Medicine

Patient information for Translation

Radiotherapy to the Brain

Important

Please tell us if you have a pacemaker as we will need to monitor your heart during your treatment.

Please let us know if you are pregnant or think you might be pregnant. It is important to remember that you need to use contraception whilst receiving treatment for cancer in order to prevent pregnancy – please see our leaflet ‘Avoiding pregnancy during radiotherapy and chemotherapy’.

Radiotherapy Reception 020 3465 5222

Emergency Hotline (when the department is closed) 07917 093 738

Introduction

Radiotherapy is used to treat cancer using machines called Linear Accelerators (Linac). The Linac aims carefully measured doses of radiation to the brain.

Radiation is invisible and painless.

Radiotherapy planning

Before your treatment can begin, you will need to attend a ‘pre-treatment planning appointment’. During this appointment, the radiotherapy technicians will create a mask for you to wear during treatment. It is very important you wear a mask for treatment to ensure you stay in the correct position.

To make the mask, a warm and wet piece of plastic will be placed on your face, as it cools, it will mould to the shape of your head.

The mask is covered in holes which allow you to breathe through your nose and mouth. You will be able to breathe at all times.

What happens during a radiotherapy session?

Typically, treatment will be every day from Monday to Friday for up to six weeks but the number of treatments may vary depending on your diagnosis. Some patients may have chemotherapy (Temozolomide) at the same time as their radiotherapy treatment. Your medical team will inform you if this applies and will explain the regime to you.

You will be left alone when the machine is switched on, but the radiographers will be watching you on cameras at all times. If you need the radiographers for any reason, please raise your hand and they will come back into the room.

The treatment appointment will last between 10-20 minutes every day.

Skin care

The following advice will help you look after your skin during treatment:

• You can wash and shower normally.  Treat your scalp gently, do not rub too hard. Use a baby shampoo and cool/warm temperature water and hairdryer.
• We recommend applying E45 cream, aloe vera gel or Enopen cream to any exposed areas of skin on your head to keep the skin moisturised.

Side effects of radiotherapy

We plan your radiotherapy treatment so that the dose given to the tumour is maximised without causing damage to surrounding normal tissues. However, it is not possible to avoid the normal tissues completely. 

Short term side effects

Hair loss on your head

Hair loss is normal and usually an unavoidable side effect of radiotherapy to the brain. This usually starts around three or four weeks into treatment. Hair loss is not normally permanent and your hair will start to grow back approximately two to three months after the end of treatment. The texture and colour of your regrown hair may be slightly different to before.

Nausea, vomiting and headaches

It is common to experience nausea and headaches during radiotherapy. It is very important to stay hydrated and drink 2 litres of water/cordial per day. Ginger is a very good

herbal remedy for nausea. We advise to eat little and often during episodes of nausea. Let us know if you experience nausea as we can prescribe anti-sickness medication where necessary.

Headaches are also very common. Your consultant may prescribe steroids which can reduce swelling on the head. Paracetamol and ibuprofen are also advised if you have headaches.

Fatigue

During your course of treatment there is no need to alter your lifestyle radically, but you may feel tired. This may be related to your illness, or to your treatment.

Drink plenty of water to relieve fatigue and help keep you hydrated and energised during your treatment. Aim for 2 litres per day.

Drowsiness, confusion and forgetfulness

These are all possible side effects of radiotherapy. They happen because the treatment increases pressure in your head. The extent of these side effects depends on the size and area being treated. You may be prescribed steroids to reduce this.

Skin

Once your treatment has completely finished and any side effects have settled down, you are advised to use a high factor sun block as necessary, since the treatment area is likely to remain sensitive to the sun. While you are still experiencing side effects, and during your treatment, do not use sun block on your face or head; avoid direct sun exposure.

Long term side effects

Careful treatment planning and monitoring helps to limit the occurrence of long-term effects. While you are unlikely to be affected by them, it is important that you are aware of their existence. If they do arise it can be several months or even years after the treatment has finished.

Several years after your treatment, you may develop a cataract (a common condition that occurs where the lens inside the eye goes cloudy or misty). This is a potential long term side effect of radiotherapy. Whether it affects you or not will depend on the radiotherapy dose needed to treat your condition. Your doctor can speak to you in more detail about this.

If you are worried about your side effects after your treatment has finished, please contact your GP or your specialist cancer nurse or refer to the phone numbers on the back page of this leaflet.

Contact Us

Radiotherapy, Basement, King George V Wing (KGV), St Bartholomew’s Hospital, West Smithfield, London EC1A 7BE

Macmillan Cancer Information Centre

Vicky Clement-Jones

Ground Floor West Wing, St Bartholomew’s Hospital Mon-Fri 10am-12noon and 2-4.30pm  Tel: 020 7601 7586

Maggie’s Centre @ St Barts

St Bartholomew’s Hospital, West Smithfield, London, EC1A 7BE     Tel: 0203 904 3448

Drop in Mon-Fri: 9am-4pm

https://www.maggiescentres.org/our-centres/maggies-barts/

Large print and other languages
This information can be made available in alternative formats, such as easy read or large print, and may be available in alternative languages, upon request. For more information, speak to your clinical team.
 

এই তথ্যগুলো সহজে পড়া যায় অথবা বৃহৎ প্রিন্টের মত বিকল্প ফরম্যাটে পাওয়া যাবে, এবং অনুরোধে অন্য ভাষায়ও পাওয়া যেতে পারে। আরো তথ্যের জন্য আপনার ক্লিনিক্যাল টিমের সাথে কথা বলুন।

Na żądanie te informacje mogą zostać udostępnione w innych formatach, takich jak zapis większą czcionką lub łatwą do czytania, a także w innych językach. Aby uzyskać więcej informacji, porozmawiaj ze swoim zespołem specjalistów.

Macluumaadkaan waxaa loo heli karaa qaab kale, sida ugu akhrinta ugu fudud, ama far waa weyn, waxana laga yabaa in lagu heli luuqaado Kale, haddii la codsado. Wixii macluumaad dheeraad ah, kala hadal kooxda xarunta caafimaadka.

Bu bilgi, kolay okunurluk veya büyük baskılar gibi alternatif biçimlerde sunulabilir, ve talep üzerine Alternatif Dillerde sunulabilir. Daha fazla bilgi için klinik ekibinizle irtibata geçin.

یہ معلومات متبادل فارمیٹس میں دستیاب کی جا سکتی ہیں، جیسا کہ پڑھنے میں آسان یا بڑا پرنٹ  اور درخواست پر متبادل زبانوں میں بھی دستیاب ہو سکتی ہیں۔ مزید معلومات کے لیے، اپنی کلینکل ٹیم سے بات کریں'۔

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

Please contact us if you need general information or advice about Trust services: www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/pals

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Reference: BH/PIN/842

Publication date: Dec 2021

All our patient information leaflets are reviewed every three years.

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