Side Effects of Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer?

If you've recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, you are probably wondering what your treatment options are. A popular treatment method is radiation.
Dr. Richard Crownover from UT Health San Antonio shares the long term and short term side effects of radiation.
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[@susiepingleton3614]

Oh my gosh this Doctor has no clue!! I had 27 treatments. Had to stop for two weeks. Fatigue! Unbelievable! How about the lung! Was doing PT during burns. 9 months later still trying to stretch scar tissue. I am an RN and was stunned.

[@nonyabiness4023]

How about getting someone who’s experienced radiation to explain the effects? Mild sun burn? By week 7 my breast looked like someone placed a big square iron on my breast and burned it! I’m talking Black, bubbly, blistered burn! It got infected and was so painful I couldn’t wear a bra and would take my shirt off and lay in front of the fan! The fatigue was more than feeling gased out. I was downright tired and had to nap! 12 years later I feel like my muscle pulls when I turn or twist a certain way. Pain in places that I’m used to. And I hate mammograms on that side. It beats having cancer but it’s not as simple as his description.

[@kathygann1180]

If this was my doc, I think I’d hate him. Radiation burns start at 27 Grey and continue getting worse for at least 2 weeks post radiation (where I am now). Docs don’t see this because they kick you loose as soon as the radiation is done. I have had bad sunburns and I’ve never had anything like this. The cancer was near the nipple, and that area isn’t painful, or if it is, it is so much less painful than the bad burns that I don’t notice. Most of the burn is at and above my bra and to the side. My skin is crispy and feels kinda like sandpaper, or fried chicken skin. It is dark red or brown, got blisters all over, then crystal outgrowths from the fluid in the blisters, now it is cracking and has major wrinkles, catches on soft T-shirts and hurts like h....it is also significantly smaller and firmer. None of these side effects is anywhere near mild. After radiation I was so tired, I’d fall asleep for an hour or so, one day I got home at 10:30 AM and had felt unsafe driving home because I was so tired so I decided to lay down for a few minutes, and woke up at 5:30 PM. Yep, mild fatigue. This guy doesn’t have a clue!

[@jcatlover2251]

Has your skin changed for the better since you posted your comment? I'm facing surgery and radiation in my near future. Please let me know how you are doing. God bless you, Jennifer

[@themamabearlife3339]

Both my Dad & I have had radiation, & it didn't work for either of us! Not only did it not help, it increased the pain and gave us both a lot of bad side effects! It's ironic that this doctor said it would weaken the bones, because the REASON my doctor said I needed radiation was to STRENGTHEN my bones! Which it did NOT, and I ended up breaking 2 of them...

[@anneobrien4327]

As usual medical people understate and under recognise the effects on most women from this treatment..Soreness can and does last for months. Skin hardens where the radiation was directed. Arm swelling very painful. Energy levels drop for a long time. Heart and lung damage can not be completely avoided just reduced. Of course the alternative of “ no treatment “will most likely be death. A lot of people never feel physically the way they did before treatment. They settle as they must for a “new normal”

[@sumi646]

please don't lie ... people who had this treatments , only they know how is it ,

[@ceceosborn176]

Did anyone notice that the Doctor did not answer one comment? Its amazing, there are others suffering everyday like me, and its been 17 yrs. Recently diagnosed with parathyroid tumors from the flashing burns to the neck..hey did he mention that too?

[@conniejohnsoncj8724]

I had a lumpectomy and 15 rounds of radiation and am now on aromatase inhibitors (Anastozole) because my tumor was estrogen and progesterone positive and Her2-. The Cancer Centre I went to in Ontario Canada suggests we use a protection barrier spray made by 3M (see link and videos explaining this here www.3mcanada.ca/3M/en_CA/medical-ca/conditions/radiation/ I have larger breasts so I sprayed the night before my radiation for the 3 days you are told to spray each week. I sprayed Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights before bed. The reason I did this was because I could hold my arm up over my head and allow the spray to dry completely as my lower breast would stick to my abdomen that it rested on. I also made a halter style cotton t-shirt (hubby’s old shirt) that had 3 strips down the sides on each side; so I tied it on my side and wore a bra over that. Prior to switching to night spraying, my breast did stick and the nurse told me to use a damp (not soaking wet) cloth to separate. My suggestion would be to keep a damp cloth in a ziploc bag, so when you go for treatment, you can separate the skin with the cloth. I did not burn because of this spray and only had some red dots which I was told were clogged hair follicles. You use the spray for 2 weeks after your radiation finishes and then you start using cream. The radiation was to my left breast and the centre gets you to practice holding your breath for 40 seconds, when you hold your breath it pulls the heart and lungs back into your ribs. They take a ct scan prior and then you have a screen that shows you if your breath was deep enough to pull back your heart and lungs. The nurses also help you by telling you when you can let your breath go. The machine also shuts off if you let go of your breath. Technology has come a long way and the radiation is much more direct. It does kill good and bad cells but the good cells regrow and the cancer cells (if there were any microscopic cells left behind when your surgery was done) die and can’t regrow. The workers were absolutely amazing and it truly was pain free. I am a month done and my red dots are almost cleared up. Do your arm exercises every day, use cream and massage your breast (lots of great professionals have made videos on this) when you can of course, if you’ve had some skin breakdown. The 3M spray is amazing and the linked videos explain how it helps in many ways.

[@ishouldbesleeping1354]

I got HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE from radiation. I have never had anything close to high blood pressure before radiation. Toward the end of my treatment I got and still have high blood pressure and must take medication twice daily. Sometimes at night I have chest twinges or uncomfortable feeling. Also during radiation I got a sore throat and raspy voice. During radiation sometimes it would burn like a cigarette burn inside me . No one did anything until I refused to come back for anymore treatments because it was excruciating and caused too much anxiety to face the burning again. Something changed and I went on with my course.

