Radiotherapy

What is Radiotherapy?

Radiotherapy is a type of treatment for cancer that uses radiation (usually x-rays) )to treat cancer. It can be used to cure cancer, reduce the chances of cancer returning or to help with some of the symptoms of cancer. Radiotherapy options therefore include:

• Curative radiotherapy to cure cancer,

• Neo-adjuvant radiotherapy to help other treatments work, for example before surgery or in combination with chemotherapy,

• Adjuvant radiotherapy to prevent the cancer coming back, for example after surgery; or

• Palliative radiotherapy, to help relieve symptoms when a cure is not possible.

Most radiotherapy treatments are applied externally where the radiation beam is targeted at a specific part of your body. However, sometimes radiotherapy can be delivered in other ways; radioisotope therapy, where you take tablets or an injection, or brachytherapy where you have radioactive implants inserted into your body for a specific amount of time.

The NHS provides information on radiotherapy and more details can be found in Cancer Research UK’s guide to 'What is Radiotherapy?'.

Can I breast feed if I am having radiotherapy?

It is usually safe to continue to breastfeed whilst receiving external beam radiation with the exception being if you are receiving radiation to the breast to treat breast cancer. Following external beam radiation you are not a risk to others around you. In contrast, internally delivered radiotherapies are likely to be unsafe for breastfeeding and can be unsafe for those around you. Your oncologist will provide safety advice on your levels of radiation and how long it will remain in your system, which will affect your feeding options.

So, what are my feeding options?

If you have external beam radiation it is likely you will be able to breastfeed if you choose to do so, unless you are receiving external beam radiation to the breast to treat breast cancer. In this case, breastfeeding is likely to pose a risk to your baby. If you are receiving neo-adjuvant radiotherapy, your suitability to breastfeed will depend on what other treatments you are receiving.

If your treatment is delayed, you also have an option to stock up your own milk prior to starting treatment. Once treatment has started, the stored breastmilk can be used. Other feeding options are donor breast milk and formula milk. You can feed your baby any combination of your own expressed milk, donor breastmilk or formula milk. Starting with one option and changing to another is also completely okay for your baby.

Depending on the variables, your radiotherapy treatment might be of short enough duration that it might be an option to pump & dump. By this we mean you could express your breastmilk (pump) to maintain your milk supply and then discard this milk (dump) whilst on radiotherapy, and during the wash out period until you and your milk are radiation-free. After this you can start breastfeeding again. Please speak to your oncologist about this option, but be aware that it is most likely they will say this is not an option, as the risks for your baby are too high and the demand on your body too great.