Radiation
therapy is an excellent option when we are trying to shrink the size of tumor
by aiming particles of very high energy at cancerous cells.
After
talking over all the radiation therapies, now this is the time to discuss the
side-effects of them. As, there are some side-effects, which cannot be
overlooked. When the radiation rays are passed through the skin of the patient,
there may be a possibility that healthy muscles and tissues can be damaged
before reaching the target location. This can also harm the healthy cells and can
be the reason for the bladder irritation, nausea, fatigue and changes in skin.
When
going through several sessions of radiation therapy, patient may face the
problems related to the damaging of tissues. One cycle of radiation therapy may
end up to eight weeks, for the duration of which patient may begin to observe
the side-effects. These side-effects will be more severe as the treatment
advances.
What
are the side-effects when treating Pleural Mesothelioma?
- Tenderness in breasts (Seen in female)
- Breathlessness
- Coughing
- Difficult to swallow
- Fibrosis (Scars in the lungs)
- What are the side-effects when treating Peritoneal Mesothelioma?
- Irritation in bladder
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Coughing
The
good thing about these side-effects that they are more often temporary and can
be usually observed during the treatment. In some cases, they are become
chronic and can appear for months or even years after the treatment is
completed.
What
are the factors that affect a patient to develop side-effects of radiation
therapy?
- The area of patient’s body, which receive the radiation
- Daily dose of radiation, which is delivered to the patient
- Total amount of radiation dose
- Genetics
- Overall health of patient
- Number of additional treatment, which are given to the patient
Just
to give you more insights there are some very rare, but major complications of
radiation therapy. In pleural mesothelioma, there are more chances of these
complications like when radiation is directed to the lungs, scar tissue may
build up in that area. The good thing is that the procedure is reversible. It has
the possibility that due to the radiation exposure can cause inflammation of lungs
and the membrane of heart along with heart compression.
Muscle
of heart can be damaged when radiation is delivered to the chest; this
condition is called cardiotoxicity or cardiac
toxicity. When this happens, the ability of heart is reduced to pump sufficient
blood to the whole body and it also disturbs the usual beat of the heart. The
condition of cardiac toxicity is not only caused because of radiation, but it
is also caused by certain chemotherapeutic drugs. Doxorubicin
(Adriamycin) is one of the
most chemotherapeutic drugs is administrated along radiation therapy in treating
mesothelioma cancer.
One thing to be noted if a patient receives highly
specialized form of radiation therapy, he/she may rarely face these
complications. There are some very
specialized methods of radiation therapy, which can reduce the possible
side-effects:
- Proton Therapy
- Smartbeam Image Modulated Radiation Therapy
- Stereotactic Radiation Therapy
Case Study of Side-Effects of Radiation Therapy on Mesothelioma Patients
In the year 2000, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center has carry-out a study of these effects of radiation therapy, but before
going through the surgical process on 88 patients of pleural mesothelioma. Multiple symptoms are experienced by most of
the patients. There are 55 patients complained about vomiting and nausea, 55 reported
skin irritation and 54 felt fatigue. On the scale of side-effect severity, they
were measured from scale 0, which is the mildest and up to scale 4, which is
the most severe one. The good news is that most of the patients ranked 0 or 1;
only four of them are on scale 4.
So, choose the most specialized method of radiation therapy to avoid these side-effects and keep smiling!
