The Basics of Radiation Therapy
The following is a brief outline of what patients may expect at the Big Horn Basin Radiation Oncology
Center The Patient Handbook, supplied to each patient upon admission, provides more
detailed information. Also, please feel free to chat with the radiation oncologists
(radiation therapy doctor), nurse, or radiation therapists as questions arise.
Most radiation therapy patients receive daily treatments for five to seven weeks.
Treatments are delivered by means of a linear accelerator, which focuses high-energy
X-rays at the cancer site. In fact, a linear accelerator resembles an X-ray machine.
Your first visit to the Center, because it involves consultation and planning, may take
one to two hours. The doctor will determine the necessary radiation and where it will be
directed. The treatment area is often called a field or a port. Measurements of the field
area will be taken by the staff to help with treatment planning.
During your daily visits, radiation will be directed at the cancer site by the therapy
technologists using a linear accelerator. The actual radiation treatment lasts from 30 to
90 seconds, and usually produces no physical sensation. The radiation stops as soon as the
accelerator's beam is turned off.