Radiotherapy for bladder cancer
Radiotherapy uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. You might have radiotherapy instead of surgery as your main treatment for muscle invasive bladder cancer.
This section is about radiotherapy as the main treatment for bladder cancer that hasn't spread. Doctors sometimes call this radical radiotherapy.
Planning radiotherapy for bladder cancer
Your radiotherapy team needs to plan your radiotherapy before you start treatment. This means working out the dose of radiotherapy you need and exactly where you need it.
Having radiotherapy for bladder cancer
You might have radiotherapy as your main treatment instead of surgery. You have it on its own or combined with chemotherapy.
Side effects of radiotherapy for bladder cancer
Radiotherapy side effects include tiredness, sore skin, bladder inflammation and diarrhoea.
Long term side effects of radiotherapy
There are some possible long term side effects from bladder cancer radiotherapy. Most of these side effects are rare.