Common Side-Effects of Radiation Oncology Treatment in Udaipur

But cancerous cells grow faster and keep on living longer than they should. These cancerous cells turn into a malignant tumour that can metastasize into nearby tissues and organs. Cancer treatments work either by damaging the cancerous tumour and removing it. While surgery is used to remove cancer, radiation oncology treatment in Udaipur is a specialized branch of cancer intervention and management that targets and destroys cancer.   In the best cancer hospitals in Udaipur, Radiologists use high-intensity radiation beams like X-Rays, Gamma rays or electrons to cure cancer. It works by damaging and making small breaks in the DNA inside cancerous cells. These damages can keep cancer cells from growing and spreading and lead them to die on their own. However, continuous radiation exposure can cause damage to the nearby healthy cells and several short-term and long-term symptoms.   The side effects of radiation therapy vary from patient to patient and depend on the exposed area, doses and even cancer’s type and extent. While some cancer patients experience mild or no side effects during their Radiation Therapy, others feel some recurring symptoms, discomfort and even pain. But knowing what to expect during radiation therapy can help you ease the side effects and maintain your health and sanity. Therefore, you should talk to a radiation oncology doctor in Jaipur to know more possible side effects of Radiation Therapy, which can include:

Fatigue

Most Cancer patients feel more tired than usual during Radiation Therapy. While cancer itself or Radiation Therapy can be the cause, it’s because their body uses a tremendous amount of energy to heal itself from the effects of Radiation Therapy.   Hence, they usually experience a feeling of exhaustion, heaviness, completely worn out, inability to concentrate and difficulty in moving. In some patients, it can also cause emotional and mental exhaustion. However, most patients feel fatigued for about two weeks and go away gradually after the treatment gets stopped. 

Radiation Therapy is usually administered through a machine that emits radiation beams directly on the affected area. It can cause damage to the healthy skin cells in the treatment area that usually recovers by itself. But in cancer treatment, patients get radiation almost every day, so their skin cells don’t have enough time to heal between treatments.   Hence, they experience various skin changes that can happen anywhere on the body getting radiation. While most patients experience a mild symptom like sunburn or darkened skin, other symptoms may also include dry patches, redness, itching, peeling, sores, ulcers and swelling. However, most skin problems go away on their own within a few weeks of stopping treatment and don’t require extra medications.

Hair Loss

Hair Loss is one of the most common acute side effects of Radiation Therapy. However, it’s not as severe as hair loss from Chemotherapy, which happens with hair from all over the body. In Radiation Therapy, hair loss only occurs on the part of your body, being exposed to the radiation. While patients start losing hair in the treatment area after their first Radiation Therapy session, it can take up to one or two weeks to lose all of the hair in your treatment area.   Fortunately, their hair starts to grow back after treatment is over. But in some cases, the hair may never grow back if the dose and intensity of radiation were high. When their hair does grow back, it may not look the same. Hence, they can appear thinner or curly instead of straight and darker or lighter in colour.

Mouth and Throat Changes

In Head & Neck Cancer or Thyroid Cancer, Radiation Therapy is administered directly to the Head and Neck can cause changes in the Mouth and Throat. When Radiation kills cancerous cells, it can also damage healthy cells in the glands that produce saliva and the moist lining inside the mouth. While these problems usually go away once the treatment is over, others like dry mouth and dental issues may get better but never go away.   Radiation Therapy to the chest and lungs can cause swelling and soreness in the lining of the throat. However, these changes depend on the amount and frequency of the radiation and whether the patient uses tobacco and alcohol while getting Radiation Therapy.