Radiation Therapy Head Side Effects

Radiation therapy can cause early and late side effects. For more on this see coping with radiation treatment but radiation therapy can have other specific side effects depending on what area is being treated.

Radiation Therapy Wikipedia
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Salivary gland hypofunction and xerostomia.

Radiation therapy head side effects. High doses of radiation therapy to the brain are more likely to cause long term problems. Remember that the treatment can affect each patient differently and you may not experience these particular side effects. Sometimes the whole brain is treated with radiation although the doses are often lower.

Other side effects depend on the part of the body that is being treated. Radiation can destroy or harm healthy tissues during treatment. The following list includes some of the most common side effects of radiation therapy for brain tumors.

Theyre usually gone within a few weeks after treatment ends. Download ascos free radiation therapy fact sheet. Talk with your radiation oncologist and health care team about what you can expect.

Some side effects of radiation therapy like fatigue and skin problems can happen no matter what part of the body is being treated. Radiation to the head neck and any part of the digestive. These side effects tend to be short term mild and treatable.

Your healthcare provider will. Side effects of radiation therapy to the brain radiation therapy to the brain. Radiation therapy has side effects because it not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells.

Common side effects of radiation therapy. The national cancer institute has a list of just he oral side effects of head and neck radiation therapy and they include. This 1 page printable pdf gives an introduction to radiation therapy including an overview of the different types of radiation what to expect during treatment possible side effects terms to know and questions to ask the health care team.

With certain types of radiation therapy this reaction can occur in 100 of patients. Early side effects happen during or shortly after treatment. Many people who get radiation therapy experience fatigue.

Learn more about possible side effects. This may cause side effects to happen anywhere in the body where radiation therapy is given. How are side effects of radiation therapy diagnosed and treated.

Acute short term side effects. In children the younger the child the more sensitive the brain cells are to the side effects of radiation. It is important to remember that the type and severity of the side effect will vary greatly from patient to patient depending on the location.

Side effects of radiation therapy to the brain may include. Medicine may be given to protect healthy tissue and prevent side effects of radiation therapy. Webmd discusses what to expect when undergoing radiation therapy including side effects and what you can do to ease the discomforts.

Dry mouth from lack of saliva more than 93 of patients experience this reaction. This handout gives a general description of side effects one may experience when receiving radiation therapy to the brain.

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