ASTRO Patient Portal Now Includes Bone Metastases Information

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has added a Radiation Therapy for Bone Metastases section to its patient Website. Here patients can access several subsections, including What are bone metastases?; Symptoms and signs of bone metastases; Treating bone metastases; What types of specialists will I see?; What is radiation therapy?; Understanding external beam radiation therapy for bone metastases; Possible Side Effects; and Patient care during treatment. The information contained under each subsection is presented in a bulleted list and is written so that patients easily understand it. Those seeking additional information can click on To learn more, which appears in the Quick Links side panel and features hyperlinks to other sections on the ASTRO site, including Questions to ask the radiation oncologist about treatment and safety protocols; Information on clinical trials; Understanding the members of the radiation therapy treatment team; Dictionary of common terms; and Contact information for cancer support organizations. Patients who prefer to have a hardcopy of the bone metastases information or other information on the Website can download brochures instead.