Radiation for Pituitary gland tumor

Dear Ask The Doctor: My relative had a tumor removed from around his pituitary gland several weeks ago, before this he used to have loss in vision, and hair and headaches, after the tumor was removed ( they didn't know if it was cancerous or not) he got 90 % of his sight back and his hair grew back again,but about two weeks ago,he is loosing some of his sight, he can't see clearly in one eye,and headaches are back, he went back and the horrors said that the tumor they rremoved was cancer ,but has not spread any where around, and they said they want to treat it by radiation...I need to know if this treatment is painful? And if he has a good chance of treating it once and for all...And will the radiation affect any nerves near the tumor

Dear Rana: It seems that your relative has some part of the cancerous tumor left which was not removed during surgery. It is next to impossible to remove each and every cancer cell during surgery as they are microscopic. However radiation can definitely be used to kill the left over cancerous cells.The radiation is usually focussed to that specific part of the brain and is not painfull. However rarely it can lead lead to some cranial nerve damage , loss of function of the other parts of the pituitary gland and the patient may need hormonal supplements to treat this. However it is important to note that there are different modalities of radiation therapy and the side effects may differ and are still rare.

I think at this point the best bet is to go on with radiation as only that can target the microscopic cancerour cells still present and  since the bulk of the tumour has been removed through surgery he could have a chance at a complete cure. Wish your relative all the best!