Having radiotherapy for gallbladder cancer

You have to have radiotherapy in a hospital radiotherapy department. Only hospitals that are specialist cancer centres have radiotherapy departments, so you may have to travel further than your local hospital.

You go to the hospital for treatment once a day, from Monday to Friday, with a break at the weekends. The length of your course of treatment will vary, depending on the type and size of your cancer and on the aim of the treatment.

Specialists plan radiotherapy treatment extremely carefully. On your first visit, you lie under a large machine called a simulator. The picture below shows a simulator.

This takes X-rays. The doctor uses it to work out exactly where to target your radiotherapy to

• Kill the most cancer cells
• Avoid damaging healthy body tissue as much as possible

The actual treatment only takes a few minutes. The radiographer will help position you on the couch and make sure you are comfortable. You will be alone in the room for the few minutes it takes to have the treatment. The staff will be able to see and hear you through an intercom, so you can call if you need them.

The treatment does not hurt. You will not be able to feel it at all. You must lie very still for the few minutes it takes to treat you.

Having external radiotherapy does not make you radioactive. It is perfectly safe to be with other people, including children, throughout your treatment course.

Some people have internal radiotherapy as part of clinical trials. Radioactive tubes, wires or seeds are put into or near to the tumour. They are left inside for a few minutes or up to a few days. While they are in place you give off a small amount of radioactivity. So you need to be in a single room in hospital for that time and take certain safety precautions. Your visitors will also need to take precautions to make sure they are not exposed to the radioactivity. There is information about radioactive implants and particularly about the internal radiotherapy safety precautions in our radiotherapy section. 

You may not have any side effects at first. Radiotherapy side effects usually come on gradually during your course of treatment. They will usually be at their worst at the end of your course. Over the 2 to 3 weeks following your treatment they will slowly get better.

Generally, radiotherapy can cause tiredness and sore, red skin in the treatment area. Radiotherapy to the abdomen (tummy) can also cause

• Feeling or being sick
• Diarrhoea

There is more about the side effects of radiotherapy to the abdomen in the radiotherapy section.

If you have side effects, do speak to your radiographer or nurse at the radiotherapy department where you are having treatment. They will be able to help. Very rarely, where side effects are particularly severe, they will suggest you stop treatment so that you can recover.

Remember - don’t put any lotions, powders or creams on skin in the area being treated without checking first with your radiotherapy department. If you have any soreness, these may make the skin even more sore. Ask at the radiotherapy department - your radiographer or nurse will give you something to soothe your skin if you need it.