For women who are long term smokers radiation therapy may also increase the risk of lung cancer.
Side effects to radiation therapy for breast cancer.
On these pages you can read about the kinds of side effects you may experience over the course of your radiation treatment.
It can happen all at once or come on slowly.
Still if you do have fears about side effects it can take away your peace of mind.
Lowered white blood cell counts.
Radiation therapy and risk of a second cancer.
Many people who get radiation therapy have fatigue.
Damage to healthy cells can cause side effects.
Side effects of external beam radiation depending on the dose and type you may notice these during treatment.
Short term side effects occur during the treatment or directly afterward usually within 6.
What are the side effects of radiation for breast cancer.
Fatigue is feeling exhausted and worn out.
In rare cases radiation therapy to the breast can cause a second cancer.
Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells.
The x rays or particles are painless and invisible.
Long term side effects occur months or years after treatment has ended.
The most common cancers linked to radiation therapy are sarcomas cancers of the connective tissue.
Read about the how radiation affects the skin in the managing skin side effects pages.