Common Side Effects Of Radiation Therapy
Cancer is a life-threatening disease, and there are not a lot of medication options for the disease. Cancer could develop in any person, even if they do not have a history, and may also stem from a specific cause.
For patients with cancer, radiation therapy is one of the treatments they can consider to reduce cancer from becoming severe.
It is a sort of treatment that takes advantage of external high-energy beams from a machine aimed at a particular area of your body quite precisely.
This treatment destroys cells by damaging the genetic material that regulates cell growth and division. While radiation therapy damages both healthy and malignant cells, it aims to harm as few normal, healthy cells as possible. Normal cells can frequently restore a large portion of the damage caused by radiation.
Suppose you or anyone in your family is opting for such a therapy. In that case, you must read further information about the side effects of radiation therapy You will be surprised to know that more than half of cancer patients opt for it, and most face side effects of the type of disease they have.
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Here are some common side effects of radiation therapy
1. Fatigue
Fatigue can be defined as the feeling of being tired without having done any work, and it’s not only a physical feeling; one can feel fatigued mentally and emotionally as well. After a few sessions, some healthy cells in your body might get destroyed along with the cancerous cells.
As the treatment progresses, fatigue may increase over the course.
The fatigue from radiation therapy is different from normal fatigue, as it does not improve after resting. This may last for a long time. However, once the treatment is done, the pain and fatigue will fade away.
2. Skin problems
During the treatment, the area of radiation might develop a rash, blister, or redness and may become itchy or cause irritation.
In some cases, the skin might even start peeling after some time.
This side effect is known as radiation dermatitis. If you are suffering from this, you must inform your doctors and caregivers of the condition so that they can inform you about the best ways to treat it.
3. Hair loss
Hair loss is one of the most typical side effects of this therapy. Initially, it does not start with hair loss, but it starts with thinning of your hair, and with time it transcends to uneven eyelashes or thin eyebrows.
In most cases, it has been observed that the hair grows back once you are done with the treatment. However, initially, it can be a significant lifestyle challenge and body-image issue to deal with hair loss along with a life-threatening disease.
If someone is suffering from the side effect, they should ensure their scalp is protected or covered most of the time as it may become tender or sensitive to the sun.
These are some most common side effects of radiation therapy for cancer. But folks should remember that side effects usually depend on their type of cancer, so different patients would go through different side effects.
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