Types of external radiotherapy

Proton beam therapy

Proton beam therapy is a type of radiotherapy treatment. It uses high energy or low energy proton beams to treat cancer. It is a treatment for some types of cancer. Most people don’t need to have proton beam therapy and have external radiotherapy using high energy x-rays (photons).

Last reviewed: 10 Nov 2023

Next review due: 10 Nov 2026

Proton beam therapy for eye cancer

External radiotherapy means having radiation from a machine outside the eye. Find out when you might have it and how it works.

Planning radiotherapy

Your radiotherapy team carefully work out how much radiation you need. They plan the treatment using scans to see exactly where the radiotherapy beam needs to be directed.

Radiotherapy masks and moulds

You might have moulds or masks made for you before you start radiotherapy. Find out about the different types and how they are made.

External radiotherapy

External radiotherapy targets radiation at the cancer from a radiotherapy machine. Read about types of external radiotherapy and what happens during planning.

Radiotherapy for children's brain tumours

Radiotherapy is a common treatment for children’s brain tumours. Find out what type of radiotherapy they might have, what happens before, during and after radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy main page

Find out about cancer treatment with radiotherapy, including external radiotherapy, internal radiotherapy, side effects, radiotherapy for symptoms and follow up after treatment.