Anyone had bad experience with radiation therapy?

What kind of side effects did you have?

Radiation is a "local treatment" meaning it affects only the area it is aimed at. In this way it is similar to surgery, and different from chemo - which is aimed at killing cancer cells all over the body.

Because of this, the side effects that one gets from radiation depend very much on where the radiation is treating. i.e. if you are treating the prostate/pelvis or the abdomen, you may experience bowel problems: nausea/vomitting, diarrhea. The exception to this is that because of the damage the radiation does to normal cells, patients will frequently experience fatigue regardless of the body site treated.

It shoudl also be noted that side effects of radiation can occur in the short or long term. The short term effect of radiation occur during or soon after radiation finished, and are typically things like fatigue, nausea vomitting, skin soreness/redness and even weeping skin, diarrhea; again, all these symptoms are dependent upon where is being treated.

In the long term 6-18 months after radiation, individuals can experience other side effect as long term effect of the radiationon normal tisses that coudl not be avoided begins to take effect. These effects are quite rare now-a-days, but when they do occur, some of these can be severe. i.e. if the bowel is being treated, adhesions can result in a bowel obstruction, if the chest is being treated, a chronic cough can dvelop

Anyway, hope this help!

There's no such thing as a good experience with radiation therapy - it makes you sick. Nearly everyone experiences nausea, loss of appetite, and fatigue/weakness for a couple of days after treatment. It can be a little frustrating because the treatment doesn't usually make you violently sick, but just sick enough and tired enough that you can't do normal activities. There are medications that help with the nausea, but the meds are not effective for everyone.

Formerly_bob., I think you are thinking of chemotherapy.

I had rads for breast cancer and while I wouldn't describe it as a good experience it's a walk in the park compared to chemo. It made me tired, though not all the time. I didn't experience nausea or loss of appetite.and nor did anybody else I know who had it for bc. I think side effects may vary with different cancers and thus different ares being treated.

I went through total body irradiation for a bone marrow transpl;ant. Instead of focusing the radiation to a certain area, your entire body receives the radiation. I was very fatigued, nauseated. I experienced little burning though. It will be a good idea for pts to keep some aloe vera on hand, and some ppl even get treated in the burn unit(I guess it depends on your dosage).

whether it's chemo OR radiation therapy there's no such thing as a good experience, but if you want any hope of becoming
cured or at least put in remission, you don't have to many choices to pick from. i know chemo makes most people feel very sick, while radiation may do the same it tends to burn the skin. tough choices to make.
good luck to ya.

I had proton beam for chordoma. Not many side effects, except some brain swelling a couple of months later. However, I know that my tumor would have been back in 18 months without it.

It depends on exactly what you're dealing with. I had to swallow my radiation so the main affect was burning. The inside of my mouth and throat were pretty severly burned for a few months. Now my teeth are fracturing. But consider the alternative, I have too much to live for not to take it:)