[@ElisabethDenaro]

I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself and refusing treatment until something was corrected. It's a terrible thing to feel like a piece of meat on that table when you're surrounded by people with all the compassion of an assembly line worker.

[@sylviagerritsen7975]

Odd you got high blood pressure. Today I’m half way through my radiation course and I now have very low blood pressure, never had this before. Can’t get tablets to make blood pressure higher.

[@vanessa002]

I was very burned in the armpit and other places it was horrible.

[@itsonlymyopinionok8115]

Give me pain meds before I go to any treatments. not sure how my life will be after all this is done with.. hope it never comes back, cause I'm not doing all this a second time..

[@shathaomar1516]

Hey,, I m alsop asking the same question I would like to know how your life is now after 5 years?

[@Mary-fj6gn]

My radiation will be 18 sessions. The Dr didn't said any side effects but now I just finished 8 and my bones felt so weak. I'm just 40 years old and felt like my bones are cracking everytime I move. I regret to just agree to my Dr and not knowing what really the side effects of this. They will said it was computerized and advanced but no it just limits my movement and swallowing food and liquids is painful.

[@traceyoneill7684]

You mention other ways to treat a patient if side effects become noticeable and significant..what other ways would these be?

[@redpillrat163]

Stay away from radiation, it is an irritation which will cause cancer cells to mutate in future. Change your diet and keep moving.

[@mercedesyoung5906]

Thanks

[@ishouldbesleeping1354]

My surgeon gave me a three day supply of pain meds after my breast cancer surgery. Today at the end of three days post op will not give me anything for pain. So IF i have to undergo radiation that reviewers say hurts, am I SOL because it’s 2018 ....great

[@maureeni2648]

My nipple feels like it’s on fire 🔥, and the top part of my chest is so itchy I’m ready to rip my skin off..

[@kikik123kiki6]

How are you feeling now ?

[@cichlidkraze4969]

My wife has just had a grade 1 cancer removed from her left breast. Docs advised all clear and did not travel to the limph nodes but are advising she will need 4-6 weeks of radiation and possibly be on some sort of hormone replacement tablets for the next 5-10 years. I can’t understand as to why this is required as the cancer has been removed. Totally confused whether we go ahead with this or not. Any advice from a real professional or someone that has experienced this would be so greatly appreciated.

[@PeggyOConnor1946]

I also had stage 1 invasive bc removed and I'm not planning to have radiation or take hormone blocking drugs. I'm 74, so my surgeon and I took my age into consideration and I looked at statistics and research papers and just started looking at calculations of relative risk of recurrence based on stage compared to relative risk of harm caused by radiation. Radiation on the left side exposes the heart to possible radiation damage as well as the lungs. Damage includes possibility of lung fibrosis which can affect a small, contained spot on the lungs and not cause serious problems, or the fibrosis can spread throughout the lungs, causing a life threatening condition. The chances are very small, but the benefits of radiation, in absolute terms, is also very small. There is also a small chance of heart damage which can give rise to heart disease. Once again, the chances of this type of damage are small in absolute terms, as are the benefits, as noted above. Some radiation side effects occur months or years or decades into the future which is why younger women might want to take a more conservative route and stick closer to standard recommendations. Likewise, the side effects of aromatase inhibitors can be dramatic -- enough so that in one study, 40% dropout rate was noted in the first year of treatment due to intolerable side effects. Not all women react badly to these drugs, though and it's impossible to predict who will suffer from side effects and who will not. Unfortunately, the state of the art of this area of medicine is in the midst of great controversy. European cancer treatments for early breast cancers are not as aggressive by a long shot as here in the USA, and outcomes are no different, so there is a rising discussion going on in the USA about over-treatment. Our medical system being mostly private creates different incentives like liability concerns which are less of a factor in countries with public medical systems, or public/private.

[@MM-vh1bx]

I’m a cancer survivor I was 38 when ifinshed the treatment. Stage 3 breast cancer I regretted took radtion. It’s. Disaster The worst side effects you can imagine from radtion they told us there is cancer cells left after surgery. I’m suffering now from radtion.

[@MM-vh1bx]

It’s the worst treatment my advice to any women to not take the radtion. You can go to google and see what the side effects of radtion. Ievery thing will stay with you. And there is women have cancer recurnce after radtion.

[@karimasamahi2786]

@@MM-vh1bx hi there can you advise me plz I just finish the chemotherapy and PET scan show it's free cancer I don't want to do surgery or radiation .I m so scared is that possible I m so lost and I don't know what I have to do 🥺🥺😟😟

[@irenefaith7421]

@@MM-vh1bx how old are u now I think radiation can even make ur heath worst

[@Lookwhostalk]

Im so happy I decided to just have both breast removed 😓😓

[@Tulip-1234]

Hi Tangy Henderson. I just found out that i have breast cancer on both of my breast, stage 1 and 0. I can't decide to remove the tumor or remove both of my breast. After you removed both of your breast did you stiil have to go for chemo or radiation? I did not want to do Chemo or radiation. How are you doing now? Im so confuse. Thanks in advance.

[@Lookwhostalk]

@@Tulip-1234 I decided to have both breast fully removed. I didn't have to do chemo or radiation because I had the breast removed. I'm doing great im now doing the reconstruction.

[@Tulip-1234]

@@Lookwhostalk Since i don't want to do Chemo or radiation to remove both is a better choice. Thank you and take care.

[@Lookwhostalk]

@@Tulip-1234 you're very welcome. I will keep you in prayer and if it means anything I didn't feel any pain after surgery 🙏🏾 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@Tulip-1234]

@@Lookwhostalk thank you so much.