Radiotherapy

hi, is radiotherapy your next step of treatment or having chemo first?  I had lumpectomy  and full node clearence  wasnt until I had CT scan that I could breathe as it hadn't spread elsewhere now on 8 cycles of chemo, RT after chemo. I'm guessing you have already been advised no spread or not had that yet? 5 weeks does seem a long time to find out, I think i waited 2 and that seemed like 10 months.  main thing is you have had the op, it's out. radiotherapy may just a insurance policy to stop it coming back...x

So I haven't had the choice of a scan.. they said it's not a routine thing to do and basically if he's gone else where then they can't cure me anyway. Not a nice feeling. I think my next stop is radiotherapy as I had chemo for 6 rounds before my mastectomy. I have had the results from my mastectomy but nothing about a scan to see if it's stayed away from my other parts. I have an appointment next week to discuss the next plan but I am just scared that I've had no treatment for 5 weeks now x

Sorry, but a question, did you have an CT/MRI before chemo started? If you did, and that showed it hadn’t spread, it would not have spread to other parts of your body while you were having chemo and the surgery has removed any scar tissue or remaining cancer cells, hence there being no need for another scan. The person who said there was no need because they couldn’t cure you anyhow, who was that???? It’s a nonsense thing to say, if it’s gone elsewhere then they’d need to tailor your treatment accordingly and I’d certainly complain about that individual in any eventuality. But as I say, a lot depends on if you had these scans initially xx

Hi thanks for replying to me. Yes I did have a ct scan and also a full MRI scan which didn't show any signs of spreading at that time, but they do it might not of shown early signs etc which is why I am concerned, my chemo didn't really have a great response to my cancer it didn't grow and shrunk a little but the surgeon said it wasn't what they had hoped and it's 50 50 as to whether it could have gone else where or be somewhere sneakily. This hasn't given me much positive thinking as you can imagine. It was the surgeon who said that, he said that if it's secondary they won't scan until you have the symptoms and then it's just treating you the best they can rather than obviously curing you. Just feel so down in the dumps about it all x

Wow I’m not surprised, that’s a terrible thing to say to you. Ok. So I would now demand an MRI and actually cite the fact the surgeon has said this to you and that now your mental health has been severely impacted by their comment. If it helps, I had an additional MRI after I finished chemo as my oncologist said, whilst it wasn’t necessary, cancer very rarely spreads while on active chemo, he wanted belt and braces and for the surgical team to see the current state of play, so they can scan again if they want to. I’m in Buckinghamshire. I feel very angry for you that someone supposedly on your side has made things so much more stressful for you. Sometimes the things I read on here make my blood boil!! X

I know as my cancer seems to reject treatment and be aggressive and awkward and they make that very known I am just an anxious wreck. I will speak with the oncologist when I see her next Tuesday regards to the MRI. The only thing is even though I want it I also don't because I have it in my mind that it's going to be the worst. It's a scary ride isn't it. Thank you so much for your words and I hope that you are doing well after treatment etc xx

Thank you, I’m around the same stage as you probably, finished chemo in November and had mastectomy with diep reconstruction in January. I’m doing ok although I’m still really struggling with fatigue and myalgia, really hoping both start to improve soon as I’m heading back to work in April x