Typically, people have treatment sessions 5 times per week, Monday through Friday. This schedule usually continues for 3 to 9 weeks, depending on your personal treatment plan. This type of radiation therapy only targets the tumor. But it will affect some healthy tissue surrounding the tumor.
Most people start to feel tired after a few weeks of radiation therapy. This happens because radiation treatments destroy some healthy cells as well as the cancer cells. Fatigue usually gets worse as treatment goes on. Stress from being sick and daily trips for treatment can make fatigue worse.
The total dose of external radiation therapy is usually divided into smaller doses called fractions. Most patients get radiation treatments daily, 5 days a week (Monday through Friday) for 5 to 8 weeks. Weekend rest breaks allow time for normal cells to recover.
Traditional radiotherapy is most often given 5 days a week for between 4 to 7 weeks. But this can vary depending on your cancer. Your specialist will tell you how often you will need to have the treatment. You usually have 3 to 8 stereotactic radiotherapy treatments You have it 2 to 3 times a week.
Most side effects generally go away within a few weeks to 2 months of finishing treatment. But some side effects may continue after treatment is over because it takes time for healthy cells to recover from the effects of radiation therapy. Late side effects can happen months or years after treatment.
Fatigue usually builds up slowly during the course of treatment, particularly towards the end, and may last for some weeks or months after treatment finishes. Many people find that they cannot do as much as they normally would, but others are able to continue their usual activities.
Often the side effects are worse at the end of treatment, or even a week or two afterwards, because it takes time for the healthy cells to recover from radiation. Most side effects are temporary and go away in time, usually within a few weeks of treatment finishing.
Typically, people have treatment sessions 5 times per week, Monday through Friday. This schedule usually continues for 3 to 9 weeks, depending on your personal treatment plan.
Courses of treatment
Radiotherapy is usually given as a number of individual treatments delivering a small dose of radiation daily over several weeks. Most people have 5 treatments a week (one treatment a day from Monday to Friday), with a break at the weekend.
You might have 1 treatment or a number of treatments given over a few weeks. These treatments are sometimes known as fractions. This depends on the type of cancer. You are most likely to have a short course of a few treatments over a few days.
For whole-breast radiation, previous studies have shown that 3 weeks of treatment at slightly higher doses is as safe and effective as conventional whole-breast radiation over 5–6 weeks.
More than 60% of NPC patients receiving curative-intent radiotherapy suffered from a weight loss greater than 5% during the treatment [8], [9].
10 day rule: Application of the 10 day rule means that for a patient who has a regular 28 day menstrual cycle, the procedure should be scheduled to take place during the first 10 days of the menstrual cycle.
Many people who get radiation therapy have fatigue. Fatigue is feeling exhausted and worn out. It can happen all at once or come on slowly. People feel fatigue in different ways and you may feel more or less fatigue than someone else who is getting the same amount of radiation therapy to the same part of the body.
TLDR: the most common side effects of radiation therapy include digestive issues, swelling, hair loss, diarrhea, loss of appetite, urinary problems, and more. Speak with your medical professional before applying any ointment or creams to your skin after radiation therapy.
“In fact, based on the literature reviewed, it appears that external-beam radiation therapy is a superior treatment in some cases. “When patients are treated with modern external-beam radiation therapy, the overall cure rate was 93.3% with a metastasis-free survival rate at 5 years of 96.9%.
Radiation therapy may be given before, during, or after these other treatments to improve the chances that treatment will work. The timing of when radiation therapy is given depends on the type of cancer being treated and whether the goal of radiation therapy is to treat the cancer or ease symptoms.
Don't wear tight clothing over the treatment area. It's important not to rub, scrub or scratch any sensitive spots. Also avoid putting anything that is very hot or very cold—such as heating pads or ice packs—on your treated skin.
Many people having radiotherapy feel tired (fatigued) a lot of the time or become tired very easily from doing everyday activities. This usually starts during treatment and can continue for several weeks or months after treatment finishes. It can help to: get plenty of rest.
Low-dose patients who missed four to nine treatment days had a significantly higher risk of earlier death than patients who received the higher radiation dose, according to the study authors. “Patients who were delayed by 10 or more days didn't see this benefit,” Lee said in a cancer center news release.
Having fewer radiotherapy sessions can improve patients' quality of life—fewer treatment sessions may mean fewer unpleasant side effects, such as the skin irritation, loss of appetite, nausea and fatigue so often associated with cancer treatment.
(mild symptoms may occur as low as 0.3 Gy or 30 rads)
Onset occurs 1 hour to 2 days after exposure. Stage lasts for minutes to days. Stem cells in bone marrow are dying, although patient may appear and feel well. Stage lasts 1 to 6 weeks.
In a few people, the tiredness can become very severe a few weeks after treatment has finished. You may also feel drowsy and irritable. This is a rare side effect and is sometimes called hypersomnia. It is extreme tiredness that can make you feel very drowsy and want to sleep a lot.