During your treatment, you will have a radiation therapy team made up of people with different specialties and skills. This team will create a specialized treatment plan that is designed to meet your specific needs. Your team may include:
Radiation oncologist
A doctor who specializes in using radiation therapy to treat cancer. He or she prescribes how much radiation you will receive, plans how your treatment will be given, closely follows you during your course of treatment, and prescribes care you may need to help with side effects. After your radiation therapy, you’ll see him or her for follow-up visits, and the oncologist will assess how well the radiation has worked.
Radiation nurse
Provides nursing care during radiation therapy, working with all the members of your radiation therapy team. He or she will talk with you about your radiation treatment and help you manage side effects.
Radiation therapist
Works with you during each radiation therapy session to position you for treatment and operate the system to ensure you get the dose of radiation prescribed by your radiation oncologist.
Other health care providers
Your team may also include a dietitian, physical therapist, social worker and others.
You
You are also part of the radiation therapy team! Radiation treatments are extremely time-sensitive, and adherence to the schedule increases the likelihood of success, improves the efficiency of the department and is considerate of other patients’ schedules. Your role is to:
- Strictly follow the schedule of treatments and examinations prescribed by your physician
- Ask questions and talk about your concerns
- Let someone on your radiation therapy team know when you have side effects
- Tell your doctor or nurse if you are in pain or if you have other symptoms that may be related either to your cancer or treatment
- Follow the advice of your doctors and nurses about how to care for yourself at home