Side Effects To Radiation Treatment For Breast Cancer

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.

Side effects to radiation treatment for breast cancer.

Rare short or long term side effects. Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells. Not everyone experiences side effects of radiation. They may start during or right after treatment and last for.

Nausea is rare with radiation therapy to the breast. Breast cancer treatments include surgery chemotherapy radiation hormonal therapies and more. Side effects tend to be most pronounced toward the end of your radiation treatment. Damage to healthy cells can cause side effects.

Early side effects happen during or shortly after treatment. Many people who get radiation therapy have fatigue. Early and late effects of radiation therapy. Swelling in the breast skin changes in the treated area similar to a sunburn redness skin peeling darkening of the skin.

Early side effects such as nausea and fatigue usually don t last long. The most common early side effects are fatigue feeling tired and skin changes. Fatigue is feeling exhausted and worn out. Just as the benefits of radiation are gradual you ll usually see a gradual onset of side effects.

After your sessions are complete it may be several days or weeks before side effects clear up. In this case breast fibrosis is a direct result of radiation damaging your skin s elasticity. There are two kinds of radiation side effects. Doctors may recommend this therapy in combination with others such as surgery and chemotherapy.

The main short term side effects of external beam radiation therapy to the breast are. Common side effects during treatment may include. These side effects tend to be short term mild and treatable. You may hear your doctor refer to it as breast fibrosis or glandular atrophy or radiation fibrosis syndrome rfs.

Mild to moderate fatigue. You won t lose the hair on your head. Radiation can be an effective treatment for breast cancer but it does have side effects. However breast fibrosis can also be long term side effect of radiotherapy.

Learn more about breast cancer treatments and how to manage their side effects.