- The most common side effect of breast cancer radiation therapy is fatigue. Eating healthy foods that include a lot of protein, vegetables, fruit and whole grains, can lessen fatigue. Excercise, meditation, massage and yoga can also help relieve fatigue.
- Skin can redden as though you have a sunburn. It may burn, itch, peel, dry out, blister, or become sore all over or in patches. The sensation comes on gradually. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which is breathing in 100% oxygen while in a sealed area where air pressure has been raised, can help skin recover faster. Doctors or nurses can prescribe medicine or salves to soothe irritated skin, but use of creams without your doctor's approval can cause more damage to your skin.
- Since the armpit is close to the breast, the skin in this area can become irritated and sore during breast cancer radiation therapy. Sweat and hair under your arm, and your arm rubbing against your armpit, can irritate the area. Don't shave your armpit during radiotherapy and use cornstarch instead of deodorant. Wear loose clothes and use hydrocortisone cream approved by your doctor on sore areas. Ask your doctor about prescription creams that can help.
- Swollen, irritated nerves can cause shooting pains in your chest. Use a combination of warm and cool packs to relieve pain. Your doctor may have you take ibuprofen or acetaminophen to ease pain, or opiates may be prescribed. Acupuncture, music therapy, massage or hypnosis can help.
- Radiation treatments kill some healthy cells along with cancerous ones. Radiation therapy can lower your white blood cell count, making you more vulnerable to infections. Chills, fever, shortness of breath, nasal congestion, diarrhea, cough or sore throat can indicate an infection caused by a low white blood cell count. Your doctor may prescribe immune system boosting medicine or delay radiation until your white blood cell count rises.
