Radiotherapy explained

Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays (radiation) to treat cancer.

Radiotherapy can cause side effects. Your radiography team will give you advice or medicines to help manage them.

A team of specialists are involved in planning and giving your radiotherapy.

During most types of radiotherapy to the brain, head or neck, you wear a mask to help you lie still.

Radiotherapy treats cancer by using high-energy rays to destroy the cancer cells. Using radiotherapy to treat cancer in the pelvis is called pelvic radiotherapy.

External beam radiotherapy is given from a radiotherapy machine outside the body.

Internal radiotherapy uses a radioactive material that is put inside the body to treat cancer.

Proton beam therapy is a type of external beam radiotherapy. It is only suitable for a small number of people.

Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) is a way of giving radiotherapy to precisely target certain cancers.

Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) uses radioactive beads to treat cancer in the liver.