Early Breast Cancer - Radiation Treatment

[jawsbar75]

I'm about to embark on a 4 week radiation therapy after my lumpectomy. I'm not looking forward to it. I have a weak heart and ultra sensitive skin. The more I read about its long term side effects, the more hesitant I become. Any advice for me? Has anyone skipped radiation treatment?

[suryakaizen]

Hi jawsbar75 , my daughter underwent radiation therapy for 4 weeks after her lumpectomy, just like you are about to undergo. Radiation sessions are short - in fact the prep for a session takes longer than the actual radiation time which is about 5 minutes. Do check with your doctor or the radiotherapist on what ointment/cream you could use pre- and post a radiation session, because the skin burn is considerable, though only on the outer skin. You start feeling it only midway through the 4 weeks. The good news is that the burn sensations and the marks start fading within a month or two after you complete radiation. You want to apply the ointment to soothe your skin. Also, be prepared for feelings of enormous tiredness after each radiation session. And do take the rest you require to feel energized each day. Wishing you good health and full recovery, my dear.

[jawsbar75 in reply to suryakaizen]

This is so helpful. Thank you!

[smithtennyson]

Having radiotherapy treatment was not a problem at all for me. I had 5 sessions in the same week, as I had to travel 40 miles each day or stop in the town it was being done on. The prep did take about 4 minutes and the actual radiation treatment approx 1minute or 1 min 30 seconds, and only on the last day did it feel 'warm', never hot or burning. I stopped in the town in the end and my husband and I treated it like a holiday. I walked miles, we ate out every night and never once could I say I really struggled with tiredness. I used H2K cucumber lotion, which was cooling on my breast, it was designed by a family of breast cancer sufferers and help me considerably, the cucumber cooling it down. The few creams the hospital suggested were awful and never helped at all, they were Aveeno, E45, and another one. Although a couple of people I know, me included do have a lump in our breast a year after of dead tissue ! (I'm 70 next year, and not in particularly great health)

[jawsbar75 in reply to smithtennyson]

So helpful. Thank you!!!

[Kji378]

Hi 👋 I am yet to have my lumpectomy- but was told that only 5 days radiotherapy is now standard for breast surgery. Allegedly this was found during Covid & Lockdown. Don't quote me, but it's worth asking?

It might be different in different circumstances or areas of UK.

I hope whichever you have, you have success & that it isn't as bad as we read.

Good luck & best wishes x

[jawsbar75 in reply to Kji378]

Yes!! I asked for the UK Fast Forward 5 day treatment using hypofractionated radiation. The radiologist was hesitant but in the end, agreed to do the 5 week treatment. I start next week!! Thank you.

[Lisa-1959]

In 2021, I had 33 radiation treatments following my lumpectohmy (I was 61). There was only a tiny tiny margin between cancerous tissue and healthy tissue, so I am not sure if I received more treatments because of that or if that was the normal recommended number. Overall, I did very well with the treatments, and I really didn't have any skin issues (some redness & sensitivity) until later in the regimen, and the thing that helped me the most was 100% aloe vera gel. I also used Cetaphil lotion.

I am 3 years out, and my skin looks great. Matter a fact, my surgeon says if he didn't know which breast had been radiated, he wouldn't know it by looking at my skin. I still have a little tenderness in my breast in the area of the lumpectomy, but thankfully, it seldom bothers me.

[jawsbar75 in reply to Lisa-1959]

So good!! Hope the same for me.

[Lisa-1959 in reply to jawsbar75]

Forgot to mention that I didn't have any fatigue at all. It was during Covid, so I wasn't running around doing things, but I never noticed any changes in my energy level.

[jawsbar75 in reply to Lisa-1959]

That’s so good to hear. I’ve been told I will be tired after the radiation.

[Lisa-1959 in reply to jawsbar75]

I know everyone is different, but I hope any fatigue you might have is minimal.

