Chapter 24: Radionuclide therapy
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Legal and professional issues
Patient preparation and consent
Every therapeutic use of radiation has an inherent risk. Awareness of the risk is essential for all staff who must obtain informed consent from their patients (Picano [57]).
Information about radiation therapy should be given to patients and carers when therapy is first discussed to allay fears and misconceptions about radiotherapy. Verbal information should be reinforced with written material to prepare the patient, reduce anxiety and promote coping (Faithfull and Wells [17]). A contact name and telephone number of the ‘key worker’, usually a clinical nurse specialist, is essential for patients before, during and after treatment with sealed source brachytherapy (DH [15], NICE [50]).
All patients require a thorough nursing assessment to assess their suitability for the treatment, ensuring that they are able to comply with the demands of the treatment and associated radiation protection measures.
Any doubt regarding physical or psychological concerns or problems can then be discussed with the patient and their medical team. Prior assessment allows for action to be taken, either to improve the patient's general condition so they are suitable for treatment, or to postpone or cancel the radioactive sealed source therapy in favour of a more suitable treatment option (Velji and Fitch [72]). Information for this group is divided into three main categories: (i) disease and treatment; (ii) short‐ and long‐term side‐effects from the treatment; and (iii) sexuality and sexual health (Faithfull and White [18]).
