Side effects of radiation therapy are both early and late. Early side effects happen during or immediately after treatment. Late side effects happen a few months after the treatment and are sometimes permanent. The treatment of cancer by chemotherapy and radiation does have its own set of side effects.

The most common early side effect is fatigue. Other early side effects of radiation therapy include :-

• Hair loss in the treatment area
• Mouth problems
• Nausea and vomiting
• Sexual changes
• Swelling
• Trouble swallowing
• Urinary and bladder changes
• Skin problems
• Diarrhea

Most early side effects subside once the treatment is over or within a couple of months. However, in the meantime, they cause pain and discomfort. If these effects are severe then the doctor could stop the treatment for a few days or change the type of treatment.

All these side effects depend on the amount and frequency of the radioactive isotope used and on the part of the body treated.

• Skin problems include dryness, itching, peeling or blistering that happen because the healthy skin cells are damaged.
• Fatigue is the most common symptom wherein you feel exhausted and tired. This happens because of the severe heat of the radiation that makes you worn out.
• Radiation makes your mouth dry and causes bad breath or mouth sores.
• Sexual changes happen mainly due to hormonal imbalance after radiation. They could be loss of sex drive, erectile dysfunction, irregular menstruation, etc.
• Diarrhea happens due to changes in the bowel movements. Digestive system is affected because of radiation.
• There are problems in swallowing because of sore throat, throat and neck pain or dry mouth.
• There could be burning sensation while passing the urine due to urinary changes and bladder inflammation. This could also happen due to lack of fluids in the body.

Late side effects of radiation therapy include loss of fertility, problems in the joints and mouth, lymphedema. The patients also stand a chance of having a secondary cancer. These happen months or years after the treatment ends. These side effects could be permanent.

• Brain Changes
• Infertility
• Joint Changes
• Lymphedema
• Mouth Changes
• Secondary Cancer

Brain Changes

These side effects include memory loss, losing basic intelligence like mathematical ability, movement problems, incontinence, trouble in logical thinking and concentrating, or personality changes. At times, the dead tumor cells collect to form a mass in the brain called radiation necrosis.

Infertility

Men tend to lose potency or have a low sperm count. Women are unable to conceive.

Joint Changes

Radiation scars the tissues, which lead to loss of motions in your joints like jaw, shoulders or hip. You could have a problem in opening your mouth wide, stretching your hand over head or behind.

Lymphedema

This causes swelling in an arm or a leg due to build up of the lymph fluid. Lymphedema occurs if the lymph nodes are removed during surgery or damaged during radiation therapy. The symptoms in this case are-

• Pain or a sense of heaviness in the arm or leg
• A feeling of tightness and weakness in arm or leg
• Trouble putting on your shoes or rings
• Redness, swelling, or other signs of infection

Mouth Changes

Radiation therapy given to the head and neck causes dry mouth, cavities, or bone loss in the jaw.

Secondary Cancer

Radiation therapy at times leads to a new cancer many years after the treatment although this is rare.

Side effects of radiation therapy, whether mild or severe are bound to happen. Be it radiation treatment for breast cancer or radiation therapy for any other type if cancer, it is bound to have some side effect or the other. However, there is research done for solutions to reduce these side effects. Radioactive isotopes used in radiation therapy destroy the normal cells along with the cancer cells. Hence, there are radioprotective drugs given before the treatment to reduce these side effects. They protect normal tissues in the treatment area. The most common drug used is amifostine. Radioprotective drugs are still under research to find better solutions to treat the side effects.