Just as the benefits of radiation are gradual you ll usually see a gradual onset of side effects.
Side effects to radiation treatment for breast cancer.
Fatigue is feeling exhausted and worn out.
You may hear your doctor refer to it as breast fibrosis or glandular atrophy or radiation fibrosis syndrome rfs.
Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells.
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.
Rare short or long term side effects.
The most common early side effects are fatigue feeling tired and skin changes.
Damage to healthy cells can cause side effects.
Early side effects such as nausea and fatigue usually don t last long.
Mild to moderate fatigue.
The main short term side effects of external beam radiation therapy to the breast are.
There are two kinds of radiation side effects.
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.
Learn more about breast cancer treatments and how to manage their side effects.
Breast cancer treatments include surgery chemotherapy radiation hormonal therapies and more.
You won t lose the hair on your head.
Early and late effects of radiation therapy.
Early side effects happen during or shortly after treatment.
Treatments can cause a variety of side effects from nausea and hot flashes to hair loss and joint pain.
They re usually gone within a few weeks after treatment ends.
After your sessions are complete it may be several days or weeks before side effects clear up.
Swelling in the breast skin changes in the treated area similar to a sunburn redness skin peeling darkening of the skin.
These side effects tend to be short term mild and treatable.
Common side effects during treatment may include.
However breast fibrosis can also be long term side effect of radiotherapy.
Not everyone experiences side effects of radiation.
Many people who get radiation therapy have fatigue.
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.
Radiation can be an effective treatment for breast cancer but it does have side effects.
