I have breast cancer and I’m starting radiation tomorrow. I understand that it’s supposed to reduce the risk of reoccurrence and that it is destroying cells. But how? Which cells are affected? Why will it make me tired?
In: Biology
The short and misleading answer is that every cell in the beam path is affected.
But the thing that makes cancer cells dangerous is also their weakness: they’re always dividing, which means when their DNA gets damaged by radiation, they don’t have time to stop and repair it. Your healthy cells will get hurt by the radiation but they’re much better at recovering from it, so that’s a tough call to make but years of research show it’s the course with the most happy endings.
The fatigue is partly from that recovery thing – you’ll spend a surprising amount of resources as damaged cells repair themselves – not much you can do about that except grit your teeth and get through it. In some cases the radiation can also disable bone marrow and lead to anemia, which causes fatigue too. If you get put on iron supplements, that’ll be why. (Edit: a radiation beam through your boob will probably only hit your ribs and they’re mostly yellow marrow, so with my zero years of medical experience I’m going to say radiation anemia is unlikely here…?)
The treatment’s no fun, but remind yourself: as tough as it is on you, it’s far worse for the cancer. Take naps. Good luck. <3
Latest Answers