Radiotherapy is different from surgery and chemotherapy in that a complete course of treatment needs to be completed in stages.
What is the process of radiation therapy?
1. The entire process before radiation therapy typically takes 5 to 10 business days. This is primarily for 3D radiotherapy, which is the most common form of radiotherapy today.
The vast majority of radiotherapy techniques used today are 3-dimensional precision radiotherapy. During precision radiotherapy, you should be able to position yourself and lie down no more than 5 millimeters at a time, and the irradiated area should be as precise as a “target” for shooting practice. The first thing you need to do is to go through the process of positioning, outlining the target area, plan design, plan review and approval, and calibration before you can start the formal radiotherapy.
2. During radiation therapy, once a day Monday through Friday, with weekends off, it often takes 6 to 7 weeks to complete the entire course of treatment.
Each radiation treatment lasts about 8 to 10 minutes.
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3. The entire course of treatment is not complete until the entire course of treatment is completed for the same radiotherapy site.
Do I need to be hospitalized for radiation therapy?
While radiation therapy requires a longer course of treatment, you do not need to be hospitalized because each treatment is short and adverse effects occur more slowly.
During radiation therapy, if regular checkups show that you are having more severe adverse reactions, or if you need concurrent chemotherapy, your doctor will often recommend that you be hospitalized so that the side effects of the treatment can be detected and managed in a timely manner.
What tests and preparations do I have to do before radiation therapy?
Before determining the treatment plan, the tumor needs to be diagnosed and staged. Therefore, there are many tests that need to be completed before treatment, including esophagoscopy and biopsy pathology, upper gastrointestinal tract imaging, chest and abdominal CT, and neck ultrasound. Your doctor will also need to evaluate your heart and lung function and nutritional status.
Therefore, it is recommended that you bring as much of the above information as possible for your radiologist’s reference before radiation therapy begins.
Specifically, the following preparations are needed before radiation therapy for esophageal cancer:
1. Detailed examination to fully assess the diagnosis and staging and determine the treatment plan.
You will complete the necessary ancillary tests before radiation therapy, and then your doctor will develop a comprehensive treatment plan.
Clear pathological typing and staging of esophageal cancer is the basis for developing a treatment plan, so it is essential to obtain lesion tissue under gastroscopy and perform pathological diagnosis.
Planar+enhanced CT of the chest and abdomen, planar+enhanced CT of the neck or ultrasound of the cervical lymph nodes, and gastrointestinal imaging are essential imaging tests for the diagnosis of esophageal cancer. Based on your diagnosis and stage, your doctor will develop the most appropriate treatment plan for you.
2. Pre-treatment talk.
Before radiation therapy begins, your doctor will have a pre-treatment talk with you to help you develop a proper understanding of your disease and radiation therapy, and to inform you of what to expect during radiation therapy.
The doctor will emphasize these things:
During treatment, you may experience some adverse reactions, which fall into three broad categories: systemic reactions (malaise, decreased appetite, nausea and vomiting, etc.), hematologic toxicity (low white blood cells, decreased neutrophils, anemia and decreased platelets, etc.), and local reactions (such as increased dysphagia, painful swallowing, coughing and shortness of breath).
Some of these adverse reactions resolve on their own, some need to be detected during regular review during treatment, and some you will feel the corresponding discomfort on your own. But rest assured that your doctor will help you relieve your discomfort and take steps to prevent adverse effects in advance.
During treatment, you will need to visit your doctor at least once a week to let him or her know what is wrong with your body so that he or she can manage your symptoms.
The approximate cost of radiotherapy treatment
The price that radiotherapy for esophageal cancer will cost varies in different regions of China.
The cost of 3D conformal radiotherapy or intensity-modulated radiotherapy, which is more commonly used today, is about $50,000 to $100,000.
Co-written by Dr. Rong Yu Dr. Jing You, Peking University Cancer Hospital