Does Radiation Therapy Make You Radioactive?

I will be starting radiation therapy soon for breast cancer and have a question that I'm too embarrassed to ask my doctor. Will radiation therapy make me radioactive?

External beam radiation, using a linear accelerator to treat the whole or partial breast, does not make anyone radioactive.

Accelerated partial breast radiation uses a high-dose-rate radioactive source, but is only in the breast for a brief time while the patient is in a shielded room. So, this will not cause you to be radioactive either.

The only time someone is temporarily "radioactive" is when radiation sources are permanently implanted inside the patient. Even then, it is only for a few days or weeks that precautions are taken with how close children or pregnant women can approach the patient. This is because the radioactive sources used today decay fairly quickly.

And PLEASE, do not be afraid to ask your radiation oncologist, or the therapists who will treat you daily, any questions you may have. We are always glad to try and answer them.