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Introduction
This information has been written to help you now that your radiotherapy treatment is finishing. It includes information about managing treatment side effects and who to contact if you have any questions or concerns. We hope it will answer some of the questions you may have at the end of your radiotherapy treatment, and to advise you on what to expect over the next few weeks.
Follow up
Your follow-up appointments will be at University College Hospital (UCH) or at the hospital you were originally seen at. We will tell you where you will have your follow-up appointments. The appointments will be with your clinical oncologist, or a member of their team, or your consultant radiographer.
Your first follow-up appointment is normally arranged a while, between 4-8 weeks, after you finish radiotherapy. This allows time for your side effects to start to settle and for you to recover. By then, your doctor can check your progress, and give you advice about how to manage any side effects you may still have.
It’s important that you attend all your follow-up appointments. At these appointments you can discuss any worries or concerns you have. We recommend that you write down any questions you have before the appointment. Your doctor can also assess your health and wellbeing and refer you to other care or support you may need. it allows us to look for problems that might arise from treatment. This helps us identify any problems early and direct any on-going care that you may need relating to any long-term treatment side-effects you may have.
If you have not received a follow-up appointment, please contact your doctor’s secretary, your clinical nurse specialist or your specialist radiographer. If you are worried about anything at all, please call for an earlier appointment.
You may still have treatment side effects or struggle to cope with the emotional impact of cancer. Remember that it may take some time to recover from radiotherapy. Any side effects that you have experienced due to your radiotherapy treatment such as sickness, sore throat, diarrhoea or fatigue/tiredness, may take several weeks or months to settle down. The side effects may become worse before they start to improve. This can be very worrying for patients. We expect the side effects to worsen, but please be assured they will gradually settle. Until then, please continue to follow the advice you have been given by the radiotherapy review team.
You should continue to take any medication that you have been prescribed to help with side effects for as long as you feel you need it. These medications can be stopped when your side effects have settled. If you are coming to the end of radiotherapy, please speak to the review team if you need a repeat prescription before you finish. If you have finished radiotherapy, please contact your GP for a repeat prescription.
Continue with the skin care instructions you’ve been given for several weeks after you’ve finished RT. If your skin is red, darker, inflamed or sore, continue with the skin care instructions until your skin has healed. Once it has healed, you can start using your usual products on your skin.
If your skin is broken or peeled it may take longer for your skin to heal. Use dressings on broken or peeled skin. The review team will give you dressings. The review team will liaise with your GP to arrange for more dressings if you need them. Your GP can also arrange for a district nurse to visit you at home to help with your skin care if needed.
In the first month after treatment, please call the radiotherapy review team if you have any concerns or questions about skin care or, you feel your skin reaction is not improving. Please see their contact number at the back of this leaflet. Please do not come to the department as the team may be busy with other patients and may not be able to see you.
Please contact your specialist nurse, specialist radiographer or GP if you are worried about any other radiotherapy side effects or have any other questions about your treatment. If you have any questions about any issue not related to your radiotherapy or require further medication, please contact your specialist nurse or GP.
For out of hours skin care advice, or if you have any other worries, please contact the 24-hour oncology advice phone on 07947 959020.
In an emergency, please contact NHS 111, or visit your local emergency department.
The skin in the treatment area will be dry and sensitive to the sun even after your skin has healed. After treatment you should take care to protect your skin from over exposure to the sun. Take sensible sun precaution measures such as avoiding strong sun between 11am-3pm. Protect the skin with clothing (hat, t-shirt and sunglasses) and apply high factor sun cream (SPF30+) regularly on exposed areas. Any unusual looking moles or skin lesions that itch or bleed should be examined by a GP and referred to a dermatologist if there are features of concern.
Radiotherapy will make you feel tired. Any tiredness you have felt may also continue for some time after treatment has finished. There is no reason why you cannot continue with life as before, but you should allow yourself time to recover.
Eating well, drinking plenty of fluids, resting, good sleep and being active can help to reduce fatigue. Try not to overdo things when you have more energy. On the days you have less energy, try to do a small amount of activity so that you don’t become deconditioned. There's more advice about managing fatigue on our website: www.
Alongside eating well, it is important to keep active when you have cancer. Physical activity can:
- Help to reduce fatigue.
- Help to reduce anxiety, depression and improve your mood.
- Help to improve your ability to absorb nutrients from your food.
- Help with some of the side effects of radiotherapy- such as easing constipation.
- Boost your immune system.
- Keeps your heart and lungs healthy.
- Reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.
- Improve your muscle strength and reduces muscle loss. This is especially important if you are losing weight as a result of cancer or cancer treatment.
Generally, it is safe and beneficial for people with cancer to exercise. However, it is best to start slowly and build up if you aren’t used to exercising regularly. You may also want to let your doctor, specialist nurse or specialist radiographer know if you want to start being more active as they will be able to signpost you towards an appropriately qualified exercise specialist, who can give you individual advice and support.
