Doctors in Michigan failed to recognize the side effects of radiation therapy in more than half of their breast cancer patients
- ADRIÁN AGUIRRE
- 10/12/2020
- 19:02 hrs.
Medicine has been updated to such an extent that there are already several treatments for the same disease. An example of this is the Cancer, where before there was nothing else chemotherapy and now there are targeted therapies, immunotherapies and radiotherapy.
The latter is defined by Mayo Clinic as a type of treatment of Cancer which uses beams of intense energy to destroy cancer cells. These rays come out of a machine that is outside the patient’s body and that sends the emissions to a specific point that must be treated.
like the chemotherapy, the radiotherapy it has some side effects that, in some cases, are not recognized by specialists.
A study of the University of Michigan found that doctors don’t always recognize the side effects of radiotherapy in patients.
Which are the Adverse effects from radiotherapy?
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Radiotherapy against him Cancer: adverse events of this treatment are not always recognized
First of all, it is very important that you know that each person is different and that for the same reason they can react differently to the treatments that are given to them. In the case of radiotherapy, the American Cancer SocietyY mentions that any side effects that may occur depend on the type and location of the Cancer, the radiation dose administered, and the general health of the person being treated.
The National Cancer Institute aim that the possible side effects from radiotherapy against him Cancer son:
+ Head: fatigue, hair loss, headache, blurred vision, changes in the skin, vomiting, or nausea
+ Breasts: hair loss, fatigue, swelling, tenderness, changes in the skin
+ Chest: fatigue, hair loss, changes in the skin, difficulty swallow or others changes throat, cough, trouble breathing
+ Head and neck: fatigue, hair loss, changes in the mouth, changes in the skin, changes in the sense of taste, changes in the throat (difficulty swallow, for example) or a less active thyroid gland
+ Pelvis: sexual problems (women and men), diarrhea, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, hair loss, fertility problems (men and women), changes in the skin O changes urinary and bladder
+ Stomach and abdomen: diarrheahair loss, fatigue changes in the skin, changes urinary and bladder, nausea and vomiting
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Despite these possible side effects, the study conducted by the elements of the University of Michigan revealed that doctors did not recognize the side effects of radiotherapy in more than half of the patients with Cancer of Mother who reported a major symptom.
For their study, the doctors compared the reports of 9,941 office patients in Michigan who received a radiotherapy after a lumpectomy (partial mastectomy).
“We found cases in which the doctors did not report any problems despite the fact that the patients indicated concerns such as pain (in 31% of the cases), itching in the skin (in 37%), bloating (in 51%) and fatigue (in 19%) “, points out the University of Michigan.
These results will be presented during the Symposium Cancer San Antonio Breast 2020, which takes place December 8-11 in San Antonio, Texas.
“Recognize the side effects of radiotherapy is critical for physicians to provide care and help patients manage their symptoms, ” concluded study lead author and doctor Reshma Jagsi.
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