Other Radiation Therapy Topics
Radiation is given to certain parts of the body depending on the location of the lymphoma in the body.
Radiation therapy given to the neck, chest, and/or lymph nodes under the arms is called radiation therapy to a
mantle field. The
middle field (from about the heart to the spleen) is also called the
para-aortic field. From the spleen to the groin is called the
pelvic field - if the middle and pelvic fields are both taken together it is called the
inverted Y field. Radiation therapy given to the mantle field and the inverted Y field is called
total nodal irradiation.
(RADIOTHERAPY IMAGE)
The process used to identify your ports or fields is called simulation. Simulation may take an hour or two. The patient is asked to lie very still on a table while the radiation therapist uses a special x-ray machine to identify your treatment ports. A treatment port will be marked on the patient's skin using colored semi-permanent ink or permanent tattoos. These marks will be used as a guide for aiming the radiation throughout the treatment. If the marks are not permanent, care must be taken not to wash them off. If they begin to fade the therapist will darken them.
The radiation oncologist, physicist, and dosimetrist will use the information from the simulation, other tests, and the patient's medical background to determine the
dosage of radiation to be given. The goal is to
deliver the maximum effective dose of radiation to the cancer while protecting the surrounding healthy tissues as much as possible. To help keep radiation away from healthy tissues, shielding or blocking devices may be tailor made. Finally the radiation oncologist will take the total dose calculated for treatment and divide it into several treatments over a few week period (4 to 6 weeks is common).
Dive Deeper
Additional Radiation Therapy Topics:
[General] [Delivery] [Dosage] [Side Effects]
[Late Effects] [Resources]
Lymphoma Treatment Pages:
Adult Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Childhood Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Childhood Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
