Side effects of radiotherapy for lung cancer

Side effects vary depending on the type and site of treatment and on the person’s general fitness.

Radiotherapy itself is painless, but sometimes people experience some pain soon after the first treatment. Most people did not complain of pain, but one woman experienced quite severe pain after a single dose of radiotherapy. She felt better five days later.

Says that she felt quite severe pain soon after she had her radiotherapy.

Age at interview 55

Gender Female

Age at diagnosis 55

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I left the hospital, it was all finished, came home, which was, about half an hour drive, feeling fine, you know, a little bit uncomfortable perhaps, but no, nothing really. Came home, couldt wait for a cup of tea, sat and relaxe another cup of tea, and I started getting an awful pain in my back where I’d had this radiotherapy, an awful, awful pain like yod pulled a muscle or something, which went right down my arm. I took some paracetamols, I went up and laid on the bed, I couldt lay, I couldt sit, the pain was quite awful. I managed to sort of; take loads of painkillers and it dulled it a bit, but the next day I had to go to the doctos, which for me is pretty bad if I have to go to the doctos. I was given some, some tablets;

It just lasted five days. It gradually got easier and easier and then it was gone. So that was fine, no more tablets;;

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Most of those who had radiotherapy to the lung through the back or chest experienced other side effects, such as indigestion or sore throat. These side effects appeared soon after the treatment started but sometimes only 7-10 days afterwards.

During the second week of CHART treatment, one man found he was bringing up more sputum (spit) than usual. He also had a dry throat, became hoarse, and had some trouble swallowing. The skin on his chest became a little sore, and was treated with aqueous cream.

Describes some of the side effects he developed after radiotherapy to his chest.

Age at interview 72

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 72

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Could you say a little bit more about any side effects you had from the radiotherapy?

Yes, you, you get hoarse. But I was a bit hoarse before I went in, but it got a little bit worse, you get a dry throat, you get a little bit of nausea. Some people seem to get more than others. But I don’t think some people cope with it so well. I.

Was the skin sore at all?

Not until I’d been home, and it’s getting a little bit sore on my chest now. But they’ve give me some aqueous cream to put on. But they warned me this would happen. And you would get a trouble in swallowing, which I have got a bit, but it’s not too bad, I can still manage to get my food down (laughs). So, but you’ve got to be careful what you eat. You must not have anything too hot or, they say, spicy, but try to eat a healthy diet. It’s all a part of the treatment, getting better. To get the right nourishment.

So, when exactly was all this radiotherapy?

I went into hospital on the 16th March and started on the following Monday, and it’s twelve days intensive treatment, three times a day. And I came home on the Saturday after the treatment finished on the Friday, so obviously theres no, no ill-effects that can stop you going home;

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Some people had quite severe side effects. One man complained of a burnt oesophagus (gullet). He said that he could not eat solid food, or take very hot or very cold drinks during the treatment and for a week afterwards. He scratched the skin on his back and made it very sore. However, the hospital gave him medicines to help him cope with these side effects. Other people said that if the throat was sore it was a good idea to avoid spicy food and alcohol because it may sting the throat.

Describes some of the side effects of radiotherapy to his chest.

Age at interview 57

Gender Male

Age at diagnosis 56

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Did you have any side effects from the radiotherapy?

Yes I did, I had more side effects from the radiotherapy than I actually had from chemotherapy. Radiotherapy, what happens, what happens is it burns the oesophagus. Now the oesophagus is a tube that’s from your throat down to your stomach, it’s where your food goes down, and what happens with the radiography it burns it, so you can’t eat anything solid. You try and eat something solid or eat something, or drink something hot, or even try and drink a pint of beer which is cold, and it’s agony, absolute agony. It’s like the only way I can describe it, if you’d have put a crab in your throat or in your oesophagus, put a crab in there and let it walk down using its nippers going down.

Does that depend a little bit on where the radiotherapy had been directed?

No if it’s chest, if it’s chest you’ll always get it, it’s one of those things for chest radiography.

And how long did that feeling go on for?

I had that for the first, second, well four weeks and then thank goodness finished the radiography and it was a week after they finished the radiography that it started getting better. Now it’s okay now, this has been a fortnight now since I finished radiography so it’s better now, I’m back, basically nearly back to normal again.

Did the skin get sore at all?

