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Radiation after mastectomy
Maria Gifford
Saturday, March 01, 2008 at 09:27 PM -
Radiation after Mastectomy
Phyllis Johnson
Sunday, March 02, 2008 at 09:30 AMDear Andrea,
Radiation is common anytime the doctors are concerned about the possibility of cancer cells remaining in the chest and axillary (armpit) area. So a large tumor or an absence of clean margins, which is your situation, is an indication that radiation might be a good idea. I had radiation after mastectomy and chemo because I had inflammatory breast cancer, but I've had other friends with large tumors who also had radiation after surgery.
It sounds like your surgeon is the doctor suggesting radiation at this point. Talking to the radiation oncologist is probably your next step. Ask a lot of questions about why radiation might be a good idea for you. In my case, the question was how much radiation I should get and what areas should be radiated. My radiation oncologist referred me to some studies that helped me decide to go with a more aggressive radiation treatment. Now ten years later, I'm pleased with my decision because I've had no spread or recurrence.
I found radiation easier to cope with than chemo or surgery. It does require the time commitment of showing up every day, usually for about six weeks. You will probably feel increasing fatigue as the treatments continue, and you may have some skin burning like a sunburn. I was able to work all through radiation, stopping off to get my "rays" on the way home each day.
Ask many questions, but radiation might be just the insurance you need to feel confident that you've done everything possible to keep the cancer from returning.
Phyllis Johnson
replyre: Radiation after Mastectomy
Andrea
Sunday, March 02, 2008 at 04:57 PMDear Phylllis,
Thanks for your helpful comments. I've actually met with the radiation oncologist once - I've now almost finished chemo and the next appointment will be to prepare for the treatments. I'm still in denial about it, a bit - the risks (heart and/or lung damage) really scare me, and it's difficult to weigh such things against the risk of recurrence. (I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to chemo too!)
All the best,
Andrea
replyre: re: Radiation after Mastectomy
Phyllis Johnson
Monday, March 03, 2008 at 04:50 AMThere are real risks to radiation. Even ten years ago, however, my doctor told me that improvements in equipment were helping to control "collateral" damage to surrounding organs. In fact, she had me get my radiation at the hospital with a more sophisticated machine than she had in her office, so she could control the accuracy of the radiation better. Ask your doctor about how common those side effect risks are and how they compare to the survival rate improvement for women with your kind of tumor who get radiation. My doc could give me both of those numbers, and it was clear that statistically the risk was worth it. There will never be a way for me to know if I would have stayed NED (no evidence of disease) without radiation, but I know I would have been sick at heart if I had not done radiation or had chosen the less aggressive form and had later had a recurrence.
It sounds like you know what you need to do, but that you want to make sure. That's a good approach. Asking questions can never hurt.
Phyllis
reply
Hi Andrea,
Welcome to our community. Thanks for writing.
While you're waiting to hear from other members who might be "in the same boat," see these articles that mention radiation after mastectomy:
Radiation
http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/chemo-000006_9-145.html
Radiation 101: Your Guide to Radiation
http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/coping-with-treatment-1497-5.html
Let me know if you need more information. Keep us posted on how things are going for you.
Best,
Maria
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