Radiation therapy is an important treatment modality for breast cancer. For advanced breast cancer, radiation therapy has been shown to perform as well as and sometimes better than mastectomy (complete removal of the breast). Radiation therapy for breast cancer has a few long-term complications but the frequency and the severity of these complications are generally low.
Pneumonitis
Radiation pneumonitis is lung inflammation due to radiation therapy. According to the book "Cancer Of The Breast," radiation pneumonitis occurs in fewer than two percent of patients treated by radiation therapy for breast cancer. This is because radiation can damage the lung on the side of the breast being treated. Symptoms of pneumonitis often present two to three months after treatment.
If radiation therapy is used to treat affected regional lymph nodes, the damage to the lung will be more extensive and the incidence of pneumonitis is increased to 8 to 20 percent, according to the book "Cancer of The Breast."
Rib Fracture
According to RadiologyInfo.org, less than one percent of patients treated end up getting a rib fracture. The median time of rib fracture is one year after radiation.
Heart Damage
Patients treated with radiation therapy for breast cancer are at slightly higher risk of having heart attacks, according to the book "Cancer Of The Breast".
Secondary Malignancies
Patients treated with radiation therapy for breast cancer are at higher risk of developing other cancers, according to "Cancer Of The Breast." For instance, clinical data collected in six cancer treatment centers in the United States and Denmark between 1997 and 2002 demonstrated a slightly elevated lung cancer risk after 10 years in irradiated patients with breast cancer, according to "Cancer Of The Breast."