[Mabrock]

good luck and I do not recommend skipping treatment if it’s the doctor’s recommendation. I had three lumpectomies, 12 rounds of a weekly chemo cocktail and 30 sessions of radiation over six weeks. I am a fair skinned person who burns easily and I had very little burning or reddening of the skin - just a bit the last couple of sessions. The radiation center will give you lots of advice. Accept that you’ll have some fatigue, but mine was short lived. I drove an hour to and from treatment and went to each session alone.

Best of luck to you. Radiation isn’t easy, but it’s not awful.

[jawsbar75 in reply to Mabrock]

Thank you so much!! Feeling better about it.

[Redwrap in reply to Mabrock]

Hi I wanted to say thank you so much for posting I will be having radiation treatment soon and you have really made me feel more at ease about it God bless you

[jawsbar75 in reply to Redwrap]

Aww Sending you ♥️♥️♥️♥️

[Redwrap in reply to jawsbar75]

Thank you

[RLN-overcomer]

Happy Valentines Day to you, our sisters/Warriors/Thrivers, and our loved ones😇. I used Aquaphor ointment, and natural Aloe Vera Gel leaf together, and it worked wonderfully.🙏😇. I hope/pray all will be well with your radiation treatments Amen😇🙏

[jawsbar75 in reply to RLN-overcomer]

Perfect!! I bought them both!! Thank you!! I start next week.

[RLN-overcomer in reply to jawsbar75]

You can cut the Aloe leaf up, and freeze it so that it will last much longer. You can even use mini ice cube trays, and then freezer zip lock bags to store in the freezer.😇

[Jg1960]

Hi jawsbar75,

I had a bilateral mastectomy in 2020 with an axillary lymph node dissection. I opted not to have radiation because it was only precautionary and there was not skin or chest wall involvement, meaning the margins were clear. I also didn't want to chance any heart issues or possible secondary cancer from the radiation. I had chemo and was on antiestrogen therapy.

I had a pet scan in the fall as screening to participate in a drug trial and found a regional recurrence in an axillary lymph node (I was told they all were removed) and a sub pectoral lymph node. I am now in treatment again and will have surgery to remove the lymph nodes. Radiation has been recommended and I am considering it this time. I am lucky because I did not have it previously and it would not have been an option this time if I had. I'm told they do not radiate the same area twice.

My hesitation was because they would just be radiating my chest wall as a precaution. If I had had a lumpectomy and still had breast tissue to radiate I would have done it. It makes sense to me to do it if there is still tissue that could possibly still contain cancer cells. I have had several friends that have had lumpectomies and done radiation with out issue.

I do take some responsibility for the possibility recurrence happened because I refused radiation, but there is no guarantee it still wouldn't have come back if I had radiation.

The recurrence could also be because not all lymph nodes were removed as I had been told. I had 7 removed, 5 had cancer. On average folks have between 14 to 30 nodes removed. I had other issues from the surgery that leads me to believe the surgeon rushed through my surgery and did not do as careful and through a job as possible. I understand that it is possible to miss a lymph node, but when you remove less than half the average amount I would think a closer look would be warranted.

My advise to you is to have the radiation because you will still have breast tissue and that should help protect your heart. Be sure your radiation team is aware of your current heart issues so they can take precautions. I'm told that over time the skin issues cause do resolve.

Wishing you all the best.

[jawsbar75 in reply to Jg1960]

Thank you so much for sharing!! ♥️♥️♥️

[AVOCADOtastes]

Hello Everyone! I had a lumpectomy in November 23 on the left breast. I was and very concerned because I had a torn aorta in June 23. STANDARD Radiation over the HEART must be of paramount concern. I am a candidate for proton therapy. It can be more controlled than the standard treatment. We SHALL GET THROUGH THIS. Check it out when you can… proton-therapy.org/findacen...

