What to expect from radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer

Scans define the pancreas tumour and its relationship to the stomach, bowel, liver, and kidneys. The team uses this information to choose positioning and beam directions. Treatment may be scheduled with chemotherapy or around surgery, depending on your overall plan.

You will lie still for each session while the machine delivers treatment. The beam is not felt. Fatigue, nausea, reduced appetite, loose stools, abdominal discomfort, or changes in digestion may appear as treatment progresses. Pancreatic disease and treatment can also affect blood sugar, so share readings and symptoms with the team.

Take anti-sickness medicine, pain relief, pancreatic enzyme replacement, and diabetes medicines exactly as prescribed unless your clinician changes them. Keep meals small and nourishing, and ask for dietitian input if weight, appetite, or bowel habits change.

Keep a record of abdominal pain, vomiting, stools, food intake, and glucose readings if you monitor glucose. Plan lighter activities around appointments and rest when fatigue rises. Do not start supplements or stop enzymes without discussing it with your care team.

Call promptly for repeated vomiting, inability to drink, worsening abdominal pain, persistent diarrhoea, yellowing of the skin or eyes, or glucose readings outside the range your team gave you. Seek urgent help for severe pain with collapse, confusion, breathing difficulty, black stools, or vomiting blood.

Ask what the treatment is intended to do, how nearby organs will be protected, whether chemotherapy is planned, how enzymes and diabetes medicines should be managed, and which digestive symptoms should prompt a same-day call. Ask who reviews nutrition and pain during treatment.