Preventative Radiotherapy

Hi Seray and a very warm welcome to the online community

It's always difficult when we are offered a choice of whether to have treatment or not so it can be a good idea to read about decisions others have made. Ultimately, the decision can only be yours but remember, there is no right or wrong decision, just the one that was right for you at the time you made it.

I don't have any experience with radiotherapy to share with you but I noticed that your post hadn't had any replies yet. This is possibly because this is a very active group and sometimes posts can slip off the first page before someone with the same experience has seen them. Replying to you will 'bump' your post back to the top of the first page.

It would be great if you could pop something about your journey so far into your profile as it really helps others when answering or looking for someone with a similar diagnosis. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.

Wishing you all the best with whatever decision you make

x

If any chance radiotherapy will help prevent recurrence I would definitely take it. It’s a few weeks of getting zapped for a few minutes. Nothing like having chemo. I wasn’t given it after last cancer as had mastectomy but doctor seen after it reoccurred in lymph nodes says I should have

Kaye,

thank you so much for your response, it means a lot !

Even though I was praying someone to advice me not to have radiotherapy before the second opinion, I thought exactly the same as you and decided to have it. But the way the second opinion worded it  was, the risks of radiotherapy outweighs the benefits. That’s what confuses me. Now it’s been two weeks after my second surgery and still couldn’t make a decision.

X

I was diagnosed with high grade DCIS June 2015. I had lumpectomy followed by 15 sessions of radiotherapy.  I understand that if I have a recurrence in same breast I cannot have radiotherapy there again.  If I'd had mastectomy radiotherapy wouldn't have been offered .  I wasn't give. A choice if not having radiotherapy even though I think they said it only reduced recurrence by something like 10%.

You need to ask pros & cons if RT.  Maybe a chat with your BCN might be useful or you can ask to speak to radiographer..  

Ohh it’s so difficult re pros and cons. Really need to trust oncologist they are experts. First cancer 17 years ago I had lumpectomy chemo and radio and tomoxifen and it didn’t re occur. Then 4 years ago had second cancer and had surgery and chemo but no radio as had mastectomy. This time 4 years on I got secondary cancer in lymph nodes had surgery and having chemo but no radio as oncologist more concerned that is doesn’t spread elsewhere and says radio not really gonna help prevent spread. 

Thank you so much Carol,

So glad you don’t have any reoccurrence in 5 years. 

I already had second opinion, which didn’t agree with RT. On Thursday I have a follow up appointment and will discuss with my surgeon. And trying to get another appointment from Mount Vernon. Obviously will consult with my radiotherapist again and will make a decision. 

Hopefully, whichever road I take, it will be the best decision for me. 

xx

Being an indecisive person, I find making decisions is the hardest so far. but at the same time feeling lucky the decisions weren’t so big that they didn’t mind leavening them to me. 

in my case they didn’t find anything invasive with any of my biopsies. That’s why there’s no right or wrong of me having the RT at the moment. But obviously I’m scared to make the wrong decision and regret about it in the future. 

Seray x