What Patients With Cancer Should Know About Radiation Side Effects

For patients with cancer who are receiving treatment with radiation therapy, keeping lines of communication open with their care team regarding potential side effects they may be experiencing is essential, as one expert told CURE in a recent interview.

“If you’re having any sort of side effect, definitely talk with your radiation oncology team to determine whether or not it’s from the radiation, and if it is from the radiation, [find out] what you can do to improve that side effect and improve your quality of life,” said Alexa M. Lantz.

Lantz is a physician assistant with Penn State Health in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania.

Side effects vary largely by radiation site. For instance, radiation for head and neck cancers are associated with a wealth of quality-of-life complications like speech or swallowing issues, depending on the radiation site, while radiation for breast cancer is associated with skin issues around the breast and shoulder as well as cardiac toxicity.

While most radiation therapy side effects go away within a few months of ending treatment, some side effects may continue after treatment ends due to the fact that it takes time for healthy cells to recover, the American Cancer Society explains.

Lantz sat down for an interview at the JADPRO Live conference, held in National Harbor, Maryland. There, Lantz delivered a talk on a team-based approach to the management of acute and late radiation side effects, with learning objectives including a description of the radiobiology of radiation therapy and its role in multidisciplinary cancer treatment, acute and long-term toxicities of radiation therapy, interventions and management strategies for such toxicities and more.

Transcript:

What should patients do if they believe they are experiencing side effects from radiation?

If you’re having any sort of side effect, definitely talk with your radiation oncology team to determine whether or not it’s from the radiation, and if it is from the radiation, what you can do to improve that side effect and improve your quality of life. We would not cause a side effect wherever there was not dose of radiation going. But if my patient tells me a side effect, and I can clearly see on their plan that it’s within our radiation field, then I most certainly can say yes, you can blame us and let me help you try to fix it.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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Reference

1. “Radiation therapy side effects,” American Cancer Society; https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/treatment-types/radiation/effects-on-different-parts-of-body.html