DCIS treatment

[Caradomben]

Hi I have been diagnosed with DCIS and have had a wide local incision. Now having 5 day treatment of radiotherapy and 3 days in.

my breast was red before treatment but is now becoming more red and warm. Has this been the experience of anyone else

[suryakaizen]

Hi Caradomben , as you are still undergoing radiation, it is likely to be red and warm as you said because of the heat from radiation. This will go down after the radiation course is done. Check with your doc and apply some cream like calamine lotion which can help to keep the area cool. This is the advice from my daughter who is a breast cancer survivor.

[Caradomben in reply to suryakaizen]

Thank you for your reply. Best wishes to your daughter . X

[Kazza1111 in reply to suryakaizen]

Hi I had the same earlier this year, you need to moisturise at least twice a day. I used Aveeno and it really helped. Good luck x

[Caradomben in reply to Kazza1111]

Thank you b for your reply . I now have been given a cream by radiologist to apply twice daily

[sassykitty in reply to suryakaizen]

God bless your daughter!

[sassykitty]

Sorry to hear about your reaction to radiation therapy. I was diagnosed with DC in Aug and seeing the surgeon today to find out what surgery I will have done next Tue. She has already told me to expect 4-6 weeks of radiation, five days a week. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

[Caradomben in reply to sassykitty]

Good luck with your surgery . I was lucky as my cancer was contained in the duct with no invasion. Had a wide local excision and all was removed . Only had 5 days radiation therapy which research has shown is suitable for patients with early cancer. The dose is higher each day than the dose given over a longer period off time . I hope all goes well for you x

[blessedX6 in reply to Caradomben]

Hi Carafomben,

I had the same radiation schedule as you are having. My nurse said to reduce heat I could lay on the bed with my chest exposed and have a fan blow on me. That really helped. I used Calendula cream. I liked to wear my husbands sleeveless t-shirts because they are soft and all Cotten. I drank lots of fluids too. I used fragrance free shower gel. Will you be having Estrogen blocker therapy?

[Caradomben in reply to blessedX6]

Thank you . I have the fan too . I use fragrance free shower gel too (Sanex ) as I have allergies .

I am not having Estrogen blocker as I am past the menopause .

Finished my treatment today so keeping fingers crossed all will be good now x

[KindArtist in reply to Caradomben]

Help - I am 66 and also past menopause; I even had my ovaries removed 21 years ago…but my radiation oncologist wants part of my plan to be hormone blocking pills for 5 years (I’m E+P+HR-). It appears that estrogen can be present in your body from other parts besides ovaries. I’m new to this journey, but you may want to check into it and ask.

[KindArtist in reply to KindArtist]

Auto correct made “Hello” into “Help” btw 😊

[RobertaG1961 in reply to Caradomben]

KindArtist is absolutely right.

Read more from the Cleveland Clinic at my.clevelandclinic.org/heal...

Aromatase inhibitors block the enzyme aromatase, which turns other hormones into estrogen. By reducing your estrogen levels, aromatase inhibitors keep cancerous cells from growing and spreading.

Providers typically use aromatase inhibitor therapy for people with breast cancer who’ve gone through menopause. (Women and people AFAB who haven’t gone through menopause typically don’t receive aromatase inhibitor therapy because their ovaries are still making estrogen.)

Aromatase inhibitors also keep ER-positive breast cancer from recurring, or coming back, after breast cancer surgery. If you have an increased risk of developing ER-positive breast cancer, taking an aromatase inhibitor may reduce your risk.

[RobertaG1961 in reply to sassykitty]

Where are you located? I suggest getting a second opinion from an NCI Cancer Center. You can find the locations here: cancer.gov/research/infrast...

Two things to consider: 1) prone radiation in which the patient lies on her stomach and the breast hangs down. This was developed to lessen the chances of hitting the heart and lungs and 2) partial breast vs whole breast radiation

Here's a quote from Weill Cornell - New York City

nyp.org/advances/article/ca....

“Dr. Formenti started these advances by asking, ‘What if we positioned the patient's body in a more intelligent way so that you can deliver the beams of radiation treatment to avoid the heart and lungs?’” says Dr. Ng. “Now we are widely recognized as one of the global leaders.”

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine also leads the way in partial breast radiotherapy — targeting the surgical cavity and the rim of breast tissue around the cavity — as an alternative to irradiating the entire breast. It’s now a widely accepted approach to treating favorable risk early breast cancers. In addition, the team and other radiation oncology teams around the world have made significant strides in shortening a course of breast radiotherapy from 25 treatments over five weeks to as few as five treatments over a week’s time."

Here is my recent experience with two patients: I just visited a radiation oncologist with a patient with DCIS. The oncologist is conducting a clinical trial of radiation for 2 or 3 weeks for patients with DCIS. Of course it depends on the size and grade may impact this decision.

Recently another patient with invasive breast cancer was told she needed 4 weeks of radiation. She went for a second opinion and they suggested 3 weeks. She returned to the first radiation oncologist who said, "three weeks is fine." Both of these institutions were NCI Certified Cancer Centers.

[DCCC_204]

Hi suryakaizen. I used a cream recommended to me by the radiation nurse who called to prep me. It’s called Glasal Base moisturizing cream. I get it at Costco. Good luck. Hope you feel better soon.

[Jack2019]

I was told to make a salt water solution and dip a cloth in it and lay it over the breast for awhile, I think 10 minutes, Do it a couple of times a day. It didn't sting me, I was pink and itchy but had no open sores,

[Moomin8]

Hi, I am 4 weeks post op from a WLE too. I'm also about to have a 5 day course of radiation. I was diagnosed with PLCIS. How did you find your 5 day course. Were you able to drive there and back? When, or did, you have any reaction as in tiredness? I'm trying to fit everything in around some pre-existing family plans, if I can.

[Dflur]

what is DCIS?