Radiotherapy for skin cancer

Radiotherapy| treats cancer by using high-energy rays to destroy the cancer cells, while doing as little harm as possible to normal cells. It works well for skin cancers and is particularly useful in areas where surgery might be difficult or disfiguring (such as the face) and for tumours that have penetrated deeply into the skin.

The treatment is given in the hospital radiotherapy department. Often only a single treatment is needed, but sometimes several doses of treatment are necessary and these are given over a period of one or more weeks. Your doctor will discuss your individual treatment plan with you.

The radiotherapy treatment affects only a small area of skin and will not make you feel unwell. For a week or two after treatment, the treated skin will be red and inflamed. During this time, it will look as though the treatment has made things worse rather than better. It is very important not to be worried by this. After a few weeks the area will dry up and form a crust or scab. Over another week or so, the scab will peel away, leaving healed new skin underneath. At first, the new skin will look pinker than the skin around it. This will gradually fade, and the treated area will come to look like the skin around it, although it can eventually be slightly paler.

Radiotherapy to areas that produce hair, such as the head, can make the hair fall out in the treated area. The hair may grow back within 6-12 months, depending on the dose of radiotherapy and the length of treatment you have had. Some people find that the hair loss is permanent. Your clinical oncologist can discuss with you whether your hair is likely to grow back once the treatment has ended.

Radiotherapy does not make you radioactive and it is perfectly safe for you to be with other people, including children, throughout your treatment.