Good morning BrendaSmith2. Agree with JoanNichols. I had radiation treatments for one month. I did get tired out sometimes but I would rest right away. I got dizzy only twice. I did drink plenty of water 🌊 after every treatment which helped me and exercise too. Take care 🙏🌹💕✝️

Hi Brenda. When I had radiation a few months ago it was also 5 days a week and 20 total sessions. At each session they radiated my chest, armpit, and neck. My last 4 sessions I was given the higher dose boosts. I've had radiation 5 times now, once for breast cancer and 4 times for endometrial cancer.

I never had any issues with headaches, but I did get a stiff neck because of the way they had my head positioned so they could aim the radiation at the right location on my neck.

I always end up feeling nauseated within a couple weeks or so of starting radiation and it typically lasts for a month or two. I take Ondansetron 2 or 3 times a day for the nausea and takes care of the problem.

I also get tired from the radiation around 3 weeks after it starts. The longer the course of radiation the more tired I get and the longer it lasts. When I've had a 1 week course of radiation the tiredness tends to last about a month. When I had the 20 sessions of radiation a few months ago the tiredness lasted about 3 months. At first I needed to take 1 or 2 naps a day. After about a month I was down to 1 nap almost every day. Over time my energy came back and the naps decreased to 1 or 2 a week.

Lotion is your friend, you definitely want to keep your skin well moisturized. I've never had skin issues when radiation treatments only lasted for one week. I did have skin issues when radiation lasted 3 or 4 weeks. During the last round of radiation my skin started to blister and peel on my chest and neck in the areas that received the boost. That started within days of having the boost and completing my 20th radiation session. My skin was irritated, painful, and burned feeling, but it was worse on my neck than on my chest. It was also itchy. It took about a month for the burning and peeling to go away and it was about 2 months until my skin no longer felt irritated. The other areas that didn't get the boost felt like that had a bad sunburn, but didn't blister or peel. I'm 3.75 months out from radiation now and my neck skin is totally normal. My chest skin still feels different to the touch, kind of like it's thicker, but it no longer hurts or bothers me. I'm still using lotion and it continues to improve texture wise.

The side effect that caught me most off guard with the latest round of radiation was my throat. I started getting a sore throat about 2 weeks after radiation started and it got progressively worse over the last 2 weeks. It hurt to eat or drink just about everything. I tried to eat foods that were smooth and cold like ice cream, pudding, jello, etc. Mashed potatoes and pasta only hurt a little bit going down. I found that crunchy and chunky foods hurt, like chips, crackers, hamburger and meat in general, etc. It also hurt to drink anything that was carbonated or acidic, like sodas and orange juice or lemonade. Spicy foods hurt too. It took a couple of months for the sore throat to heal.

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Brenda and Joan gave you some good advice. I was mostly tired but drinking a ton of water and walking a bit daily helped tremendously
Moisturizer on the treated area is also important so do that several times a day. It helps with the scar tissue and soreness as well. You'll be fine. Promise. It's much easier than you could ever imagine. You're in and out pretty quickly. Take care and stay in touch so we know how you're doing. We love you and we care. Endless hugs!!!

Brenda, radiation was much easier than I expected. I did get a little tired but that was all. I went walking everyday after the treatment & drank lots of water (suggestions I learned here) and that really helped. Be sure to keep up on moisturizing multiple times each day. Rest whenever you feel tired. Good luck, you’ve got this!