Radiotherapy for rodent ulcers is very effective. Often just a single treatment is sufficient to bring about a cure.

The radiotherapy simply involves sitting, or lying, beside a small machine for a few minutes. It is quite painless and does not make you feel unwell in any way. The treatment is almost always done as an out-patient.

For about a week after the radiotherapy the patch of skin where the rodent ulcer has been treated will show little or no change. Then, about seven to ten days after the radiotherapy, it will begin to go red and become quite inflamed. It may even ooze, weep or bleed a little. This appearance of things apparently getting worse can be very worrying (especially for elderly people) if you are not expecting it. But be assured it is exactly what should happen and is a sign of the treatment doing its job. Although the patch of treated skin may look red and sore, at this time there is usually little in the way of discomfort. It is quite likely that when your mother has her treatment she will be given some cream to keep by her to apply to the treated area if it is sore. If not, and she does develop discomfort then 1% hydrocortisone cream, which she can get from her GP or local pharmacist, can be applied three or four times a day. Keeping the treated area as dry as possible and leaving it open to the air, rather than covering it with dressings, will help speed the healing process.

This period of inflammation will last for a few weeks. Then the area gradually dries up and about four to six weeks after treatment a scab, or crust, will have formed. Over the next couple of weeks this gradually flakes away leaving new healed skin underneath - with no trace of the original ulcer. To begin with the new skin is quite pink looking but with time it will gradually fade and after some months may only be slightly paler than the surrounding skin.