Throat Cancer Radiation Treatment Side Effects

Early side effects happen during or shortly after treatment.

Throat cancer radiation treatment side effects.

This can make eating and swallowing difficult and change your sense of taste. Many people who get radiation therapy have fatigue. Among the most common at msk are intensity modulated radiation therapy and proton therapy. These side effects tend to be short term mild and treatable.

Radiation therapy can also cause swallowing problems. The effects of radiation including scarring and fibrosis build over time and can reduce the ability of the throat muscles to function properly even long after treatment is finished. This can lead to weight loss and malnutrition. Radiation therapy to the head and neck may harm the salivary glands and tissues in your mouth and or make it hard to chew and swallow safely.

Radiation can also cause narrowing of the swallowing passage a problem known as stricture. Radiation not only kills or slows the growth of cancer cells it can also affect nearby healthy cells. Fatigue is feeling exhausted and worn out. Damage to healthy cells can cause side effects.

Side effects of radiation therapy many people treated with radiation to the neck and throat area have painful sores in the mouth and throat that can make it very hard to eat and drink. Early side effects such as nausea and fatigue usually don t last long. Our goal is not only to eliminate the tumor cells but also to prevent the side effects of treatment by keeping the healthy cells around the tumor safe. Side effects of radiation therapy in throat cancer patients many throat cancer patients who receive radiation to the neck and throat area continue to have painful sores and ulcerations in the mouth and throat that can make it very difficult to eat and drink.

They may start during or right after treatment and last for several weeks after it ends but then they get better. They re usually gone within a few weeks after treatment ends. Radiation therapy is often used to treat cancer in the mouth throat neck or upper chest region. Depending on the area treated radiation therapy may affect your mouth and teeth.

Some types of chemotherapy and immunotherapy can also harm cells in your mouth throat and lips. Cancer treatments may cause mouth throat and dental problems. We offer several radiation therapy approaches for people with throat cancer.