Clinical safety
Use your own team’s instructions first
Use the contact number and urgent-care advice your team gave you for new or worsening symptoms. If you are having systemic anti-cancer treatment, use the 24-hour number on your treatment alert card. Call 999 for a life-threatening emergency.
Plan for the exact kind of radiotherapy you are receiving
External beam, internal and systemic radiotherapy can involve very different procedures, precautions and side effects.
From planning appointment to final session
Capture the details that belong to your body area and treatment type.
- Record the treatment type, purpose, number or pattern of visits and which body area is being treated.
- Ask what happens at planning, including scans, position, moulds, masks, marks or tattoos.
- Tell the team about pain, claustrophobia, mobility, bladder or bowel difficulties and communication needs.
- Write down the skin-care and washing advice from your department rather than choosing products from general advice.
- Know whom to call if you are unwell or cannot attend a session.
- Ask when side effects may peak, including after the final session, and how follow-up works.
- For internal or systemic treatment, record every temporary radiation precaution exactly as given.
Questions that reveal the practical impact
Area-specific detail matters more than a long generic side-effect list.
- Which nearby organs or functions could be affected in my treatment plan?
- What can reduce the chance that movement or discomfort interrupts treatment?
- Which symptoms should I report during treatment and after it ends?
- Will I need time away from work, driving, caring or close contact with anybody?
- Who can help with nutrition, swallowing, bladder, bowel, sexual or fertility effects if relevant?
If a session may be missed
Do not silently skip an appointment.
“I may not be able to attend today because I have developed new symptoms. Can the radiotherapy team advise what to do and how this affects the schedule?”
Plan for treatment days and effects that may build gradually
Radiotherapy uses precisely planned radiation to treat a defined area. The experience depends on the body site, dose, number of treatments and whether radiation is delivered from outside or placed inside the body.
Planning is part of treatment, not an informal practice run. A planning scan establishes the position and shape of the area to treat and the nearby tissue to protect. Masks, moulds, skin marks or tiny permanent marks may help reproduce that position. Follow instructions about bladder filling, bowel preparation, breathing technique or fasting exactly, because consistency can matter to accuracy.
External beam treatment itself is usually painless, although holding a position can be uncomfortable. The radiographers leave the room but can see and hear you. Brachytherapy and radioisotope treatments work differently and may involve anaesthetic, admission or temporary precautions around other people. Use the written instructions for the exact treatment rather than general rules about radiation.
Some effects build across a course and continue for a time after it ends. Skin, tiredness, bowel, bladder, mouth or swallowing effects depend on the treated area. Tell the team early, since supportive care often works better before a problem becomes severe. Do not apply creams, dressings, deodorants or heat to the treatment area unless the radiotherapy service says they are suitable.
A practical way through it
Use the parts that fit your situation and leave the rest.
- Understand the treatment mapAsk which area is being treated, the intended aim, how many visits are planned and whether nearby organs create any special preparation.
- Protect positioning aidsKeep a mask or mould as instructed and do not scrub off planning marks. Tell staff if marks fade or the fit changes rather than repairing them yourself.
- Repeat preparation accuratelyUse the department's timing for food, fluids, bladder, bowel and medicines each day, and call if illness makes the routine impossible.
- Report changes before treatmentTell radiographers about new pain, pregnancy possibility, skin damage, inability to hold position or any medicine or device change relevant to the treatment area.
- Care for the treated areaWash, moisturise, shave and protect skin only as the team advises, because products and friction tolerated elsewhere may irritate treated skin.
- Plan beyond the last sessionAsk which effects can peak later, what follow-up is arranged and which number remains available after the course finishes.
What this can look like
When preparation goes wrong
Meena is delayed in traffic and cannot complete the bladder-filling routine at the planned time. She is tempted to say nothing to avoid losing the appointment.
A useful response
Tell reception or the radiographers exactly what happened before treatment starts.
Let the team decide whether more time, imaging, a revised preparation or rebooking is needed.
Ask how to adapt the timing on future journeys without inventing a different fluid plan.
Why and how it is used
- Radiotherapy may be external, internal or given through a radioactive medicine.
- Your treated area, technique and schedule are individually planned.
Planning and appointments
- Planning may include scans, moulds, masks, skin marks or tattoos.
- Ask the department what to do if an appointment is missed.
Side effects and safety
- Effects can continue or peak after a course finishes.
- External beam treatment does not usually make you radioactive, while some internal treatments require temporary precautions.
A manageable next step
What you could do now
- Ask what the planning marks or equipment are for.
- Save the radiotherapy contact number.
- Ask which effects may continue after the final appointment.
Checked sources
Read the original guidance
We summarise carefully and link to the source so you can check the full, most current information. Sources were checked 9 September 2026.