Breast Cancer Radiation Treatment
Alternative Treatment » Alternative Treatment for Breast Cancer » Breast Cancer Radiation Treatment
Radiation therapy is a therapy, which is given by high-energy rays for stopping cancer cells from dividing and growing. Radiation therapy is also known as radiotherapy. The use of radiation therapy is done for destroying the remaining breast cancer cells, which are present in the breast, axilla or chest walls after the surgery.
Usually, radiation therapy is done before the surgery for reducing the size of the tumor. The treatment with the radiation will usually start after a month from the completion of surgery, giving the breast tissue enough time to heal. Sometimes radiation therapy is also recommended for destroying the remaining cancer cells after the mastectomy or for shrinking the tumor in advanced treatment of breast surgery.
The most common kind of radiation therapy used in women is the external beam radiation. This external beam will be delivered from a source, which is present outside the body in a certain area of the body, which is affected with cancer.
Before the physician starts with the process of radiation he will start with taking the correct angles for aiming the radiation at a certain area on the body and will make some ink marks in that location. As per the part of cancer treatment, a breast cancer patient will be treated five times a well with radiation. Each treatment will last for only few minutes and the entire machine setup will last for maximum 30 minutes. The entire procedure of radiation is pain free.
Once the treatment starts, the technologists will leave the patient inside the room and he will monitor the patient on a closed circuit network. However, the patients can easily communicate with the technologist anytime during the treatment via intercom.
The side effects of this therapy will vary form person to person. The most common side effect that everyone faces is fatigue. Fatigue can get bothersome in the last few weeks of treatment. Patients who do experience fatigue are advised to take plenty of rest after the treatment. The patients will be able to work and carry on with their day-to-day routine, but some will even find it difficult to work or do other activities.
Some of the other side effects are neutropenia, which a sharp decrease in the white blood cell, swelling of the breast, a heavy feeling on the breast and a sun-burn kind of patch on the breast skin. All these side effects tend to disappear within six to 12 months. When the treatment starts to end the breast cancer will getting moist. The patients must wear loose clothes and expose their skin to as much air as they can to allow their skin to heal quickly.
In almost all the cases, the breast will still feel the same after the radiation therapy, the only difference will be it will become more firm. In rare situation, radiation therapy will cause a certain change in the breast size. Breasts can become larger due to tissue buildup or small due to tissue change. However, in any situation radiation therapy is known to heal the breast cancer permanently.