Radiation Treatment

Radiation therapy, radiation treatment, or simply radiotherapy, is a popular treatment option of most cancers. Radiation treatment is usually undergone by cancer patients to destroy any cancer cells that remain in the breast, underarm, or chest wall after surgery.

Sometimes, radiotherapy is done prior surgery in order to shrink the tumor size. However, most of the time, radiotherapy is performed as a breast cancer treatment option. Radiation treatment for breast cancer is found to lessen the chances of recurrence by about 50% to 66%. Even if a lot of women fear this particular treatment method, radiation therapy is actually easy to endure, and the side effects that come with it are restricted only to the area under treatment.

There are several things every breast caner patient needs to know about breast cancer and radiation treatment. A radiation oncologist or a cancer doctor specializing in radiation treatment will be the person in charge of overseeing your radiation treatment.

Breast cancer radiation treatment is performed on the particular area where cancer is located and/or to other parts of the body where it has spread to. The actual treatment is painless. However, some patients may find the radiation uncomfortable over time.

Radiation treatment is mostly done on a patient five days each week until seven weeks. There are instances where it may also be given two time a day for a week. However, since each treatment sessions often lasts for around 30 minutes, you’ll probably be able to carry on with your usual tasks during treatment.

Radiation treatment does not make a patient lose her hair, unless of course, radiation therapy is done on the patient’s head. The area where treatment is performed on has the tendency to turn red, tan, or pink, and may likely be irritated or sensitive. However, ointments and creams may be used to relieve these problems.

Patients who are undergoing radiation therapy generally feel tired. This condition may last for a couple of weeks or months, after the treatment has finished. But while this can be a bit daunting, all these and other symptoms of radiation treatment are temporary.

There are more than one way to perform radiation therapy, these are: external radiation or external beam therapy, and internal radiation. External radiation treatment remains to be the most common type used to for breast cancer treatment. This treatment sends high radiation levels straight to the cancer cells. Since radiation works to destroy and kill the cancer cells and shrink large tumors, special shields are recommended for use as protection of the surrounding areas.

Internal radiation treatment is sent as close to the target area as possible. Radiation-producing substances called radioisotopes may be embedded within the tumor, or may be injected via a tube that is placed close to the tumor. Internal radiation sends a higher radiation level than the external radiation type in a shorter time. However, internal radiation is still under research and further studies, and is said to be experimental.

Since patients have varied medical profile and diagnosis, their reactions to radiation treatment differ as well. Side effects seen or felt may be mild, severe, or nonexistent. Thus, before undergoing the procedure, make sure that you have discussed all of the possible side effects that come with breast cancer radiation treatment. The most common side effects include: fatigue, skin issues on the treated area, and lesser sensation under the arm or in the breast tissue.

But almost all symptoms are of radiation treatment goes away when the treatment is completed. And if the treatment is successful in getting rid of the cancer cells, aren’t these trade offs worth having?