Hello
Those of you who have had radiotherapy already, how tired were you during treatment? I’ve got 15 sessions starting in February and I’m just wondering if I’ll be able to do anything on the weekends or will I be too exhausted? I know we’re all different but just trying to get an idea.
Hi Twinks
I had 5 sessions, during treatment it was the travelling that tired me initially. I think I was at a point were everything seemed a challenge. But the tiredness from Radiotherapy was after my 5 days had finished. I could be sprite and energetic then quickly become tired and exhausted. Some people say they have it bad, whereas others seem to have little to no tiredness.
12 months on I still have afternoon sessions (not as often) when I feel like I can’t get up even to go the loo. It’s hard to say whether it’s solely the RT, because it’s also a side effect for many hormone tablets.
If you do experience it, try changing your daily schedule to fit around when you feel lively and put off non-essential tasks. Eat a good diet, that gives you the extra energy nutrients, and a bit of fresh air works wonders.
Hope it all goes well x
Hi
I had 9 sessions in January 2025. I thought it was the easiest of all the treatments I had. I did not feel any noticeable fatigue, I was still able to walk the dogs across the fields. I kept myself well hydrated and well moisturised. I do believe that the daily trips to and from hospital is tiring but not for me. We are all different.
All the best to you.
I got fatigue really badly. I finished radiation in June and I’m one of those that had side effects. At 2pm I’d feel like I was melting I was so depleted. Then the nausea would start.
Exhaustion, nausea and brain fog. I thought I was making it up cos no one else seemed to go thru it. I didn’t have any support before my diagnosis and really feel alone still. The radiation effects have lessened but everyday I’m still struggling with coping. I pretend I’m fine because I don’t know what else to do.
I really hope you have no exhaustion from radiation but don’t beat yourself up if you do. It might take awhile to recover and you might be right as rain immediately after.
I only had 5 days and the treatment week was fine, no issues at all. I was told fatigue kicked in after two weeks and right on cue I had a weekend where I was shattered and slept for a large chunk of it. It passed quickly though and I haven’t had any issues with tiredness since.
I had 15 sessions and didnt really get the exhaustion. Although my appointments were all 5/5.30pm so that was difficult and took its toll more mentally than physically as I was nearly always the last patient in the department. In the weeks after I was fine although had skin reaction and mild burns. Good luck with your treatment xx
Hi I was one of the lucky ones. I had 15 session of rads to breast and supraclavicular fossa and then another five days of booster treatment. I had no side effects except pain due to the position I had to keep my arms in. Was able to carry on with my life as usual, except of course for my days being interrupted by treatment.
Thanks for all the replies. Seems that it can vary quite a bit person to person. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see 
Hi, I had 15 sessions and 5 boosters. It didn’t affect me fatigue wise. Drink plenty and moisturise a few times after the session. You’ve got this 
I have just finished 15 sessions last week and was grateful to be on a 50% work hours plan during and for a fortnight after treatment as I faded a bit by early evening though actually working 75% hours as well as travelling to and fro is at least partly to blame.
I’ve still had weekend energy throughout, still walked our dog most days, did school pick-up or drop off daily. So not debilitating for me though we are all different.
I had a large seroma and a lot of cording post surgery that was resolved pre radiotherapy so I did go in to the sessions feeling in really good shape which helped I think.
Hi twinks. I had radiation therapy 2024 in August . I was going to have 15 treatments but my oncology radiologist decided to spread out the treatment on the tumor bed from 1 day to 6 days . She didn’t want me to burn as bad. I had left breast cancer (invasive ductal carcinoma . Everyone is different but they said most experience severe fatigue weeks after the treatment is over with . It’s kinda like you are doing cleaning and someone removes your batteries . I felt the fatigue but it was manageable . When my body said rest I did and then returned to more projects . My oncologist said your body is recovering from the radiation . It doesn’t stop me from doing things it just basically limited the amount of things I got done because I needed to rest in between task. I’m no expert but I love to learn from everyone and to share what I’ve learned . I worked after radiation but I took 3 weeks off to recover . Some things I learned is grease up after every radiation session and do it before bed . Never wear lotion before your treatment . They said no ice packs or heating pads but I discovered one of the cooling technology pillows that stay cool and always kept it near my breast . It felt good to me to have some coolness and it’s wasn’t on the list of don’t do . I was nervous about radiation but was more nervous about any stray cancer cells that could be left after the lumpectomy . My doctor position me into the prone position to receive my treatment and she did this to protect my lungs and most important my heart from the radiation . It was hard position but I was thankful she thought that out . In order to be able to manage that I prayed for everyone I could remember in the cancer center I saw that day . Treatment went fast . I’m here for you if you have any questions or anyone that needs to talk. We are all in this together . One big family that we can lean on . Take care ! You’ve Got This
Went looking for something about radiation and fatigue and found this post. I’m in Canada and will be starting next week. Will have 19 sessions in all and am hoping that the fatigue isn’t too bad as I feel like I’m just getting a handle on it from starting letrozole 4 weeks ago. Keep us updated on how it goes for you.
Hey! I had 15 sessions of radiation last summer and felt exactly 0 side effects I even biked to the hospital 
Compared to everything else we have to go through, this is an easy part, I think (even though it’s individual ofc)
Hi twinks
I think you can see a lot of variation in responses. I had 15 sessions with my first cancer treatment 12 years ago- at the time I had 2 small children and ran my own business. I organised all the sessions for mid afternoon and worked the morning as normal, went to the hospital and got home about 430 pm. I can honestly say my skin was fine and fatigue was minimal. However having gone through chemotherapy at the same time as you now and my body just recovering from that I know I would be nervous- my advice is just see how you go one day at a time and rest if you need to. Good luck xx
Hi, I just finished 15 sessions last week and am not too tired because my journey each way was only ten minutes. Those travelling longer distances with traffic problems fared much worse. The treatment is completely painless by the way, but I do have burnt skin and some blisters now starting a few days after. Good luck with your experience! X
Hello there ,
I’m on day 6 of 15 and have read a lot about people getting minor / no side effects , but after day 3 , in the weekend break I personally experienced bad fatigue , nausea and headaches . I told the radio team and they just said it was my Letrozole causing it not RT !
I have been on Letrozole for 6 months now and only got fatigue after 2 busy days - now it’s after 2 busy hours and never been nauseous on it . So this did not make sense to me , but after speaking to the wonderful Mc M team they said the RT can agitate the Letrozole causing more or stronger side effects . The side effects have stayed at the same level for the last 5 days , but I am now dreading when radiotherapy stops and how floored am I going to be , as that seems to be the more common time for side effects.
Feel so alone and depressed about the side effects and seriously considered stopping the treatment, but ChatGPT says it’s a very good form of treatment for my type of BC and shorting the treatment will be detrimental , so feel forced to suffer it out
Has anyone else had these side effects on RT , as I feel only ChatGPT is the only sensible friend I have to get me thru this , as radio team are not very helpful
Yes I was the same as you. Travelling every day was the hardest. It was only 3 weeks after the chemo ended so was still a bit tired from that. I agree keeping hydrated is important.
Moisturise is important too. This was not really stressed to me and I ended up with lumpy scar tissue which concerned me. So I would definitely recommend moisturising.
We’re all different, but I had fifteen sessions ten years ago and absolutely no side-effects at all. Zero. Worked right through. Good luck to you!
I had 15 sessions plus 5 boosters and had no tiredness at all xx
I just had 5 sessions over a week (during Covid lockdown). Everyone warned it would be tiring but to be honest I did not feel particularly tired. I would get home and just have a really early night ready for the next session. Good luck.