A descriptive study using clinical methodology was conducted to identify and describe core and site‐specific symptoms reported by 15 patients with cancer of the digestive organs who received external radiation therapy. A 47‐item Radiation Symptom Scale was designed by the investigators for this study. Symptoms identified by patients with a mean occurrence of at least “sometimes” were considered potential defining characteristics and were submitted to a panel of experts for identification of nursing diagnoses. Seventeen nursing diagnoses, with their associated defining characteristics, were identified and classified within eight Functional Health Patterns (FHP). Half of the nursing diagnoses were formulated within the Nutritional‐Metabolic and Elimination patterns. Four of the FHPs were related to primarily functional patterns; four were primarily psychological‐behavioral. Results of the study describe the nursing needs of patients who receive radiotherapy to the diges