Breast cancer.. lymph nodes removed and mascestomy 4 cycles of Ec followed by 4 cycles Paclitaxel.
Oncologist advised radiotherapy 4 weeks after last chemo to allow body to recover.Have had radiotherapy planning scan today and dates given for radiotherapy to start 6 days after final chemotherapy treatment. I’ve asked them to check this as wasn’t what oncologist discussed with me. But is this normal and did the oncologist give me incorrect information or why would this change?
Hi Miss L,
Thanks for reaching out to us. My name is Amy and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.
We hope you're tolerating chemotherapy ok and recovered well from your mastectomy. It’s a lot to go through, so appreciate your concerns in radiotherapy starting sooner than what was discussed.
I’m glad you have been in touch to get this clarified; this is exactly what I would recommend you do.
It may well just be a booking error. But sometimes there can be long waiting lists for radiotherapy. If this is the case your clinical team will need to make a judgement on whether starting treatment sooner than planned or waiting and starting later than planned is best for individual situation. They will consider how you have recovered from surgery and chemotherapy so far and how side effects have affected you, as well as things like the type, stage, and grade of your cancer.
We often find we can help more by exploring these questions over the phone. If this is something you think would help, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch via our support line on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.
I hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Amy C, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
Ref: AC/DW
