapy - Common Treatments Breast Cancer Lung Cancer Prostate Cancer Brain Tumors

External Radiation - How does it work? External Radiation uses a machine like a cobalt machine or a linear accelerator to create high energy radiation beams to break up DNA inside infected cells The radiation breaks up the Dna making it more difficult for the cells to divide and eventually kills the cancer Instead of exposing the entire body the radiation like chemotherapy, EBT is only aimed and affects the part of the body that is infected and needs treatment.

External Radiation Drawbacks? Although EBT uses high energy beams the treatment does not result in radioactive patients and does not spread the radiation to people around them. Because the treatment uses beams the treatment is painless and feel similar to having an X-ray taken. Despite being painless there are side effects. They include, Skin Irritation Mild Nausea Mild Coughing & Hacking

Conclusion Radiotherapy is a very useful treatment that has many uses and benefits. It can be used to reduce symptoms of disease, and it can be used to destroy cancerous cells.In our opinion, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and we feel it should be more accessible to people.

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