I just started radiation this week and I was wondering when everyone first experienced side effects from head/neck radiation? What were the first effects you had?

Sherry, please bear in mind that we're all different and that you'll get lots of... interesting... responses. For me it was mouth sores that, within a couple of weeks, reduced me to a liquid diet. As the sores expanded even that was tested. Burns to the neck followed within a week or so, along with fatigue.

RT is a very tough road. Please be sure you ask your docs for everything you need to ameliorate the side effects - pain medication, mouth numbing agents, burn creams, saliva replacement fluids and any other meds to deal with the more subjective EFX like depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, etc.

Those of us who've been through the mill on this have all come out the other side, and you will too!

Sherry,
I was told by virtually all of the radiation therapy folks (doctors, residents, nurses, techs) that side effects depend on where the treatment is. Did your RO tell you what your plan is? I could access mine on the cancer center website. It said what they were sparing. Therefore, I had saliva through most of my treatment, and it is coming back again now after the loss I experienced at the end of treatment. I did not have as much in my throat either, so no sore throat, although I sure have had the mucus in my throat after treatment.

You need to follow all their directions, including exercises for surgery and radiation therapy, fluoride treatments if applicable for you, and take care of the skin receiving radiation. You will have skin effects later on, although some have it earlier. I don't easily burn, so I thought that was why I did not have burning until the last week and a half. You will probably have mouth sores of some sort, need to stay on top of those, using whatever you've been told to use, or cleared to use.

There's probably other stuff that can happen, but this would be most of what I noticed. Most of us don't notice much happening in the beginning. The worst time is the week or two after radiation.

Best,
Anne

Sherry

One common side effect is delayed damage to your thyroid gland (again depending on the radiation field). It's not too late to get a TSH blood test now, so you will have a real baseline number to compare post Rad. Trust me, it's important not to let your doctors reassure you that your TSH level is "within normal range" afterwards since even with the "new normal" of post radiation, your TSH levels should be the same as they were before TX. Without a number, it's harder to get help if you need it. They're taking blood anyway, it's just one more test and if it turns out your levels stay the same, great. There is really no downside but a potential big payoff to having your TSH level known before TX affects it.
Charm

Hey there for me my scars felt tight right away - as did my throat - mouth & hroat began to get sore at week 4 - skin never got bad. Fatigue was prevalent from week 6 - msnka helped me with the sores all the way up to the end of treatment - I only had one really uncomfortable week. But every one is different!

Good luck you can do this.

Sherry, the better your hydration and nutrition, the easier it will be for you. Everyone is going thru this in their own way and will experience differences in reactions and side effects. I wish you all the best and hope you sail thru this easily.