



Radiotherapy can be given in two ways:

External radiotherapy

Radiation beams from a large machine called a linear accelerator are aimed towards the area of the body where the cancer is located. The process is similar to having an x-ray. You will lie on a treatment table underneath the machine, which will remain outside of your body. You will not see or feel the treatment, although the linear accelerator can be noisy.

Internal radiotherapy

A radiation source is placed inside the body, injected into a vein, or taken by mouth. Types of internal radiotherapy include brachytherapy, where a temporary or permanent radiation source is put inside the body into or near the cancer radionuclide therapy, where a radioactive substance is given as a capsule or liquid to swallow or via an injection and selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT), which uses pellets to treat cancer in the liver.