Why You Should Know About Alternative Treatments

Radiation therapy is one of the best cures for cancer, but it’s also very hard on the human body. Radiation treatments leave patients feeling weak, sickly, nauseated, and fatigued. Radiation treatments also cause hair loss, shortness of breath, skin irritations, digestive problems, depression, and even anxiety.

With so many side effects, patients may seek alternative treatments before giving in to radiation treatment. It’s your job, as a radiation therapist, to educate yourself on the various alternative treatments so that you understand why those methods were chosen and can empathize with a patient who has succumbed to radiation therapy as well as the patient who has bailed out of the radiation treatment at the last minute only to return when alternative treatments don’t work.

Appearing knowledgeable to a frightened and often confused patient can help ease the anxiety and provide a moment of calm during each and every radiation treatment. The way you treat your patient, how you listen to his (or her) ramblings, insecurities, and concerns, and how you address each of those issues does affect the outcome of the radiation treatments and your patient’s health.

To learn more about the side effects of radiation therapy visit the American Cancer Society

Come back on Monday as we pediatric nuclear medicine.