External radiotherapy for womb cancer

This page is about external radiotherapy for cancer of the womb. There is information about

A quick guide to what's on this page
External radiotherapy for womb cancer
Planning your radiotherapy treatment
Having radiotherapy treatment

Planning your treatment

This type of treatment is also called external beam radiation or teletherapy. You have the treatment in the hospital radiotherapy department. Your specialist will plan your radiotherapy very carefully. At your first visit you will have a scan or lie under a large machine called a simulator. The doctor uses this to work out where to give your treatment to kill the most cancer cells and miss as much healthy body tissue as possible. You won't feel anything.

Having treatment

You have treatment once a day, from Monday to Friday. You usually have a rest at the weekends. The total length of your treatment course depends on your individual situation. The length of treatment varies according to whether radiotherapy is your only treatment, or if you are having it after surgery. The radiotherapy treatment itself is painless and only takes a few minutes each day.

Having external radiotherapy does not make you radioactive. It is perfectly safe to be with other people, including children. Travelling back and forth to hospital each day means this type of treatment can be very tiring. Tiredness is also one of the side effects of radiotherapy.

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External radiotherapy is also called external beam radiation or teletherapy. You have the treatment in the hospital radiotherapy department. Beams of radiation from an external machine are focused on the womb (or where the womb was), the surrounding tissues, and any other areas affected by the cancer.

Your specialist will plan your radiotherapy very carefully. At your first visit you will lie under a scanner or a large machine called a simulator. Here is a picture of a simulator.

Picture of a simulator machine

It's a large machine and looks a bit frightening to some people. But it's nothing to worry about. You won't feel anything.

The doctor uses the scans to work out where to give your treatment to kill the most cancer cells and miss as much healthy body tissue as possible. You may have radiotherapy skin markings made on your skin. Your radiographer uses these markings to line up the radiotherapy machine every day when you have your treatment. You must be careful not to wash pen markings off. They will probably fade a bit as you go through your course and your radiographer will ink them in again for you.

When it is time for your treatment, the radiographer will help position you on the couch and make sure you are comfortable. You will be left alone for the minute or two the machine is switched on. But the staff will be able to hear you through an intercom, so call if you need them. Here is an example of a treatment room.

Picture of a radiotherapy treatment room

The treatment does not hurt. You will not be able to feel it at all. But you will be asked to 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.

The treatment can be very tiring, particularly towards the end of your course. This is partly because you are having to travel back and forth to the hospital each day. But it is also because tiredness is a side effect of radiotherapy treatment. We have more about the side effects of radiotherapy.