When and whether to use chemo or radiation depends on the cancer, the individual's treatment goals, and other factors. Sometimes, chemotherapy comes first, but this is not always the case. In some cases, a person only has radiation or radiation and chemo at the same time.
Does Radiation Oncology Have Fewer Side Effects Compared to Chemotherapy? Radiation oncology and chemotherapy are both effective cancer treatments; however, they are different in many ways. Radiation oncology is localized: it targets only the affected area of the body, and therefore, tends to have fewer side effects.
Before surgery or radiotherapy
Shrinking the cancer with chemotherapy might also mean that you can have radiotherapy to a smaller area of your body. Having chemotherapy before other treatments in this way is called neoadjuvant treatment. Sometimes doctors may call it primary treatment.
Radiotherapy may be used in the early stages of cancer or after it has started to spread. It can be used to: try to cure the cancer completely (curative radiotherapy) make other treatments more effective – for example, it can be combined with chemotherapy or used before surgery (neo-adjuvant radiotherapy)
Radiation therapy usually begins three to eight weeks after surgery unless chemotherapy is planned. When chemotherapy is planned, radiation usually starts three to four weeks after chemotherapy is finished. You will likely have radiation therapy as an outpatient at a hospital or other treatment facility.
If you have hair in the area being treated, you may lose some or all of it during or just after radiation therapy. The hair will usually grow back a few months after treatment has finished, but it may be thinner or have a different texture. Hair loss may be permanent with higher doses of radiation therapy.
Radiotherapy to relieve symptoms is also known as palliative radiotherapy. Palliative radiotherapy aims to shrink cancer, slow down its growth or control symptoms. It doesn't aim to cure cancer. Depending on the type of cancer you have, and where it has spread to, you might have external or internal radiotherapy.
Although systemic drugs are the main treatment for stage IV breast cancer, local and regional treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, or regional chemotherapy are sometimes used as well. These can help treat breast cancer in a specific part of the body, but they are very unlikely to get rid of all of the cancer.
For most people the side effects were worst in the first few days after treatment, then they gradually felt better until the next treatment. Some said the effects were worse with each successive treatment. Most side effects don't persist and disappear within a few weeks after the end of treatment.
More than 60% of NPC patients receiving curative-intent radiotherapy suffered from a weight loss greater than 5% during the treatment [8], [9].
The oncologist will decide which treatment is most effective for the patient. If the disease is spreading rapidly, chemotherapy will be the most likely approach. Radiation therapy may make more sense for particular types of cancer that are affecting smaller areas. Patients react differently to the treatments.
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.
Most hair loss during cancer treatment is caused by chemotherapy. That's because chemo targets rapidly growing cells, which damages hair follicles and makes the hair fall out. But radiation therapy can sometimes cause hair loss, too, when it's used to treat head and neck cancers.
The life expectancy of men who received radiation treatment was 11.49 (95% CI 10.72–13.18) years at age 75, and 10.56 (95% CI 9.79–11.58) years at age 80. Life expectancy was less than 10 years for men older than 80 years, reaching 9.46 (95% CI 7.73–11.44) years at age 82.
Two examples of highly radiosensitive cancers are leukemia (cancer of the blood cells) and lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system).
For example, if you are pregnant, elderly and infirm, you may not be able to withstand the intensity and potential side effects of radiation therapy.
Stage 4 cancer is not always terminal. It is usually advanced and requires more aggressive treatment. Terminal cancer refers to cancer that is not curable and eventually results in death. Some may refer to it as end stage cancer.
When cancer is advanced, it means that it can't be cured. Doctors might also say that the illness is terminal. This means that it is likely to cause death within a limited period. How long is difficult to predict, but it could be weeks to several months.
The term stage 5 isn't used with most types of cancer. Most advanced cancers are grouped into stage 4. An exception is Wilms tumor, or nephroblastoma, a childhood cancer that originates in the kidneys. Stage 5 Wilms tumors are those that affect both kidneys.
Nausea and vomiting can be a common side effect of external radiation therapy, especially if the treatment area includes the stomach and abdomen. It can also happen as a general side effect regardless of the area being treated. Radiation sickness usually goes away a few weeks after radiation therapy is finished.
Each session is generally quick, lasting about 15 minutes. Radiation does not hurt, sting, or burn when it enters the body. You will hear clicking or buzzing throughout the treatment and there may be a smell from the machine. Typically, people have treatment sessions 5 times per week, Monday through Friday.
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.