Radiation Therapy: 3 Things That Might Surprise You
April 14, 2023
By: Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare
Categories: Healthy Living
It’s normal to feel overwhelmed or worried when your doctor tells you you’ll need radiation therapy. But learning more about this type of cancer treatment may help you feel more prepared and comfortable.
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) and the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center are home to the most technologically advanced cancer treatments in the Big Bend region. This includes radiation therapy provided with three state-of-the-art linear accelerators, including the recently installed Varian TrueBeam, which safely, accurately and effectively administers radiation treatments to patients with cancer.
What is Radiation Therapy?
Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill or damage cancer cells and shrink or destroy cancerous tumors. It’s generally used to target and treat very specific areas of the body where cancer may persist, down to the millimeter.
According to the American Cancer Society, more than half of those diagnosed with cancer receive radiation therapy as a treatment – but it is often used in conjunction with other types of cancer treatment, such as surgery, chemotherapy or immunotherapy.
While the term radiation may sound scary, invoke thoughts of nuclear meltdowns or even sound like something out of a science fiction film, radiation therapy is generally a quick and painless process for patients.
Here are three things you may be surprised to learn about radiation therapy:
1. Radiation Therapy Sessions are Quick and Safe
While radiation therapy typically requires several treatments across weeks at time, each treatment session is rather short, typically only lasting a half hour or less at a time.
“We can’t guarantee exactly how long it’s going to take, whether it’s going to be 5, 10 or 20 minutes,” says Kurt Roof, radiation therapist at the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center. “One thing I do tell our patients is that we’re going to be accurate.”
As radiation treatment has become more advanced and more accurate, it has allowed radiation therapists to more efficiently treat the cancer site – this may also help to shorten the sessions.
There are some side effects of radiation treatment for the patient, but the procedure itself is painless – there’s no pain from radiation as it enters the body.
In addition to killing or slowing the growth of cancer cells, radiation therapy can also affect nearby healthy cells. Damage to healthy cells can cause different side effects depending on the individual and the location the therapy is targeting.
Overall, fatigue, hair loss and skin changes are most common. However, there are no side effects that make it unsafe for others to be around a patient who has just received radiation.
“Radiation therapy is like a light switch: When it’s on, it’s on, and when we turn it off, it’s off,” says Brandi Baker, radiation therapist at the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center. “Patients don’t go home with radiation, they’re not radioactive and they can be around children, friends and family. Those are a lot of the questions we get.”
In fact, many patients receiving radiation treatment are typically able to go back to work, run errands and return to their daily routines immediately following treatment.
2. We Add a Personal Touch and Work to Make You Comfortable
When many people think of radiation therapy, a sterile, cold and quiet environment may come to mind, but that’s not the case at the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center. Radiation therapists work with patients to make sessions as comfortable as possible.
“We have a little fun in here with patients and cut up,” says Roof.
Therapists can play whatever music patients enjoy, helping them to relax during their treatment.
Radiation therapists also become close with the patients they’re treating when seeing them five days a week for several weeks or months. They joke with each other, learn about each other and develop a rapport.
While it may not be a day at the spa, Baker says that many patients are sad when it’s time for their treatment sessions to end.
“When you’re with them for five weeks, almost every day you see them and you’re helping them through a hard time, you begin to develop a relationship with those patients. They enjoy seeing you; you enjoy seeing them. We enjoy learning about them and their families, their hobbies, what they do. It’s fun to get to know people and help them through a hard time. They really appreciate it.”
3. Radiation Therapists Provide More Than Radiation Treatment
Radiation therapists are not just technicians working strictly with equipment. They work directly with people to try and better understand their unique needs as patients. Radiation therapists also require training and clinical rotations beyond that of a standard x-ray technician.
The word therapist is in the title, and they truly do offer therapeutic services for their patients.
“We’re listening to patients’ needs and problems, and we can refer them to a social worker, a nurse navigator or a doctor to provide additional support,” says Baker. “We’re monitoring the patient every day, and we’re looking at side effects and any issues they’re experiencing. Sometimes they just need someone to listen to them. There really is a therapeutic side to it, and that’s why we’re radiation therapists.”
What This Mean for You
Radiation therapy is a service you hope you never need, but if you do, TMH is here with personal, compassionate care and state-of-the-art radiation technology – in your community.
The Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center is proud to use the Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator to perform lifesaving treatment on our patients with cancer. TrueBeam delivers greater precision during treatment, meaning patients can experience shorter treatment times and fewer side effects.
If you or a loved one do need radiation therapy, TMH Physician Partners – Radiation Oncology and the team at the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center are ready to help.
To learn more about our radiation oncology team, visit TMH.ORG/RadiationOncology.
