You may have aches, twinges or sharp pains in the breast or chest area. These are usually mild. They may continue for months or years, but they usually become milder and less frequent over time. You may also have stiffness and discomfort around the shoulder and breast or chest area during and after treatment.
The soreness usually goes away within 3 to 4 weeks after ending the treatment. Towards the end of the radiotherapy, the skin might break down, especially under the breast.
Radiation can also cause your breast, shoulder, or arm to feel sore or stiff and inflexible. For stiff shoulders, talk to your radiation treatment team about exercises you can do to stay flexible. Symptoms of sore or swollen breasts usually go away several weeks after radiation therapy ends.
You may start to notice side effects about 2 weeks after you start radiation therapy. They may get worse during your radiation therapy, but they'll slowly get better over 6 to 8 weeks after your last treatment. Some side effects may take longer to go away.
The most common early side effects are fatigue (feeling tired) and skin changes. Other early side effects usually are related to the area being treated, such as hair loss and mouth problems when radiation treatment is given to this area.
The radiation stays in the body for anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Most people receive internal radiation therapy for just a few minutes. Sometimes, internal radiation therapy can be given for more time.
Fatigue is common during radiation therapy and may last for several weeks after treatment ends. Fatigue is mainly a short-term problem, but for some, it can persist [11-12]. You may feel like you don't have any energy and may feel tired all the time.
How long do symptoms last? Skin irritation and breast pain usually begin within a few weeks of starting radiation therapy and go away on their own within 6 months after treatment ends.
More than 60% of NPC patients receiving curative-intent radiotherapy suffered from a weight loss greater than 5% during the treatment [8], [9].
Most side effects go away after treatment. But sometimes radiation therapy can cause long term or late effects months or years down the track. During treatment, tell your radiation therapy team about any side effects, as side effects can usually be controlled with the right care and medicine.
Some people have pain in their breast, chest, arm or armpit for months or even years after they had surgery. It can happen after any type of breast surgery, including a lumpectomy (wide local excision), mastectomy, lymph node removal and breast reconstruction.
Feeling very tired and lacking energy (fatigue) for day-to-day activities is the most common side effect of radiation therapy to any area of the body. During treatment, your body uses a lot of energy dealing with the effects of radiation on normal cells.
Radiation therapy can last anywhere from one to six weeks. As you get farther into treatment, the skin on the breast or chest that's repeatedly exposed to radiation can start to look dry or red and feel irritated. It may sometimes even peel.
Radiotherapy can damage the bone cells in the pelvic area, and also lower the blood supply to the bones. The bones become weaker. This is called avascular necrosis. Damage to the bones can cause pain and sometimes makes it hard to walk or climb stairs.
Wear only loose-fitting cotton clothing over the treatment area to prevent further irritation. You may prefer to wear a cotton T-shirt instead of a bra. If you have large breasts and need a bra for comfort, you may wear a well-fitted cotton bra when in public.
Treatment side effects, including pain, are a problem for many women diagnosed with breast cancer. There are a number of reasons why someone might have continuing pain after surgery, including unavoidable tissue and nerve damage when the cancer and any lymph nodes are removed.
Some people who have advanced cancer may have external beam radiotherapy to help control symptoms of the cancer. This is called palliative radiotherapy. As well as tiredness, this might also cause some mild aches and pains. This usually gets better over a few days.
You might feel weak and lack energy as well as being tired. It can sometimes help to sleep for a short time during the day. Rest when you need to. Various things can help you to reduce tiredness and cope with it, for example, exercise.
Any type of breast cancer can metastasize. It is not possible to predict which breast cancers will metastasize. Whether metastasis happens depends on several factors, including: The type of breast cancer, such as hormone receptor-positive and/or HER2-positive, or triple-negative breast cancer (see Introduction)
Which Type of Cancer Spreads the Fastest? The fastest-moving cancers are pancreatic, brain, esophageal, liver, and skin. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most dangerous types of cancer because it's fast-moving and there's no method of early detection.