1. < Head & Neck Cancer

How long does radiation impact the tumor after treatment?

Posted by ijones98280 @ijones98280, Oct 2 12:53pm

Any ideas on how long the radiation continues to impact the tumor after treatment is finished? I have heard 3 mos and 6 mos…

Thanks in advance for any thinking!

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Mentor
William Olsen, Volunteer Mentor | @hrhwilliam | Oct 3 3:12pm

My understanding is the radiation should have destroyed the entire tumor, at least that is the goal. That said, the body can and often does take months to eliminate the dead tumor cells. Sometimes they are never completely eliminated and a scar forms around that which remains. The scar can and often does show up on a PET scan as well as MRI which is often alarming to the patient but it should not be. An additional scan will show any progression or not, and we hope for "not".
The body's recovery from radiation therapy is rather slow, similar to that of a severe burn but on the inside. Good cells, nerves, and tissues are damaged as well. The body must deal with those systems and the entire rebuild can take years actually. There are many good tales on this site of slow recovery and what many patients have endured, myself included. In the end the sun often shines again.
Are you having unusual issues or something you are not sure of?

REPLY
1 reply
ijones98280 | @ijones98280 | Oct 3 3:20pm
In reply to @hrhwilliam "My understanding is the radiation should have destroyed the entire tumor, at least that is the..." + (show)
@hrhwilliam

My understanding is the radiation should have destroyed the entire tumor, at least that is the goal. That said, the body can and often does take months to eliminate the dead tumor cells. Sometimes they are never completely eliminated and a scar forms around that which remains. The scar can and often does show up on a PET scan as well as MRI which is often alarming to the patient but it should not be. An additional scan will show any progression or not, and we hope for "not".
The body's recovery from radiation therapy is rather slow, similar to that of a severe burn but on the inside. Good cells, nerves, and tissues are damaged as well. The body must deal with those systems and the entire rebuild can take years actually. There are many good tales on this site of slow recovery and what many patients have endured, myself included. In the end the sun often shines again.
Are you having unusual issues or something you are not sure of?

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Thank you William, for this response and all of your responses. Very very much appreciated. This is something I am just not sure of. I am a month out from treatment and am just not sure what to expect coming up to my 3 month review. I have read of people showing NED at the 3 month mark, but also people showing not showing NED, but other people indicating that 6 mos is a better indicator.

Many many thanks…

Ian

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Oct 7 8:37pm

@ijones98280, I found this information:
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/radiation-therapy#:~:text=When%20the%20damaged%20cells%20die,months%20after%20radiation%20therapy%20ends.
"Radiation therapy kills cancer cells or slows their growth by damaging their DNA. Cancer cells whose DNA is damaged beyond repair stop dividing or die. When the damaged cells die, they are broken down and removed by the body.

Radiation therapy does not kill cancer cells right away. It takes days or weeks of treatment before DNA is damaged enough for cancer cells to die. Then, cancer cells keep dying for weeks or months after radiation therapy ends."

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