The Wound Care Center Raises Awareness and Provides Hope For Radiation Injuries

Cancer recovery rates are increasing, thanks to early detection and advancements in treatments. Yet after surviving cancer, many patients who received radiation therapy have underlying complications that may not cause symptoms for up to 20 years after their treatment.

Of the 1.6 million people diagnosed with cancer each year, about half will undergo radiation therapy.

Radiation kills cancer cells but can also damage surrounding tissues. Visible symptoms of soft tissue injuries may not occur until years later. One study showed an average time of eight years and seven months post-treatment before radiation patients experienced these complications.

The experts at The Wound Care Center at Havasu Regional Medical Center are raising awareness of soft tissue injuries and share these facts about radiation-related soft tissue injuries include:

• Soft tissue radiation injuries most often arise after tooth extraction in patients with prior radiation therapy. The second most common group of patients are those who have received radiation to treat gynecological, prostate and colon cancer.

• Areas especially prone to tissue injury are those covering bony prominences, surgical areas and those on the face. Moist skin folds such as those under the breast, the armpit and around the anus and genitals are also vulnerable.

• Other signs of soft tissue injury can include blood in urine, rectal bleeding, vaginal discharge and pain.

• Radiation injuries may occur spontaneously or in response to a traumatic injury or infection.  The wounds may appear superficial, and the pain associated with these injuries is often the reason a patient seeks treatment.

There is hope for healing radiation injuries. The Would Care Center at Havasu Regional Medical Center provides advanced wound care treatments and comprehensive care for soft tissue injuries that can include hyperbaric oxygen therapy or HBOT.

HBOT speeds healing to wounds and soft tissue injuries by increasing the amount of oxygen carried in the blood. While receiving HBOT treatments, patients lay down in a large, clear tube surrounded by 100 percent oxygen at higher-than-normal atmospheric pressure. 

For more information about radiation injury and treating and preventing chronic wounds, contact The Wound Care Center at Havasu Regional Medical Center located at 1851 Mesquite Ave, Suite 102, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403 or call 928-854-1250.