Before thinking about the radiotherapy side effects for lung cancer you should know that every woman responds differently to this kind of therapy.

There are a lot of factors influencing your reactions, such as your general health, the location of the cancer and the other kinds of therapies that you could be receiving.

Skin irritation as one of the side effects of radiotherapy for lung cancer

radiotherapy-side-effects-for-lung-cancerA few weeks after the beginning of the therapy you could see that the skin becomes irritated and red. After this the skin becomes dry and it starts peeling.

The skin heals with time, but it could have a darker color, as if it was tanned. Usually such spots appear a few weeks after you are done with therapy.

When thinking about the radiotherapy for lung cancer side effects, you should make sure that if your skin is affected you won’t get sun burned.

Also make sure that you limit the use of creams and lotions that could irritate the skin and remember that the skin shouldn’t be exposed to extreme heat or cold.

Hair loss

It is possible to see this one of the radiotherapy side effects for lung cancer. Luckily the area affected is only where the radiation is focused on.

In case of lung cancer the chest is the affected area. Since women aren’t really keen on having hair on their chest, this doesn’t seem to be such a big problem.

Shortness of breath or cough

In case you are thinking about the adverse effects of radiotherapy for lung cancer you should know that this treatment affects the lung’s surfactant. This is a substance that makes the lungs contract. This is why women could be affected by shortness of breath or cough. In order to make the symptoms better it is possible for women to receive steroids.

Fatigue

During therapy it is normal to experience fatigue as one of the radiotherapy side effects for lung cancer. In the majority of the cases fatigue appears a few weeks after the beginning of the therapy and it gets worse with time. The good news is that it disappears after about 6-8 weeks once you stop the therapy.

Even though they experience the adverse effects, a lot of women are able to go on with their everyday activities. However it is important to have plenty of rest during the night. It is also a good idea to have some rest during the day, so you might want to have a nap.

Esophagitis

This one of the radiotherapy side effects for lung cancer appears because the esophagus travels through the chest and so it is affected by the therapy. As a result it could get irritated. Because of this you could experience pain when swallowing, have a feeling of having a lump in your throat and you could also have heartburn.

Such adverse reactions of radiotherapy for lung cancer appear 2-3 weeks after you start the therapy.

Now you know more about the radiotherapy side effects for lung cancer and you know how to handle them.