Colleen Hoover Completes Cancer Treatment: Why Radiation Therapy Is Essential?

Colleen

Hoover, author of the best-selling novel It Ends With Us, revealed she finished her cancer radiation treatment a month after she was diagnosed with the deadly disease. Hoover has not revealed which cancer she battled. "Second to last day of radiation," she captioned a post on her Instagram Stories. In December, the 46-year-old writer had announced she had gotten the cancer surgically removed, and no chemotherapy other than radiation was needed. Months before her diagnosis, Hoover had announced she would not be attending work events as she was “super bummed” and was to undergo an “unavoidable surgery”.

What is radiation therapy?

Radiation therapy, also known as radiotherapy, is a common cancer treatment that uses radiation - high-powered X-rays - to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy can be used either independently or along with other treatments like surgery and chemotherapy. Radiation oncologists specialize in radiation therapy and will determine whether radiation therapy would benefit you. If so, they understand the best type of radiation therapy for the kind of cancer you have. They also design the radiation treatment plan with the radiation dosage that will destroy cancer cells without harming nearby healthy tissue. There are two main types of radiation therapy:

• External beam radiation therapy (EBRT)
• Internal radiation therapy

Why is radiation therapy used?

According to experts, radiation kills cancer cells, shrinks tumours, and relieves cancer symptoms. It may be your only treatment, or it may be used to:

• Shrink tumors before other cancer treatments, like surgery or neo-adjuvant therapy
• Destroy any remaining cancer cells after surgery
• Kill cancer cells that return after previous treatment
• Radiation therapy can also destroy benign, or noncancerous tumours, which cause the symptoms.

What happens during radiation therapy?

Radiation therapy usually happens in a special outpatient treatment room or in a hospital. Your radiation oncologist may insert the implant using a small flexible tube called a catheter. For this treatment, you will receive anesthesia so that there is no pain or discomfort during the procedure. With the systemic form of internal radiation therapy, there will be a radioactive fluid administered through an IV. The doctor will make you lie on a table, positioned as during the simulation. The radiation machine moves around you but never touches you. The machine directs precise doses of radiation toward the tumour as it shifts positions, but you will not feel anything during treatment.

What are the side effects of radiation therapy?

Doctors say most people who undergo radiation are spread out over multiple sessions so they do not get the entire dose all at once. The treatment schedule gives your healthy tissue time to recover between sessions, helping reduce the side effects. However, there may still be unpleasant experiences which experts say are only part of your body receiving radiation directly. A few of the side effects may include:

• Fatigue and tiredness
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Skin irritation
• Dry and itchy scalp
• Hair fall and hair loss
• Pain when you swallow
• Reduced appetite
• A burning feeling in your throat or chest
• Pain or a burning sensation when you pee
• The need to pee frequently
• Abdominal bloating or cramps
• Sense of urgency to have a bowel movement