What to expect from radiotherapy for pituitary tumour

Your team may use a focused form of radiation when the tumour needs treatment after surgery, cannot be safely removed, or has continued to grow. Planning can include an MRI or CT scan, a fitted head support and small reference marks so the same position can be reproduced. The radiation beam is directed at the planned area; you do not feel the beam during treatment.

The pituitary gland controls several hormones, and nearby nerves involved in vision are considered during planning. Effects may be gradual rather than immediate. Tiredness, scalp irritation or headache can occur, while hormone changes may appear later and need blood tests and replacement medicine if required.

Attend planning and review appointments, tell the team about medicines and previous brain treatment, and report changes in vision, headaches, thirst, urination, energy or menstrual and sexual function. Keep the treatment area clean and follow the team’s skin-care instructions. Eat and drink as normally as you can unless your clinicians give different advice; ask for help if fatigue affects driving, work or daily tasks.

Contact your oncology team promptly for worsening or new vision problems, severe or persistent headache, repeated vomiting, unusual thirst with frequent urination, marked weakness, confusion or a seizure. Seek emergency help for sudden loss of vision, collapse, a seizure that does not stop, or difficulty staying awake. These symptoms can have several causes, so describe when they began and how quickly they changed.

Ask which radiotherapy technique is planned, how the treatment protects the optic nerves, how many visits are expected, and whether you need support getting to appointments. Ask when hormone blood tests and MRI scans will be repeated, which symptoms suggest a hormone problem, and whom to contact outside clinic hours.