What is better radiotherapy or radiography?

Radiotherapy tattoos - why not use on other body parts?

• I had radiotherapy 5 years ago and have indelible radiotherapy dots on my chest and underarm - these were to guide the radiotherapy beams. These are permanent and were made by a marker pen, they will never come off. My question is why not use this pen for drawing decorative tattoos on other parts of the body, thus doing away with needles etc.! Grateful if anyone knows why not.

• Answer:

  A tattoo is only the size of a pin-prick, and dark-blue in colour. A tattoo is applied by blotting clean medical ink onto the skin surface, followed by a small pin prick with a sterile needle. Most people barely feel the tattoo Tattoos are small, permanent localisation dots applied to a patient’s skin at simulation. They are used as a reference mark to set the isocentre/centre or treatment field edges daily.