throat pain/irritation

My friend has just finished chemo/rad treatment.  She started chemo in Jan 2007 then it was followed by 34 rad treatments which ended the middle of Dec 2007.  Her  rad oncologists didn't tell her about any side effects or problems she may have from the radiation.  Does anyone have throat issues after radiation?  She alos has a acid reflux problem now and I thought maybe that is from radiation and that might be causing her throat irritation.  Any info would be helpful...thank you all!

[Dennis MD]

Hi.
What kind of radiation therapy was given to your friend.?  Was it using  conventional radiation therapy or using the linear accelerator?
Conventional radiation therapy has more scattered radiation delivered compared to linear accelerator.  Doses are delivered to the treatment field.  However, normal tissues are also affected by radiation.  Aside from the usual discoloration of the skin over the treatment field, patients do complain of throat pain, with dryness of the mouth secondary to decreased saliva formation.  There are also patients who develop mouth sores from this. Sometimes, swallowing is also affected, with complaint of difficulty in swallowing.  Unfortunately, it takes time for these symptoms to resolve.  For now, it would be best to increase intake of fluids, and to regularly consult her doctor and ask for pharmacologic agents to decrease her symptoms.
Good luck.