Radiation therapy is a common cancer treatment that uses high-energy rays to target and destroy cancer cells. This article clarifies concerns about physical contact, such as hugging, with someone who has undergone this treatment, providing reassurance regarding physical interaction.
Is Hugging After Radiation Safe?
It is entirely safe to hug someone who has received external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), the most common form of treatment. EBRT does not make the patient radioactive; the high-energy beams pass through the body without leaving radioactive material behind. Patients receiving EBRT do not emit radiation and pose no risk to others through close physical contact. Friends, family, and caregivers can freely hug and touch them.
Different Types of Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy encompasses several distinct methods. External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is the most frequently used approach, where radiation is delivered from a machine outside the body. Brachytherapy involves placing radioactive sources directly inside or next to the tumor. These sources can be temporary, inserted for a specific duration and then removed, or permanent, left in place but with their radioactivity decaying over time. While the radioactive source is actively in place, specific, temporary precautions regarding close contact might be advised by the medical team to minimize exposure to others. Systemic radiation therapy involves administering radioactive substances that travel throughout the body, often given orally or intravenously. Examples include radioactive iodine for thyroid cancer or certain radiopharmaceuticals for prostate cancer. In these specific instances, the patient’s body temporarily contains radioactive material and will emit radiation for a period.
When Precautions Are Needed
For patients undergoing systemic radiation therapy, temporary precautions are necessary because they are temporarily radioactive. Medical teams provide specific instructions tailored to the type of radioactive substance used and its half-life. These instructions often involve maintaining a certain distance from others, typically about six feet, and limiting prolonged close contact, such as sleeping in the same bed, for a specified period, which could range from a few days to a couple of weeks. These temporary measures are designed to protect those around the patient from unnecessary radiation exposure while the radioactive material naturally decays and leaves the body. Once the level of radioactivity drops to a safe threshold, these precautions are no longer required. For external beam radiation, and after the removal or decay of sources in brachytherapy, no such precautions are needed, and physical touch like hugging remains completely safe.