- mild NAUSEA
- tiredness and fatigue
Short-term side effects generally go away after
the course of radiation therapy ends. Short-term
risks, which are uncommon, include radiation
BURNS to the skin and damage to tissues and
organs in the treatment area that impairs their
function. Long-term risks and complications of
radiation therapy include destruction of the BONE
MARROW, development of other types of cancer
(notably LYMPHOMAand MULTIPLE MYELOMA), and
permanent damage to tissues in the treatment
area such as skin and MUSCLE. Specific types of
radiation therapy have additional risks.
See also CANCER TREATMENT OPTIONS AND DECI-
SIONS; CHEMOTHERAPY; SURGERY FOR CANCER.
recurrence Cancer that returns after treatment.
The cancer may come back to its original site or
appear in another part of the body. Recurrent can-
cer that spreads to multiple sites is metastatic.
Treatment for recurrent cancer depends on the
type of cancer, its location, and the treatment for
the original cancer. Recurrent cancer occurs
because cancer cells remain in the body after
treatment and are able to reestablish themselves.
Some cancers recur because their cells are particu-
larly aggressive. Such cancers require increasingly
aggressive treatment that may hold the cancer in
check for periods of time, though these periods of
REMISSIONtend to become shorter and the cancer
progresses. Other types of cancer persistently
recur, such chronic lymphoma. Treatment can
effectively manage such cancers for decades.
See also CELL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION; METASTA-
SIS.remission The period of time during which a
person in treatment for cancer is free from symp-
toms though the cancer may still be in the body.
In complete remission all symptoms disappear; in
partial remission some or most symptoms go
away. Remission is generally the result, or may be
the goal, of RADIATION THERAPYor CHEMOTHERAPY.
Remission may last months to years, depending
on the type of cancer. Alternating periods of
remission and RECURRENCE (return of the cancer
and its symptoms) characterize some cancers, such
as chronic LYMPHOMA, chronic LEUKEMIA, KAPOSI’S
SARCOMA, andSKIN CANCER.
See also METASTASIS.390 Cancer