My father was just diagnosed with cancer, and the doctor has told us is that he is going to receive radiation therapy for 4 months, and then they will assess if the cancer has responded. If it hasn’t, then they are going to consider surgery. Does that sound reasonable, and what are the side effects of radiation therapy? Do you lose your hair?
We would obviously have to know your fathers case to know what the optimal treatment is, but certainly there are cases of cancer in which patients are treated with radiation therapy, followed by surgery. Some people may also have chemotherapy before surgery. The side effects of radiation depend of the area that the radiation is applied. Unless he is getting radiation to the head for brain cancer, then losing hair is not usually a side effect. The most common side effect is skin changes from the radiation. When you get radiation to the abdominal cavity, you may also have diarrhea.
For more information on the side effects of radiation therapy, watch this video from VideoMD.com.
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