The side effects of radiation therapy differ depending on the part of your body being treated, the type of radiation therapy and your overall health.

For example, lung cancer and radiation side effects can include inflammation of the lungs, which can cause breathlessness and cough. Given that the treatment area for lung cancer treatment involves the chest radiation side effects can also include mild chest discomfort and loss of neck and chest hair, as well difficulty in swallowing.

Generally, the most common side effects of radiation therapy include fatigue, sore skin or tenderness at the treatment site, or hair loss around the area treated. Please reach out to your treatment team if you have any difficulty managing any symptoms or have any concerns.

One of the more common examples of radiation treatment in patients is when used in conjunction with surgery to reduce and eliminate the existence of cancerous cells in the body. This involves the controlled distribution of radiation to the infected area(s), over the course of a few weeks, to kill any potentially cancerous cells while minimizing the amount of excess radiation that normal tissue is exposed to. Typically, this type of radiation is performed after an initial surgery, as a preventative measure to destroy any cancerous cells that may have spread to any of the surrounding areas prior to the surgical removal of a tumor.

One example of this type of radiation would be a patient who has undergone a single or double mastectomy as the result of a breast cancer diagnosis. After the initial surgery (in this case, the removal of the breast or breasts), radiation is used to guard against the possibility that some of the cancerous cells from the breast tissue spread to the surrounding area before the breast(s) removal. This additional stage of treatment helps to further reduce the chance of recurrence in a patient, and maximizes their chances at achieving remission or even being completely cancer-free.

Similarly to when used in combination with surgery, radiation treatment is often used in conjunction with chemotherapy to further reduce the chance of any cancerous cells existing within a patient’s body. Where surgery involves the radical removal of a part of the body and radiation involves the targeted irradiation of cells in the surrounding areas, chemotherapy affects the body more globally, working to kill cancer cells within the body that may have spread both near and far from the originally infected area. Because of this, radiation with chemotherapy can be incredibly effective, offering a two-step (or three-step, if surgery is present) approach to giving a patient the best possible odds of long term success and vitality.

In addition to being used in the treatment of underlying conditions, radiation can also be used to treat the symptoms caused by cancer or other medical diagnoses. In the event of a cancer diagnosis that is deemed inoperable, for example, radiation may or may not be used (in addition to chemotherapy) to reduce the size of the primary tumor. By doing so, the tumor may shrink and have less effect on the surrounding organs and tissues, reducing the symptoms and discomfort for the patient. While this type of treatment is usually insufficient at treating the underlying cancer long term, it can extend a patient’s lifespan and increase their quality of life significantly by reducing the severity of symptoms.

Our team of radiation oncologists work closely with medical and surgical oncology, diagnostics, pathology, genetic risk evaluation, and supportive care to deliver unparalleled continuity of care. For more information about whether or not radiation oncology may be right for you, reach out to our team today to learn more.