Chemoradiotherapy
Having chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the same time is called chemoradiotherapy. See how you might have it for nasopharyngeal cancer.
What it is
Chemoradiotherapy means having chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment together.
Chemotherapy uses anti cancer (cytotoxic) drugs to destroy cancer cells. The drugs circulate throughout the body in the bloodstream.
Radiotherapy uses high energy x-rays to treat cancer cells.
Why you have it
Some chemotherapy drugs help to make cancer cells more sensitive to radiotherapy.
Chemoradiotherapy works better than radiotherapy alone for people whose cancer has grown into the tissue around the nasopharynx, or into nearby lymph nodes.
Who has it
Chemoradiothearpy can be quite a tough treatment to have. The side effects can be more severe than the side effects of radiotherapy or chemotherapy on their own. So you have tests to see if you’re fit enough to have it.
How you have it
How often you have chemotherapy depends on which drug or combination of drugs you have.
You usually have radiotherapy every day, from Monday to Friday, for about 7 weeks.
Occasionally, your treatment might need to be stopped for a short time if the side effects become too difficult. But it can usually start again after a few days of rest.
Chemotherapy
You usually have treatment in the chemotherapy day unit or you might need to stay in hospital for a day or more.
Clare Disney (nurse): Hello, my name is Clare and this is a cancer day unit.
So when you arrive and you’ve reported into with the receptionist, one of the nurses will call you through when your treatment is ready, sit you down and go through all the treatment with you.
Morning, Iris, my name is Clare. I am the nurse who is going to be looking after you today. We’re going to start by putting a cannula in the back of your hand and giving you some anti sickness medication. And then I am going to come back to you and talk through the chemotherapy with you and the possible side effects you may experience throughout your treatment. Is that okay?
Before you have each treatment, you’ll need to have a blood test to check your bloods are okay. And you’ll also be reviewed by one of the doctors to make sure you’re fit and well for your treatment. Sometimes you’ll have the blood test taken on the day of your treatment; other times you’ll have it the day before your treatment when you see the doctor.
Each chemotherapy is made up for each individual patient, depending on the type of cancer they have and where it is and depending their height, weight and blood results.
So, depending on where your cancer is some people have their chemotherapy drug, their cancer drug by drip, some will have an injection and other people will have tablets.
So, Iris, your chemotherapy is going to be given to you in what we call cycles and the cycles are given every three weeks for a period of six cycles. So, you will be coming in for approximately five months for your chemotherapy.
Depending on where your cancer is and what type of cancer you have will be dependent on how often you come in for treatment. An example of a treatment cycle would be for you to come in on Day 1, Day 8 and Day 15 then to have a week’s break before you come back again for Day 1 treatment.
Depending on the type of treatment that you are having, we will also give you some anti sickness tablets to take alongside your chemotherapy and also some drugs to prevent any reactions if that’s appropriate.
All chemotherapy is given over different time periods, so it’s best to check with your nurse about how long you are likely to be in the unit for. This can range from anything up to an hour to an all day treatment slot, so please be prepared to bring along some bits to keep you occupied books and music.
So, before you go home it’s important to make sure you have got the tablets you need to go home with your anti sickness medications and any other symptom control tablets that you may require. Also, to make sure that you’ve got the telephone numbers for the oncology unit to phone if you have a temperature or you are experiencing any other symptoms at home that you need to ask advice about.
So, please make sure when you leave the unit that you’ve got all the information you require and if you’ve got any questions at all don’t hesitate to ask the nurse, who will be able to answer them for you.
Before your next cycle of treatment you will come in and see the doctor in the clinic room. You’ll have a blood test and an examination to make sure you are fit and well for treatment. You will then come back the following day or later on that week for treatment.
Radiotherapy
Before you begin treatment, the radiotherapy team works out how much radiation you need. They divide it into a number of smaller treatments. They call each treatment a fraction. This is called radiotherapy planning.
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before your treatment starts your doctor will need to work out exactly why
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needs to go
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I know
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which parts need to be avoided by the treatment
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to have radiotherapy you lie in the same position as you did feel planning scans
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we then line up the machine based on your tattoo marks
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it's really important the East a very very still
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when you're having your treatment so so important to let the radio
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has no right at the beginning if you're not comfortable so they can adjust your
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position
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done we'll be back in a couple minutes we leave the room
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and control the machine from a separate room this is so we aren't exposed to
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radiation
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treatment takes a few minutes and you'll be able to talk to was using an end to
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come
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we can see and hear you while you're having your treatment
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and will check that you're OK when you treatment starts
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you won't feel anything you may have the machine as it moves around you given the
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treatment from different angles
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because we're aiming to give the same treatment to the same part to the body
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every day
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then the treatment process is exactly the same everyday see shouldn't really
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notice any different
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you'll see someone from the team caring for you once a week while you're having
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treatment
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they'll ask how you are and ask about any side effects
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me UK you from one sitting area to another
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on and take you into the room a you want dress to the waist
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and an lie down hand line you up
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asking you to shuffling little and the
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check two dimensions and they talk to one another and they say
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whose feuding clicks and yeah
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like school on and off that and you can see a green
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laser beam which a.m. lines up with certain things on your body
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no discomfort
Chemotherapy drugs
You might have one or more of the following chemotherapy drugs along with radiotherapy:
- cisplatin
- cisplatin and fluorouracil
- carboplatin
- caclitaxel (Taxol)
- docetaxel (Taxotere)
Some of these treatments are experimental for nasopharyngeal cancer. You might have them as part of a clinical trial.
Side effects
You will probably have some side effects from your treatment. These are the same kinds of side effects you would get from radiotherapy or chemotherapy alone. But when you have both treatments together some of the side effects can be more severe.
Sore mouth and throat
In particular, you are likely to get a very sore mouth and throat. Some people find that their mouth is so sore that it is difficult to swallow. If this happens, you are likely to need a feeding tube so that you can get enough liquid and calories. You also have painkillers. You might need a strong painkiller such as morphine to help make your mouth more comfortable.
When you have a very sore mouth and throat, you must be very careful about infection. Try to keep your mouth clean and follow the advice of your nurse and dentist. Contact the hospital at the first sign of infection – particularly a high temperature with chills, or a cough. You might need to go to the hospital and have antibiotics through a drip.
