What the radiotherapy team actually needs from you
Radiotherapy uses radiation to treat cancer, and the technique and schedule depend on the individual treatment plan. That single sentence explains why a generic records package is not enough. The team is not only asking what cancer you have. It is asking what else is going on in your body that could change how a plan is designed, how each session is delivered and what has to be checked during the course.
Existing health conditions matter at three separate stages: the consultation, the planning stage and the delivery of treatment. A condition that is stable and well documented may need only a brief note. A condition that is active, recently changed or poorly controlled may need more detail, and the treating clinician decides what that means for your case. You do not need to decide this yourself. Your job is to make the information easy to find, easy to read and easy to verify.
Write a one-page summary in English before you send anything. Put the cancer diagnosis and stage at the top, then current medicines with doses, allergies, past radiotherapy or surgery, and the conditions that affect your daily life. For each condition, add one line on how it is currently managed and who manages it. This is faster for a clinician to read than a folder of unsorted scans, and it gives the team a clear list of questions to ask you.
Which conditions change the assessment, and why
Some conditions change the practical side of radiotherapy more than the cancer itself. Heart and lung conditions can affect positioning, breath-holding instructions and how the team monitors you during sessions. Kidney or liver problems can affect how the body handles contrast agents used in planning scans, and whether those scans are appropriate at all. Diabetes and thyroid conditions can affect skin healing and how the team reviews you between sessions. Blood clotting problems and current anticoagulant medicines may change what the team asks before any procedure.
Previous radiotherapy is a separate category. If you have had radiation before, the new team needs to know where, when and to what area, because the planning stage may need to account for it. This is a clinical judgement, not a paperwork formality. Ask directly whether your prior radiation records are needed, and in what form. If you do not have them, say so early rather than waiting for the team to discover the gap.
Implants and devices also belong in the summary. Pacemakers, defibrillators, cochlear implants, joint replacements and dental hardware can all be relevant to planning or to safety checks on the day. Do not assume the team already knows. List each device with the date and the hospital where it was placed, and ask whether any additional documentation is required.
Pregnancy or possible pregnancy must be raised before any planning scan or treatment. This is not a condition you manage yourself. Tell the team and let the treating clinician decide what assessment or delay is needed.
How to hand records over without losing the thread
A radiotherapy assessment depends on records that are legible, dated and attributable. Pathology reports, imaging reports and the actual images, operation notes, discharge summaries and the current medication list are the core set. If your records are in another language, ask whether a certified translation is required and who should arrange it. Do not assume that English is accepted everywhere, and do not assume that a translation is always required. Ask the specific hospital.
Keep a simple index. Number each document, write what it is and the date, and put the same numbering on the digital files. When you send records, send the index first so the team can see what exists and what is missing. If something is unavailable, say so in writing. A clear gap is easier to work with than a silent one.
For imaging, ask whether the hospital wants the original discs, a cloud link or both. For pathology, ask whether slides or blocks are needed or whether the report is sufficient. These requirements differ between hospitals and between cases, so treat them as questions to confirm rather than fixed rules.
Keep a copy of everything you send. If you use a coordinator, agree in writing who sends what, to whom and when, and ask for confirmation that the records arrived. This is administrative, not clinical, but it prevents a frequent delay: records that were sent but never reached the right desk.
Questions to ask about the proposed radiotherapy plan
Once the team has your records, the useful conversation is about the plan, not about general radiotherapy. Ask which technique is proposed and why it suits your cancer and your other conditions. Ask whether the aim is curative or palliative, because that changes how the schedule and the reviews are organised. Ask what the planning stage involves, including any scans, moulds or markers, and what preparation you need to do beforehand.
Ask how many sessions are planned and over what period, and how the team would handle a session you cannot attend. Do not accept a number from a website or a friend. The schedule belongs to your individual plan, and the treating clinician is the person who sets it. If you have a condition that makes daily attendance difficult, raise it before the plan is fixed rather than after.
Ask how you will be reviewed during treatment, who you should contact between sessions and what symptoms should prompt you to seek care sooner. Ask what side effects are expected for your specific treatment area, and what the team wants you to do if they occur. This is the point where your existing conditions and the radiotherapy plan meet, and it deserves a direct answer.
Ask what the team needs from you before the first session: consent discussions, fasting instructions, medicine adjustments or transport arrangements. Any change to your regular medicines should come from the clinician managing that condition, not from a coordinator and not from this article.
What to confirm about access and scheduling in China
Radiotherapy is delivered by hospital departments, and the practical arrangements vary. Ask the specific hospital how consultations, planning appointments and treatment sessions are scheduled, whether an international department or a standard department would handle your case, and what language support is available. Ask how reports and images will be shared with you and with your doctors at home.
Do not treat a foreign guideline or another country's practice as evidence of what a Chinese hospital will do. Availability of a particular technique, the interval between planning and the first session, and the way follow-up is arranged are all hospital-specific. Ask for the written plan and the written estimate, and ask what is included, what is excluded and what is still undecided. If a figure or a date is not in writing, treat it as provisional.
If you are considering travelling to China for radiotherapy, the hospital decides suitability after reviewing your records. An enquiry or a records-based opinion does not establish that treatment will be offered, that a particular technique is available for your case or that a date can be reserved. Plan around that uncertainty rather than assuming a fixed itinerary.
For confirmed services related to radiotherapy planning and coordination in China, see the precision radiotherapy reference page.
A practical way to prepare your handover
Start with the one-page summary described above. Then build a numbered index of the supporting documents and check each item against the list the hospital gives you. Send the summary and the index first, ask what is missing, and only then send the full set. Keep a record of what you sent and when.
Before the consultation, write down your three most important questions. For most patients these are: which plan is proposed, whether my prior radiation records are needed, and how sessions and later reviews would be arranged. Add any question about your own health conditions that you want answered directly.
If your condition is unstable or you have new or worsening symptoms, seek care where you are before pursuing an overseas enquiry. Radiotherapy planning can wait for a stable assessment; an acute problem should not.
A free initial case review is a reasonable first step. It checks the available diagnosis, records and your main question, identifies missing information and suggests the relevant next step. It is not a diagnosis and not a promise of acceptance. You can begin with a short summary through the enquiry form, email or WhatsApp, and share fuller records after first contact. A proxy consultation is optional and is not a prerequisite for an appointment.
Sources & scope of this guide
References and official service information relevant to this guide.
This is general planning information and has not been individually reviewed by a doctor. Medical decisions and personal treatment advice come from your treating clinicians.