Radiotherapy for mesothelioma

It’s usually given by aiming high-energy x-rays at the lung from a radiotherapy machine. This is known as external beam radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy can be given for different reasons:

• it can be given to shrink or reduce the size of the mesothelioma - this can help relieve symptoms like pain and breathlessness
• it’s sometimes given to the chest wall at the place where a biopsy has been done or a drainage tube has been inserted - in this situation, the radiotherapy may prevent the tumour from growing out through the scar
• it can also be used alongside surgery and chemotherapy (usually within a clinical trial).

Often, only one or two treatments are needed, but occasionally a course of treatment is given over two weeks or so. For single treatments, the planning discussed below isn’t needed.

Planning Back to top

To make sure that the radiotherapy works as well as possible, it has to be carefully planned. On your first visit to the radiotherapy department you’ll be asked to lie under a large machine called a simulator, which takes x-rays of the area to be treated. Sometimes a CT scanner may be used instead. Your treatment is planned and supervised by a clinical oncologist (a doctor who is a specialist in radiotherapy treatment) and a radiographer (the person who gives you your treatment).

Treatment sessions Back to top

Before each session of radiotherapy, the radiographer will position you carefully on the couch – either sitting or lying – and make sure you’re comfortable. During your treatment, which only takes a few minutes, you’ll be left alone in the room but you can talk to the radiographer, who will watch you from the next room. Radiotherapy is not painful but you do have to stay still for a few minutes while your treatment is being given.

 

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Side effects Back to top

Radiotherapy can cause general side effects such as feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting)| and tiredness. It can also make you temporarily more breathless|, cause flu-like symptoms for a few days or chest pain.

These side effects can be mild or more troublesome, depending on the strength of the radiotherapy dose and the length of your treatment. Your clinical oncologist and radiographer can advise you what to expect.

Nausea can usually be effectively treated with anti-sickness (anti-emetic) drugs, which your doctor can prescribe.

As radiotherapy can make you feel tired, try to get as much rest as you can, especially if you have to travel a long way for treatment each day.

These side effects should disappear gradually once your course of treatment is over, but it’s important to let your doctor know if they continue. Radiotherapy does not make you radioactive and it’s perfectly safe for you to be with other people, including children, throughout your treatment.

Our general information on radiotherapy| explains this treatment in more detail.