Radiation Therapy Side Effects During and After Treatment:

When a cancer patient is treated by radiation therapy (either external beam radiation therapy or brachytherapy), then radiation not only kills the cancerous cells but affects the normal tissues also. It means radiation therapy has some side effects also. However, it is important to understand that each patient responds differently to radiation treatment which depends on many factors, such as treatment sites, tumour size, dose prescription, number of fractions, treatment modality, and treatment techniques. The treatment is also based on patient immunity and patient support during treatment. Some patients have only a few side effects of radiation, however, some have more. There is some radiation side effect which comes during treatment and goes within a few weeks after completion of treatment. However, there are some side effects which persist continue. There are two kinds of side effects:

1. Early side effects, &

2. Late Side Effect.

1. Early Side Effects of Radiation Therapy:

These are the side effects of radiation, which is generally produced in the treatment area. These are the radiation effects, which go after the treatment completion. The most common side effects are fatigue (feeling extremely tired), colour change (or reddening) of skin in treatment lesion, hair loss, mucositis (mouth sores), headache, loss of appetite, weight loss and many more.

2. Long-Term & Late Side Effects of Radiation Therapy:

These kinds of side effects may take months or years also to mature. If the normal tissues are very proximal to tumor, and normal tissue received radiation near or more than its threshold value.

Probable Side Effects of Radiation Therapy Based on Treatment Site:

As the radiation side effects vary from person to person, however, there are some probable and common side effects to the patients during the radiation therapy which are given below based on the treatment site.

♦ Brain Treatment Site:

Fatigue (feeling extremely tired every time), hair loss, nausea, vomiting, headache, memory loss and vision blur.

♦ Head & Neck Treatment Site:

Fatigue, loss of appetite (not feeling hungry), mucositis (sores in the mouth), skin colour change, taste change, throat problem, xerostomia (thick saliva or dry mouth), worsening of hoarseness, hearing loss, cataracts and thyroid gland less active.

♦ Breast & Chest wall Treatment Site:

Fatigue, hair loss, reddening of the skin, swelling (edema or oedema), myocardial fibrosis (heart problem), coronary artery disease (heart problem), pain and breath shortness.

♦ Lung Treatment Sites:

Tiredness and weakness, breathlessness and cough, reddening of the skin, painful swallowing, sore mouth and throat, nausea, pneumonitis, dry mouth, loss of appetite and weight loss.

♦ Esophagus Treatment Sites:

Fatigue, skin changes in the treatment area such as redness, vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea, painful sores in the mouth and throat, myocardial fibrosis (heart problem), coronary artery disease (heart problem) and xerostomia (thick saliva).

♦ Stomach & Upper Abdomen Treatment Sites:

Fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, low blood cell counts, stomach cramps, skin reddening in the treatment area.

♦ Pelvis Treatment Sites:

Fatigue, diarrhoea, bladder and vaginal inflammation, sexual side effects, infertility, nausea, vomiting, hip pain, damage to the kidney, bowel problem, reddening of the skin.

♦ Bladder & Rectum Treatment Sites:

Fatigue, skin reddening in the treatment area, nausea, vomiting, blood in the urine (maybe), diarrhoea, blood in the stool or in urine, low blood counts, and risk of infections.

Even, though there are many side effects of radiation therapy treatment, these side effects may be justified, because treatment benefits are more compared to side effects.

Fighting Cancer is Our Goal. Early detection saves lives.

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