Side Effects To Radiation Treatment For Breast Cancer

Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells.

Side effects to radiation treatment for breast cancer.

Mild to moderate fatigue. Treatments can cause a variety of side effects from nausea and hot flashes to hair loss and joint pain. Rare short or long term side effects. Early side effects such as nausea and fatigue usually don t last long.

Radiation can be an effective treatment for breast cancer but it does have side effects. In this case breast fibrosis is a direct result of radiation damaging your skin s elasticity. Breast cancer treatments include surgery chemotherapy radiation hormonal therapies and more. However you may lose some hair under your arm or on the breast or chest area getting radiation this may be a concern for some men with breast cancer.

You may hear your doctor refer to it as breast fibrosis or glandular atrophy or radiation fibrosis syndrome rfs. Common side effects during treatment may include. Damage to healthy cells can cause side effects. Learn more about breast cancer treatments and how to manage their side effects.

Nausea is rare with radiation therapy to the breast. There are two kinds of radiation side effects. The most common early side effects are fatigue feeling tired and skin changes. The main short term side effects of external beam radiation therapy to the breast are.

Fatigue is feeling exhausted and worn out. After your sessions are complete it may be several days or weeks before side effects clear up. Side effects tend to be most pronounced toward the end of your radiation treatment. They may start during or right after treatment and last for.

You won t lose the hair on your head. They re usually gone within a few weeks after treatment ends. Swelling in the breast skin changes in the treated area similar to a sunburn redness skin peeling darkening of the skin. Doctors may recommend this therapy in combination with others such as surgery and chemotherapy.

However breast fibrosis can also be long term side effect of radiotherapy. These side effects tend to be short term mild and treatable. Many people who get radiation therapy have fatigue. Not everyone experiences side effects of radiation.

Early and late effects of radiation therapy.