Treatment and side effects
Xofigo® therapy
Treatment and side effects
The Nuclear Medicine Department will arrange these appointments. You will receive an appointment letter in the post that will provide you with all the details of your appointments for treatment.
What happens before your treatment can start?
Before your first therapy appointment, you will have a Nuclear Medicine Bone Scan.
You will also have a consultation appointment with the nuclear medicine doctor and physicist. They will explain the treatment and will provide radiation protection advice. This is a great opportunity to ask any questions.
What happens at your first appointment?
You will need to arrive at the Nuclear Medicine department for your appointment. We will take your weight and then you will be taken to a clinic room where we will ask you some questions to determine how you are feeling and discuss the radiation protection advice.
A second physicist will be preparing the radioactive injection whilst this is happening.
A nuclear medicine nurse or technologist will then give you the radioactive injection via a cannula and you will be able to go home.
Who will look after you during your treatment?
You will be looked after by the Nuclear Medicine team during the therapy and you will have your Oncology team for clinical support.
Will your appointment be on time?
We aim to run our appointments to time. Sometimes we run late due to circumstances beyond our control – please bear with us and we will see you as soon as we can.
What side effects may you experience?
The most common side effects with Xofigo® therapy are nausea, diarrhoea, and swollen legs. Xofigo® might cause low blood cell counts, which is why you will have a blood test before each injection. You might also experience a temporary increase in bone pain in the few days after each injection. This is known as a ‘flare response.’
When to seek help
If you have any radiation protection based questions you can contact the Nuclear Medicine Physics team. If you have clinical questions please contact your Oncology team.
What happens when your treatment ends?
After you have received your treatment, you will have another Nuclear Medicine Bone Scan. You will then go back to the care of your Oncologist.