Lung Cancer Radiation Side Effects

Lung cancer is a serious life threatening disease that can occur to both men and women. However, with the advancement of technology, there are many treatment measures that can cure lung cancer completely, if detected in the early stages. Radiation therapy is either administered alone or along with other treatment measures like surgery, chemotherapy, etc. However, when a person diagnosed with lung cancer is undergoing radiation, there are high chances for him to suffer lung cancer radiation side effects. The cause of these side effects is that the radiation on the process of destroying cancer cells, also damages the normal cells that are required for the proper functioning of the body. Though with advanced technology, radiation side effects have decreased a lot, there are still some disadvantages associated with radiation for lung cancer.

The primary function of the radiation therapy is to destroy the cancerous cells present in the lungs. Sometimes, it is the only treatment measure administered for lung cancer. Some cancer patients are given radiation therapy, before undergoing surgery, to reduce the size of the tumor. This can also be given after the surgery, if cancer cells still exist in the operated area. The radiation effects for lung cancer may vary from person to person. People may have mild to severe symptoms, however there have been cases where people did not have any side effects even after undergoing radiation therapy. Nevertheless, it is important to have adequate knowledge about side effects of radiation therapy for lung cancer, before one undergoes this treatment measure.

Short Term Lung Cancer Radiation Side Effects

Lung cancer radiation treatment does have some side effects, however most of them are temporary and go away, once the treatment is complete.

• Fatigue is one of the common side effects of lung cancer radiation. One is likely to feel extremely tired while undergoing this therapy. Tiredness is usually experienced 4-6 weeks after radiation therapy begins. Though, most people are able to go through their routine activities, they may feel the need to rest in between work and it is also important to sleep well at night.
• Skin irritation is one of the main side effects of radiation therapy. Usually, the area of skin that is exposed to radiation is likely to have a change in appearance. In the case of lung cancer, it is the chest area which may become reddish in color and may look like one has had a sunburn. People may also experience dry skin and skin peeling near the chest area. Skin irritation may subside few weeks after the treatment has stopped, but one should avoid using lotions and creams that contain some kind of chemicals. Applying aloe-vera gel or moisturizing lotion, would help in lessening the irritation. Hair loss is also said to be one of the radiation effects of lung cancer. In case of treatment for lung cancer, one is likely to loose the hair around the chest area.
• Cough or shortness of breath is another symptom that can be seen in people undergoing radiation therapy for lung cancer. The cause of this is said to be decrease in the level of surfactant in the lungs which actually aids the lungs to expand. Along with this, one may also experience difficulty in swallowing. This happens when the esophagus (the tube which connects the mouth and the stomach) is exposed to radiation. This condition is called esophagitis and can cause pain and irritation in the throat area.

Long Term Lung Cancer Radiation Side Effects

Apart from these side effects, radiation for lung cancer can cause certain long term side effects that are comparatively more serious.

• As radiation for lung cancer involves the chest region, there are high chances for the heart to get affected leading to cardiac toxicity. Radiation can also give rise to inflammation in the lungs, sometimes damaging the spinal cord.
• Another long term side effect of this therapy for lung cancer is radiation pneumonitis. This may occur within 1 to 6 months after the therapy has been stopped. Some of the symptoms of pneumonitis include cough, fever and breathing difficulty.
• One of the really dangerous side effect of radiation for lung cancer is secondary cancer. Though this is very rare, there have been cases where radiation therapy for lung cancer has lead to some other type of cancer, for instance, leukemia, breast cancer, etc., 5 to 10 years after the completion of the treatment.

When a person is experiencing some of these lung cancer radiation side effects, while the treatment process is in progress, he would be given some medications to control the effect of the radiation. Most of the time, the side effects do not remain once the treatment process is completed, however if they persist for a long period of time, a health specialist should be consulted to prevent the occurrence of further complications.