Your first treatment

You will have been asked to attend Royal Surrey Cancer Centre's radiotherapy department at either the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford or the East Surrey Hospital in Redhill. Please bring your  appointment letter with you and show it to the reception staff when you arrive in the department.

The reception staff will show you how to use our self-check-in service.

You will then be directed to a waiting area where a member of the radiotherapy team will come to talk to you.

Throughout your radiotherapy you will be looked after by a dedicated team of doctors, specialist radiographers, nurses and other members of the hospital's support network.

Our review radiographers are a specially trained group of radiographers who look after patients having radiotherapy. They run weekly clinics within the department and you will be booked into one.

These appointments will be on your list. The team monitor and manage any side effects that you may have both during and for a few weeks after your treatment.

The review radiographers work closely with the doctors, nurses and other support professionals within the hospital to ensure you have the best possible care. You will meet your specialist review radiographer during your first week of treatment, and the team are available every day to assist with any problems or concerns you may have.

A radiographer will explain the procedure, discuss any side-effects of the treatment, and give you a current list of appointments. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions, or if there is something that you do not understand.

During this discussion you will be asked to confirm your name, address, date of birth, and to provide a telephone number if we do not already have one for you. You will also be asked to confirm that you are still happy to proceed with radiotherapy; this is called ‘confirmation of consent.’ If you have any queries or concerns a member of the team will be happy to discuss these.

If there is a possibility that you might be pregnant, please ensure you inform a radiographer when you arrive.

If you have a pacemaker, please inform a radiographer when you arrive so that we can ensure the necessary arrangements have been made.

You may be asked to change into a hospital gown before a member of staff takes you into the treatment room. You can bring your own dressing gown if you prefer.

The machine you will be treated on is called a linear accelerator. All our treatment rooms are quite large, with the machine to one side and a couch in the centre.

You will be asked to get onto the couch and lie in the same position as you were for your pre-treatment appointment. If you require any help getting on or off the couch, please do not hesitate to ask.

Pen marks might be put on your skin, highlighting any tattoos, to help us see them when the room lights are dimmed.

The couch will move up and along to go under the machine. It may be necessary to move you. This will be done by the radiographers. These small adjustments are to ensure you are in the correct treatment position. You may be aware of the bed and machine moving. Don’t worry, nothing will touch you and you won’t fall off.

When everything is ready for your treatment to start, the radiographers will tell you they are leaving the room, but they will be able to see you at all times. When the machine is on it will make a buzzing noise, but you will not see or feel anything.

It is important that you breathe normally and remain relaxed. You must keep still until one of the radiographers says it is safe to move.

Please do not attempt to get off the couch until you are instructed to do so.

On average you will be in the treatment room for about 10 to 15 minutes, with the treatment itself only lasting about two minutes. However, this is dependent upon your specific treatment plan.

Images may be taken either before or during your treatment to check that your treatment position is the same as when you were planned.