Difference Between Radiation and Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy

Radiation Therapy

• Injection

The chemotherapy is given by a shot in a muscle in your arm, thigh, or hip or right under the skin in the fatty part of your arm, leg, or belly.

• Intra-arterial (IA)

The chemotherapy goes directly into the artery that is feeding the cancer.

• Intraperitoneal (IP)

The chemotherapy goes directly into the peritoneal cavity (the area that contains organs such as your intestines, stomach, liver, and ovaries).

• Intravenous (IV)

The chemotherapy goes directly into a vein.

• Topically

The chemotherapy comes in a cream that you rub onto your skin.

• Orally

The chemotherapy comes in pills, capsules, or liquids that you swallow.

• The radiation may be delivered by a machine outside the body (external-beam radiation therapy), or it may come from radioactive material placed in the body near cancer cells (internal radiation therapy, also called brachytherapy).

• Systemic radiation therapy uses radioactive substances, such as radioactive iodine, that travel in the blood to kill cancer cells.

• Neo-adjuvant therapy

Chemotherapy given before surgery or radiotherapy to shrink the tumor.

• Adjuvant therapy

Chemotherapy used to help destroy any cancer cells that may remain after surgery or radiotherapy. The aim is to reduce the likelihood of cancer returning in the future.

• Peri-operative therapy

Chemotherapy given both before and after surgery.

• Chemoradiation

Chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy.

• Palliative chemotherapy

If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, the chemotherapy drugs carried in your bloodstream can reach these cancer cells. The aim is to help relieve symptoms and slow the growth of the cancer.

• Curative Radio Therapy, which is sometimes called radical treatment, aims to give long-term benefits to people. Sometimes radiotherapy is given alone or with conjunction with other treatment.

• Radiotherapy may be given before surgery to shrink a tumor or after surgery to stop the growth of cancer cells that may remain. It can also be given before, during or after chemotherapy or hormone treatment to improve overall results.

• Palliative radiotherapy aims to shrink tumors and reduce pain or relieve other cancer symptoms. Palliative radiotherapy may also prolong life.

• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Skin rashes, redness, and other types irritation
• Headaches
• Muscle pain
• Abdominal pains
• Temporary nerve damage, which can result in burning, numbness, or tingling in the hands and feet.
• Nausea, and vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Constipation or diarrhea

* Medications are available to prevent or alleviate a lot of these symptoms

• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Skin problems: dryness, itching, blistering, or peeling. These issues are usually resolved a few weeks after treatment has finished. If skin damage from radiation treatment becomes a serious problem, the doctor may change the dose or schedule of treatments.

*In addition to the general side effects described above, some side effects of radiation therapy depend on where the radiation is given.

• Head and neck: include dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, mouth and gum sores, stiffness in the jaw, nausea, and a type of swelling called lymphedema. In addition, tooth decay may occur.

• Chest: may include difficulty swallowing, shortness of breath, breast or nipple soreness, and shoulder stiffness. Some people may develop a cough, fever, and fullness of the chest that is diagnosed as radiation pneumonitis.

• Stomach and abdomen: may include nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. These symptoms will likely disappear when treatment is completed.

• Pelvis: Side effects from radiation to the pelvic area may include diarrhea, rectal bleeding, incontinence, bladder irritation, and sexual problems in both men and women.

Radiation therapy to the pelvis can also affect the reproductive system. Some women receiving high doses of radiation therapy may stop menstruating and experience symptoms of menopause, such as vaginal itching, burning, and dryness.

Permanent infertility (the inability to conceive a child or maintain a pregnancy) can occur, but generally only if both ovaries receive radiation.

Men receiving radiation therapy to the testes or to nearby organs, such as the prostate, will have lower sperm counts and reduced sperm activity, which affects fertility.