The Benefits Of Radiation Therapy

Radiation Therapy is a word many people with cancer hear on a weekly basis (need better introduction sentence). Radiation Therapy is used as a cancer treatment for more than half of the people diagnosed with cancer (1). Radiation therapy is used to destroy cancer cells but it can also damage healthy cells and tissues which causes side effects. We often hear how effective radiation therapy is as a treatment for many types of cancer but we usually do not hear about the side effects many patients deal with after receiving this treatment. Some patients do not have any side effects from the therapy but others are not so lucky. Some side effects of radiation therapy occur because of the location of the treatment but others are an over-all side effect …show more content…
Many side effects can occur at the side of the cancer treatment but the most noticeable side effect is a rash. Rashes that occur from the treatment can appear in two ways: like acne or like measles. The types of rashes that occur from the treatment a normally a mild or moderate rash but sometimes patients experience a severe rash that can affect their day-to-day life. A patient can also experience dry and itchy skin as a side effect of their treatment, which is also known as pruritus. Pruritus is usually cleared up by some type of skin cream. Many cancer patients are affected by rashes and pruritus during their experience with radiation therapy. According to Cancer Research, the area that was treated may look permanently tanned and could appear to have tiny broken veins in that area (4). Patients that are effected by pruritus or skin rashes have to be very gentle with their skin. If the treated area has pruritus the patient should not wear tight or rough textured clothes because it can cause more irritation. It is very important that the treated area is very protected from the sun since the skin is sensitive to sunlight after the radiation treatment. Many patients experience fatigue and skin problems with radiation therapy but they can also experience hair loss throughout the …show more content…
Alopecia or hair loss is caused by radiation therapy at the treatment site. The patient will only lose hair where he or she is treated. If the patient has a tumor in the brain, he or she will lose the hair on their head and most likely their eyebrows and eyelashes. However, the patient would not lose the hair on their arms or legs. Many patient’s hairs will grow back after their treatment subsides but some patients have a hard time dealing with losing their body hair or even the hair on their head. If the patient’s hair does grow back, their hair could grow back thinner and even be a different color when it comes back. If a patient loses the hair on their head, their scalp could be very tender and sensitive to sunlight. (need transition