During your treatment, which only takes a few minutes, you will be left alone in the room but you will be able to talk to the radiographer who will be watching you from an adjoining room. Radiotherapy is not painful but you do have to lie still for a few minutes while your treatment is being given. The treatment will not make you radioactive and it is perfectly safe for you to be with other people, including children, after your treatment. Positioning of the radiotherapy machine Side effects Radiotherapy can cause general side effects such as nausea and tiredness, but is also likely to make the inside of your gullet inflamed, causing short-term soreness on swallowing. It is not unusual to feel worse before things start to feel better.
Some people feel rather depressed for a while.
These side effects can be mild or more troublesome, depending on the strength of the radiotherapy dose and the length of your treatment. The radiotherapist will be able to advise you what to expect. If you don't feel like eating, you can replace meals with nutritious, high-calorie drinks which are available from most chemists. See the section Diet. There are medicines available which may help to relieve the discomfort caused by the sore throat, and the soreness should gradually wear off.