RADIATION THERAPY for LUNG CANCER
Understanding Your Treatment Options

Internal Radiation

In some cases, your doctor may recommend brachytherapy. Also called internal radiation, brachytherapy involves placing radioactive material into a tumor or its surrounding tissue.

• During bronchoscopy, one or two thin plastic tubes called catheters is placed down the patient’s nose and into the airways of the lung.
• The tube or tubes are then connected to a brachytherapy machine. This holds the radioactive source, which is in the form of a ribbon with radioactive seeds. Your physician slides the ribbon into the tube in your lung so the seeds are next to the tumor.
• The ribbon is left in place from a few minutes to a few days.

Possible Side Effects

Patients often experience little or no side effects from radiation therapy and are able to continue normal routines.

• Side effects are temporary and usually limited to the area that received radiation.
• Possible problems include fatigue, skin irritation, difficulty or pain when swallowing, or shortness of breath.
• Talk to your physician about any side effects. He or she may be able to provide drugs and other treatments to help.

About the Radiation Oncology Team

Radiation oncologists oversee the care of each patient undergoing radiation treatment. Other members of the radiation oncology team include radiation therapists, radiation oncology nurses, medical physicists, dosimetrists, social workers and nutritionists.

Learning About Clinical Trials

The radiation oncology team is always looking for new ways to treat and cure cancer through studies called clinical trials. Today's lung cancer radiation therapy treatments are the result of clinical trials completed in the past that proved radiation therapy kills cancer cells and is safe long term. For more information on clinical trials, please visit the following Web sites:

National Cancer Institute
www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials

Radiation Therapy Oncology Group
www.rtog.org

Helpful Web Sites On Lung Cancer

Alliance for Lung Cancer, Advocacy Support and Education
www.alcase.org

American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org

American Lung Association
www.lungusa.org

Focus on Lung Cancer
www.lungcancer.org

Lung Cancer Online
www.lungcanceronline.org

People Living With Cancer
www.plwc.org

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