Assessment and care of radiotherapy skin reactions.

The use of radiation for radiotherapy purposes with cancer patients, and above all radiation using beams, causes some form of skin reaction in all patients. These reactions occur either immediately, -subsequent to or during radiotherapy- thus constituting the acute form thereof, or later on, in which case they are described as chronic. Since the majority of cancer patients will be submitted to radiotherapy at some point in the course of their treatment, it is indisputable that a timely diagnosis, together with the assessment and implementation of preventive and therapeutic measeurs in order to deal with complications resulting from radiotherapy, are of vital importance, while at the same time the effect od these measures on patients' quality of life must be considered. The present review discusses actinic skin reactions resulting from exterior radiation, the effort to assess them as well as the chief possibilities for treatment in terms of medical care and nursing.

Keywords: Nursing care, assessment, radiodermatitis, dermatological reactions, radiotherapy