A common form of cancer treatment is radiation therapy which kills cancer cells with external beams of intense energy. The beams come from a machine and aims at a precise point on your body. Radiation therapy destroys the genetic material in the cancer cells preventing them from growing and multiplying. Normal cells may be affected as well.
Radiation therapy may be used :
- as the only treatment for cancer (primary)
- before surgery, to shrink a cancerous tumor (neoadjuvant therapy)
- after surgery, to stop the growth of any remaining cancer cells (adjuvant therapy)
- in combination with other cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, to destroy cancer cells
- radiation might be placed inside your body, called brachytherapy.
Skin reactions during radiation can be very painful and can persist for the duration of the therapy. Reactions may occur up to 2 weeks after the therapy has ended. Skin reactions may require 2 to 4 weeks to heal.
You can mitigate skin reactions during radiation by using mepitel film1. Manual lymph drainage may also be beneficial to decrease inflammation and soothe the skin.
Mepitel film – is a thin breathable protective film dressing applied to the skin for the duration of treatments. It protects the skin from irritations from clothing. It is slightly cooling on the skin, and has been proven to be highly effective at preventing skin reactions. The film should be replaced every 7 days. Some patients will remove it on the weekend and do saline skin soaks or other treatment procedures recommended by the BC Cancer Agency2 and start with a new mepitel dressing on a Monday. Mepitel can be used in the 2 to 4 weeks following the termination of radiation therapy. Mepitel film can be purchased from our clinic and at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, BC, Rosemary Hill is a nurse who will apply film on you for your radiation treatments.
Manual lymph drainage – is a gentle massage treatment and will not cause pain even though the therapist works directly over the skin. It may also be performed over mepitel film as the skin is gently stretched, and not rubbed. Oil is also not used. A lymph drainage massage may help reduce inflammation and may provide soothing comfort to the skin. Most patients will schedule their treatments on a Friday or on the weekend at the end of a weekly session of radiation but any day can be arranged. It can be done as many days as you like or once per week. The main thing to keep in mind is to not to over schedule with appointments as any added stress will take away from the benefits of the lymph drainage therapy.
Denise Drisdelle is a registered massage therapist and co-founder of FLOW Lymphatic Health Services.
Sources:
1https://www.molnlycke.ca/products-solutions/mepitel-film/.
Yee, C., Lam, E., Gallant, F., Karam, I., Czarnota, G., Soliman, H., Wong, G., Drost, L., Vesprini, D., Rakovitch, E., Wronski, M., Leung, E., Szumacher, E., Carothers, K., Pon, K., Gonzales, G., Easton, L., Lewis, D., Zhang, L., & Chow, E. (2021). A Feasibility Study of Mepitel Film for the Prevention of Breast Radiation Dermatitis in a Canadian Center. Practical radiation oncology, 11(1), e36–e45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.