Pain is often produced by tumors pressing on nerves, and radiation may help relieve the pain by shrinking these tumors. As is true in other types of cancer, the radiation dosage has to be kept low in some locations because of the limited tolerance of normal tissues.
Side effects of radiotherapy may include tiredness and skin changes, but with modern techniques major complications are infrequent (See Radiation Therapy and Treatment Side Effects ).
Chemotherapy Chemotherapy may be used either as an adjuvant therapy for high-risk patients
following surgery or to treat metastases.
• Adjuvant Therapy Adjuvant or prophylactic chemotherapy and/or hormonal therapy is now given to many
patients after surgery to try to prevent or minimize the growth of microscopic deposits of tumor cells that
might grow into a recurrent tumor. Some patients with no obvious metastases at the time of surgery but who
are at high risk for such micrometastases may be rendered disease-free. Premenopausal patients at high risk for
residual microscopic metastases are usually given chemotherapy. Common drug combinations include
