This leaflet answers common questions about completing your radiotherapy treatment. If you would like further information, or have any worries, please do not hesitate to ask your radiographer, radiotherapy review specialist or doctor.

The radiotherapy treatment you have received will continue to influence you after the treatment has finished. The benefits of the treatment may take some time to become apparent and the time it takes varies from person to person.

Any short-term (acute) side effects you may experience or have been advised to expect will continue after your treatment finishes, commonly peaking 7-10 days after the treatment finishes and then taking another 1-2 weeks to settle down. Until then, please continue to follow the advice you have been given on how to manage these during your treatment.

In all cases, a doctor will explain the side effects of your radiotherapy treatment to you and answer any questions you may have.

Skin care

If you feel that your skin in the area treated becomes significantly worse after your treatment finishes, for example breaking down or weeping, please contact the radiotherapy department for advice.

Even after any skin reactions you experiences while having your radiotherapy have gone, you will still need to be mindful of how you look after you skin in the area treated with radiotherapy. This means that you should avoid direct sun exposure to the area wherever possible, especially for the first 8 weeks following treatment, and wear high factor sun creams for at least the first year. You should avoid swimming until all skin reactions have settled.

Tiredness (fatigue)

Often people continue to feel tired after their treatment has finished. This can take anywhere from weeks to months to return to normal. Allow yourself time to recover and rest when you feel you need to. Gentle exercise often helps to improve fatigue.

Support

People sometimes feel isolated or in a low mood, particularly once your contact with the hospital becomes less frequent after finishing active treatment. Please remember that the team caring for you is still available and that other support services such as Macmillan and Maggie’s are still available. More information on this can be found on the reverse of this sheet.

Follow Up

It is normal to wait for at least a few weeks, sometimes longer, following the completion of your treatment before you have any follow up tests or scans. This is because the treatment often inflames or irritates the area treated which would interfere with any results taken too soon.

Your doctor has requested that you have your first follow up appointment [ ] weeks after your radiotherapy treatment finishes. If you have not received an appointment by this time, please contact your doctor’s secretary.

If you are concerned

Please keep an eye out for any unexpected changes in your condition following your treatment. If you have any concerns, please contact your specialist nurse or your GP. Please ensure that you tell them when you finished your treatment and what area of your body was treated.