THERE is now data to back up what doctors have long suspected - that older, heavier breast-cancer patients experience more severe side effects to their skin from radiation treatment.

But the study also found that most skin reactions are mild, a finding that may persuade more women to undergo such treatment.

A preliminary study led by radiotherapy specialist Keith Lim showed that in Singapore, race does not determine how a patient will respond to radiotherapy, but age and weight do.

Read Liaw Wy-cin's full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.