“Is there something to be applied to the rest of the body during a radiation therapy?”
While receiving radiation therapy for a particular part of the body, is it important to apply some medicine or cream to prevent the radiations from affecting other exposed parts of the body?
9 Answers
That would be unusual.
No, radiation just affects the area that is treated, not the whole body.
The effects of radiation are local to the area being targeted. You don’t really need to worry about the other skin. Ask your physician or nurse for specific information on which areas you should apply creams to. That being said, it’s winter time now and some patients have chemotherapy at the same time, both of which can cause our skin to be dry all over. A little lotion goes a long way with dry skin.
Typically no. The noticible effects of the radiation on the skin will be limited to the areas that are within the beam's path. It can be helpful to use a prescription steroid cream (such as mometasone) in the treated area, but there should not be much, if any, effect on the skin of the rest of the body.
This will not be necessary. The radiation treatment plan determines which parts of the body are exposed to radiation. Your doctor will determine the optimal plan to treat disease while sparing normal tissue.
There are various skin creams which can help, but they generally cannot be applied to the skin within 4-6 hours of treatment. We generally tell patients to either apply them right after treatment and then 1-2 more times before bedtime or else for afternoon treatments apply them first thing in the morning and then not again until after time of treatment. For other organs besides the skin, there are various experimental treatments that may help recover from radiation side effects. Ask your radiation doctor what they suggest.
Roger Macklis
Roger Macklis
No. Radiation treatment for the cancer inside of patient's body (like prostate cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, etc.) does not cause skin reaction, so skin care is not necessary.
No need to do that. Radiation will only go to area that is outlined by your radiation oncologist.
No is the short answer. However, it is prudent to cover your skin when you venture out of your home and may be exposed to Ultra-violet rays.
