Side Effects To Radiation Treatment For Breast Cancer

Side effects tend to be most pronounced toward the end of your radiation treatment.

Side effects to radiation treatment for breast cancer.

They may start during or right after treatment and last for. The most common early side effects are fatigue feeling tired and skin changes. These side effects tend to be short term mild and treatable. After your sessions are complete it may be several days or weeks before side effects clear up.

Breast cancer treatments include surgery chemotherapy radiation hormonal therapies and more. The main short term side effects of external beam radiation therapy to the breast are. Many patients are surprised to discover that having radiation therapy is less difficult than they expected though the radiation used to damage cancer in your body can also damage healthy cells. Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells.

Early and late effects of radiation therapy. However breast fibrosis can also be long term side effect of radiotherapy. They re usually gone within a few weeks after treatment ends. 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. Rare short or long term side effects. Swelling in the breast skin changes in the treated area similar to a sunburn redness skin peeling darkening of the skin. Mild to moderate fatigue.

Not everyone experiences side effects of radiation. Early side effects happen during or shortly after treatment. Nausea is rare with radiation therapy to the breast. You won t lose the hair on your head.

Treatments can cause a variety of side effects from nausea and hot flashes to hair loss and joint pain. Early side effects such as nausea and fatigue usually don t last long. Just as the benefits of radiation are gradual you ll usually see a gradual onset of side effects. 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.

Learn more about breast cancer treatments and how to manage their side effects. Fatigue is feeling exhausted and worn out. Many people who get radiation therapy have fatigue. Damage to healthy cells can cause side effects.

Doctors may recommend this therapy in combination with others such as surgery and chemotherapy.