Info
Radiation dermatitis
Side effects
What it means
A skin reaction to radiotherapy, similar to sunburn — redness, dryness, sometimes peeling or ulceration in the irradiated area. It improves with local care and usually heals after treatment ends.
Related terms
The terms below often appear alongside this one. Each definition is right here, so you do not have to look elsewhere.
- Radiotherapy
- A treatment that uses ionising radiation to destroy cancer cells or shrink the tumor. It can be external or internal (brachytherapy). It is precise and spares the surrounding healthy tissues.
- Alopecia (hair loss)
- A common side effect of chemotherapy, which also affects the hair on your scalp. Hair loss is usually temporary, and your hair grows back after treatment, sometimes with a slightly different texture or color.
- Anaemia
- A fall in the number of red blood cells or in haemoglobin, which leads to tiredness, weakness, dizziness and shortness of breath. In cancer care, it can be caused by the disease itself or by treatments.
Other terms in “Side effects”
Glossary definitions are written for patients by the OncoDots team and go through internal medical review. They explain terms; they do not establish a diagnosis and do not recommend a treatment.