• External radiation
• Internal radiation
• Systemic radiation
However, these types of radiation are given by the type, size, and location of cancer within the body. What is more, radiation can also destroy normal cells by making small breaks in the DNA which can cause telomere dysfunction. As the same reason mentioned on the chemo section, it proves that telomeres functioning appears to be highly involved in human biological aging processing. However, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital has also …show more content…
Physical Side Effects of Chemo and Radiation
The most common side effect with chemo and radiation treatments is: hair loss, fatigue, nausea, pain, risk of infection, depression, numbness or weakness in the hands and feet (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 2015). More importantly, cancer patients that are treated with chemo and/or radiation will more likely experience health conditions that are normally seen in older adults. According to MD Anderson Cancer Center, the most common long-term side effects for women are early menopause and osteoporosis. With the menopause, after the chemo and/or radiation treatment, most women stop getting their periods every month or stop getting them altogether. For the reason, that the treatments can cause changes within the body by reducing the amount of hormones that the body produce (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 2015). Likewise, these treatments can also