Side Effects To Radiation Treatment For Breast Cancer

Rare short or long term side effects.

Side effects to radiation treatment for breast cancer. Early side effects such as nausea and fatigue usually don t last long. 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. Not everyone experiences side effects of radiation.

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. The most common early side effects are fatigue feeling tired and skin changes. There are two kinds of radiation side effects.

Radiation can be an effective treatment for breast cancer but it does have side effects. Nausea is rare with radiation therapy to the breast. 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.

Learn more about breast cancer treatments and how to manage their side effects. Common side effects during treatment may include. 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. Damage to healthy cells can cause side effects.

They re usually gone within a few weeks after treatment ends. Treatments can cause a variety of side effects from nausea and hot flashes to hair loss and joint pain. However breast fibrosis can also be long term side effect of radiotherapy. Fatigue is feeling exhausted and worn out.

Doctors may recommend this therapy in combination with others such as surgery and chemotherapy. Mild to moderate fatigue. Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells. Swelling in the breast skin changes in the treated area similar to a sunburn redness skin peeling darkening of the skin.

You won t lose the hair on your head. Side effects tend to be most pronounced toward the end of your radiation treatment. In this case breast fibrosis is a direct result of radiation damaging your skin s elasticity. Just as the benefits of radiation are gradual you ll usually see a gradual onset of side effects.

Early and late effects of radiation therapy.