Yes I’ve got a massive great, well it’s my own fault because I was told not to scratch it because what happens is the, it tends to make your skin red when you think you’re getting radiography into your skin, into your flesh. When you have a shower it turns red, where it was going in, so it was going in there, there and then the back. The worst one is the back because what I did was actually, and I was told not to do it, I did it, I did it accidentally I didn’t mean to do it, I had a scab on my back, well not a scab it was a little spot but what it was if I describe radiography or xray, xrays or radiography burn from the inside out so there could be a hole underneath but on the outside a little, minute pinprick. So what you’re doing basically if you scratch your back or your front even where it is you’re taking that little cap off and it’s opening that to infection. So basically you don’t do it. And I’ll tell you what please, if you have had it done please do not scratch it because it is absolutely maddening.

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People may lose weight if they can’t eat comfortably. One woman had radiotherapy to her head and chest at the same time. She lost her hair, and she also lost a lot of weight because her oesophagus was so sore. Her sleep was also disturbed. She found it impossible to sleep lying down because acid reflux from her stomach burnt her oesophagus, so she slept upright in a chair.

Describes the severe side effects she suffered after she had radiotherapy to her chest and head…

Age at interview 53

Gender Female

Age at diagnosis 52

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Can you explain what sort of side effects you did develop and how soon they took to come?

Right, I lost my hair again which I wasn’t told. My hair had just started growing back again. And I did ask the doctor at the radiotherapy, the consultant and I says, ‘Will I lose my hair again?’ He says, ‘No it’ll just stunt the growth. I lost all my hair again.

I lost, I couldn’t eat when I, I finished on the last day of the year December 31st, I couldn’t eat my Christmas dinner, I couldn’t, well I never ate literally for two months. I lost two stone in weight. The pain, all the medicine they gave me didn’t work. I ended up getting my own GP out because I was throwing all this black bile up. And I went and stayed in the hospital where I had my chemo done for four days. They found the right medication and within a week I was as right as rain.

It’s not a nice way to lose the weight is it?

No, it was, it was a rough two months. And another thing I couldn’t do, I couldn’t lie down to sleep. I slept in a chair upright for two months with just a quilt over me because if I’d laid down that’s when you know, because it was, if I burped or if I drank anything it was really painful, really painful, because it takes all the lining off you, the radiotherapy takes all the lining off your oesophagus.

So if you laid down?

Oh it was…

Fluid came from your stomach?

Yeah and you get a lot of acid and things like that you see.

Oh, how awful to have to sleep in a chair for two months.

I did quite well actually, it was quite, it was quite comfortable to sleep in. And that’s it I, the first hospital got me right again and it was just up and up from then you know, I didn’t look back.

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One woman (who had 15 sessions of radiotherapy to her chest) remembered that during treatment she felt nauseous and very tired. Another person said she felt like a ‘washed out dishcloth’, weak and depressed.

Says that during radiotherapy she felt a bit nauseous, and at times she felt tired.

Age at interview 61

Gender Female

Age at diagnosis 59

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Did you get a very sore throat?

No not really. This is the time I mean most people, I have to be different, I got nauseous, whereas I didn’t with the chemotherapy where most people do, I did with the radiotherapy and I had a reaction that some, it’s not unknown but it’s reasonably rare. But, so they gave me some tablets for that. I wasn’t actually sick, I just felt, felt it quite often. But other than that for the fifteen days there weren’t any problems at all really.

Good.

But as I say I mean I went to work every day, weekends off of course (laughs) and but sort of even now theres some days and I just, fortunately it’s mostly at the weekends anyway, I suppose it sort of builds up at the end of the week, I do get tired and I just don’t know what to do with myself. I don’t want to do anything. So I must admit I don’t. Bricks and mortar and dust will still be there when I’m long gone, so forget it.

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A woman, who had radiotherapy to her head after the cancer had spread to the brain, found that her hair fell out. She also felt exhausted. Another woman, who also had radiotherapy to her head, said that her scalp was very itchy, which made it impossible to wear her wig. She wore a baseball cap instead.

Says that radiotherapy to her head made her hair fall out and that treatment made her feel very…

Age at interview 55

Gender Female

Age at diagnosis 55

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Then what it does, what it [radiotherapy] did do was make the hair fall out as it predicted in the literature.

You lie down on this couch and a little green light and you come out, you feel no different and you think, ‘Has anything happening at all?’ So that the fact that it sort of affected hair I was quite pleased about because it made me think, ‘Oh well it’s doing something at least’, and so that was good. I also found it very, very, very tiring and sort of by the two weeks, the week between the two treatments and the week afterwards I was just really exhausted. Again I don’t think everybody finds that, for some people its fine, so I wouldn’t want again to put people off. But towards the end of the second week after the second treatment I started to feel better.

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Side effects of lung cancer surgery

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