Radiation Oncology

Radiation oncology is one of the three main cancer treatments, alongside surgery and medicines. At our cancer centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, radiation oncologists plan and prescribe each course of radiotherapy. Specialists shape each plan to the tumour and review it before treatment begins.

What is radiation oncology?

Radiation oncology is the branch of cancer care that treats tumours with radiation, usually high-energy x-rays. A radiation oncologist is the doctor who decides if radiotherapy is the right treatment, then plans and prescribes it. Radiographers deliver each treatment session, and a physicist works out the dose. It's treatment, not the scans used to diagnose cancer. Radiotherapy may be given from outside the body or from a source placed inside it, either to cure a cancer or to ease its symptoms.

Who is referred for radiation oncology?

A cancer team may recommend radiation oncology in situations such as:

• To try to cure a cancer, on its own or with chemotherapy
• Before surgery, to shrink a tumour and make it easier to remove
• After surgery, to lower the risk of the cancer coming back
• As the main treatment for some cancers, instead of surgery
• To relieve symptoms of advanced cancer, such as pain

People come to radiation oncology on referral, after a cancer has already been diagnosed. Doctors often combine radiotherapy with surgery or chemotherapy. So it's your cancer team that decides whether to use it, often after discussing your case at a tumour board. Your radiation oncologist then talks you through what to expect.

What to expect

Your first visit is a consultation. The radiation oncologist reviews your diagnosis and scans, examines you and explains what radiotherapy could offer. If you go ahead, a planning CT scan maps the exact area to treat, and you may have a mould or a small skin mark so that each session lines up the same way. The team then works out the dose and shapes the beams around the tumour.

A session of external radiotherapy takes a few minutes and isn't painful, and you usually have it over several visits. Side effects depend on the area treated, often tiredness or a skin reaction like sunburn, and most ease after treatment ends. External radiotherapy does not make you radioactive. With internal radiotherapy, you might stay in hospital for a day or two. Your team stays in touch during treatment and follow-up.

If side effects become severe during or soon after treatment, contact your radiation oncology team straight away.

Radiation oncology at Mediclinic

We provide radiotherapy at our cancer centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. There, our radiation oncologists, physicists and radiographers plan your care together. Each plan starts from a CT scan, and the team shapes the radiation closely to the tumour to spare healthy tissue nearby. We also offer internal radiotherapy (brachytherapy), placing a radiation source close to the tumour. Before your treatment begins, our tumour board reviews your plan, so radiotherapy fits with any surgery or medical oncology you need. You'll also have a specialist nurse to help you manage any side effects during treatment.