This planning session may take up to an hour to complete, but is essential in providing data for optimal treatment planning. It has been found that patients tolerate the smaller daily doses well and still receive the maximum benefit of the treatments. Normally, each daily treatment lasts about 10 to 15 minutes, with the majority of this time spent making sure the blocking devices, which direct the radiation to the appropriate area, are in place and the patient and machine are properly positioned. The staff members who are responsible for managing the daily radiation therapy treatments have received specialized education and certification and are called radiation therapists. Therefore, patients experience side effects related to the area of the body being given the radiation therapy.
Most patients do, however, experience some degree of fatigue during radiation therapy.
Your radiation oncologist will discuss specific side effects related to your treatment with you before the radiation begins. In most situations side effects begin to occur sometime between the second and third week of treatment. Be sure to alert your physician or nurse when side effects occur so that they may monitor them and provide the appropriate interventions. The type and severity of side effects vary from patient to patient and many times patients find that the effects may be a little more pronounced toward the end of the treatment week. During the two day break, symptoms usually resolve to some degree so that most patients feel more comfortable by the beginning of the next treatment week.