Try to make healthy lifestyle choices to promote your long-term health and well-being, and keep avoiding risk factors such as smoking, excess alcohol consumption and over exposure to the sun. A healthy balanced and varied diet including 5 portions of fresh fruit or vegetables, dairy or dairy alternatives, beans, pulses, meat, fish or eggs for protein is recommended. It is also important to achieve a good level of activity as recommended by NHS guidelines: www.nhs.uk www.nhs.uk/live-well
You may have found that your eating habits have changed, so continue to have small snacks throughout the day, rather than big meals if you need to. If you continue having problems with eating, speak with your specialist nurse or GP who can arrange for you to see a dietitian if necessary.
You can return to work as soon as you feel able. You may wish to discuss returning to work part- time at first with your employer if you are suffering from tiredness. If you require a fit for work certificate before you finish radiotherapy, please ask the radiotherapy review team. If you require a fit for work certificate after your radiotherapy, please ask your GP.
Setting Goals
Recovery from treatment usually depends on the type of cancer you have, your treatment and your general health. Try not to overdo it or be hard on yourself if you can’t do things as quickly or as well as you could do before having cancer treatment. During your recovery set small, achievable goals such as going for a short walk or eating healthier food. Over time you can build up your goal. As you achieve a goal, your confidence will grow. Try to acknowledge and reward yourself for the things you can do, no matter how small.
After radiotherapy, you may feel that you just “want to get on with life”. Or you may need some time to recover from the emotional effects of treatment. Some people can feel low, isolated, anxious or uncertain about the future, or worry about their health after treatment finishes. Feeling this way is normal. Sometimes these feelings can be made worse by tiredness, but they will pass in time. Ask a member of your clinical team at your referring hospital if there is a psychological or emotional support service, they can refer you to.
The time after treatment is a period of change as you find out what is now normal for you. Some people call this their ‘new normal’. You may need time to find out and adjust to what this means for you.
If you are struggling to cope after treatment, there is support available to help. There's more advice about managing your emotions on our website: www.
Your cancer journey is hard to forget, and you may still be worried even after treatment finishes. pYou may become more aware of your body and be sensitive to slight changes in how you feel. This is normal. Everyone experiences colds, headaches, coughs and aches and pains, but you may worry that such symptoms are a sign of your cancer returning. If you are concerned about any of the following symptoms, you may want to telephone someone for advice and reassurance:
- Unusual rashes, bruises or bleeding.
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation.
- Unexplained loss of appetite.
- Unexplained loss of weight.
- Unusual lumps or swellings.
- A persistent cough or fever.
- A constant pain that does not go away with your usual painkillers.
- Other symptoms you may have been told to watch for.
Do not ignore these symptoms. Remember there are people who can help to put your mind at rest or help. You should contact:
- Your consultant’s secretary to arrange an earlier hospital appointment.
- Your specialist nurse or specialist radiographer.
- If you have recently been an inpatient, telephone the ward on which you were treated.
- Your GP.
The staff and volunteers at the UCH/Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Centre can help you find the information and support that you need after radiotherapy.
UCH Macmillan Support and Information Service Telephone: 020 3447 8663
Email: uclh.
Website: www.
Macmillan Cancer Support produces a series of free booklets that you may find helpful, including:
- Coping with fatigue
- Life after cancer treatment
- Your feelings after cancer treatment
- Exercise after cancer treatment
- What to do after cancer treatment ends: 10 top tips
- Managing weight gain after cancer treatment
You can send for these booklets, or read them online, by visiting:
Macmillan Cancer Support Telephone: 0808 808 0000
Email: cancerline
Website: www.
Radiotherapy Review Team (via Radiotherapy Reception) Telephone: 020 3447 3700/3701
Radiotherapy Macmillan Information and Support Team Telephone: 07816 096619
Email: uclh.
Out of hours oncology advice number (available 24 hours) Mobile: 07947 959020
If you have any concerns that you would like to discuss in confidence, please contact our PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service) for information and advice.
Telephone: 020 3447 3042
Website: www.
Maggie’s (providing cancer information and support in centres across the UK and online)
Website: maggies.org
Shine Cancer Support (cancer support for adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s) Telephone: 07804 479413
Email: hi
Website: shinecancersupport.org
Trekstock (for young adults in their 20s and 30s with cancer) Telephone: 020 4541 7601
Email: hello
Website: www.
Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly CLIC Sargent) Telephone: 0300 330 0803
Website: www.
Live Though This (cancer support for LGBTIQ+ community) Website: www.
Life After Cancer
Website: www.
Cancer Support UK (provides practical and emotional support to people during and after cancer treatment)
Telephone: 020 3983 7616
Email: hello
Website: www.
Access the Macmillan and BUPA counselling and emotional wellbeing support service:
Website: www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/get-help/emotional- help/bupa-counselling-and-emotional-well-being-support
Macmillan Cancer Support have drop-in centres where you can access emotional support, information and advice. Search for your local Macmillan Support and Information Service:
Website: www.
Cancer Research UK Telephone: 0808 800 4040
Website: www.
Carers UK
Telephone: 0808 808 7777
Email: adviceline
Website: www.
NHS Choices website: www.
UCLH cannot accept responsibility for information provided by other organisations.
Services
Page last updated: 30 July 2024
Review due: 31 August 2025