[jawsbar75 in reply to AVOCADOtastes]

Thank you!!! Good luck!! I just started my radiation treatment on Tuesday. I decided to do the Fast Forward treatment (26 GY in 6 sessions vs 50 GY in 20 sessions). So far so good.

[car30 in reply to jawsbar75]

I have had radiation on both breast now. 2015 in my left breast 30 radiation treatments… 2023 August the right breast. 15 radiation treatment… left side I used a cream called my girls I got online. No problem at all. This time I used aquphor and a heavy Vaseline type healing cream. I now have a very dark place under my breast that wants to peel but won’t. I have medium skin tone and tan very easily. Don’t know what caused it but I just ordered the my girls again. Also I took the cancer pill and changed about 4 times before my 5 years. This time I said no right away. Oh well we shall see. Best wishes for you in the future.

[KindArtist]

Thank you to everyone who participated in this post. Very good information that we can use! My radiation will be coming up soon. Since this journey seems so unique for everyone, I’ll share details as it appears they have a big bearing on my group of doctors’ recommended plan (surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist - team approach!) for my particular case. Sharing in hopes it helps others close to my situation.

I, too, am scared about the long term side effects of radiation, and that it will be on my heart side. I’m on day 22 after my lumpectomy of a 2.8cm (1.1”) invasive carcinoma with 1 cm of it having broken through the duct wall. Two lymph nodes were taken. Still awaiting the pathology report - any day now. My team agreed before surgery that I most likely will not be a candidate for chemo (huge relief) due to the LOCATION of my tumor. It was far away from the lymph nodes, located about an inch above my nipple at 12 o’clock. They think also that I may be able to do just five days of radiation, focused on the tumor area, but wouldn’t really know until after surgery. The next level (other option) would be 3-4 weeks. My radiation oncologist says that new studies have shown that 3-4 weeks of radiation are just as effective as 5-6 weeks.

So let’s talk pre-op procedures for a bit to lend information. I assume that everyone who got a lumpectomy also had the surgical marker procedure like I did. No picnic, but about the same level of discomfort as the biopsy clip procedure - tolerable. But who else experienced the two needles in the areola in order to inject some kind of dye to drain to the lymph nodes?!!! This was the most painful part of my personal journey (#1 pain in my life, and I’ve had a vaginal biopsy); from their notes, both went in at 2 o’clock next to the nipple. She had warned me that the “pressure”that I would feel would hurt more than the actual needle going in itself…but this minimized description wasn’t enough preparation for the experience. The first one is “shallow” - it def hurt enough to get wide eyes & make a closed mouth audible groan - a good 5 second burning “bee sting”. The second one is “deep”, and she told me I’d feel more “pressure” on this one. I’m a pretty tough gal, but this one’s “pressure” (much too mild of a word to describe) lasted an intensifying 10-15 seconds of agony; as much as I tried to hold it back, it led to an audible open mouth toned down version of a scream. Question: why don’t they don’t give a local before it??? I highly recommend asking for one if it’s an option. The procedure was rather barbaric without one, or anything for pain. Maybe because it happens just an hour before surgery? I’m still experiencing pain in my nipple area and am hoping that it’s just from aftereffects of surgery (pressure from the swollen hematoma above the site) that will go away soon, and not longer-lived nerve damage from those two needles. The purpose is to locate how many and which lymph nodes your own milk ducts drain to (that may carry cancer cells with it); my understanding is that each woman’s anatomy in this area is different. The plan for me before surgery was to take one node, not two, so I was somewhat alarmed when more were taken, but the dye showed up in two, so it’s just a precaution. This wasn’t clear to me before surgery, so thought I’d share. Thank you again sisters for sharing your experience and knowledge- it has been so helpful.

[jawsbar75 in reply to KindArtist]

OMG. I remember that “deep paper cut” like sting when they placed the radioactive tracer in my tumor. Ouch!!! I am doing a Fast Forward 6 session radiation.

thelancet.com/journals/lanc...