Radiotherapy and affect on lungs

When discussing my radiotherapy my radiologist mentioned that some people report a dry cough in the days/weeks during and following radiotherapy. She said this was because although the beams are highly targetted they can "graze" the top of the lung on the treated side, which causes irritation.

I don't know what impact this could have if you have asthma - do ring the Macmillan helpline or your breast care nurse. They will have more info.

Hi

It is true that radiation can damage lungs but in breast cancer treatment this is a rare occurrence.

The radiotherapy plan would be designed for you so as to shield out as much of the lung as possible .

Does you asthma allow you to lie flat?

The treatment takes place with the patient lying on a board which is angled slightly to get your chest wall flat and if you couldn’t do this the treatment may be a technical challenge but then radiographers like a challenge!

In my opinion surgeons do surgery and don’t know too much about radiotherapy except for the basics so I would wait until you get your surgical results. You may be lucky and not need RT and if you do have it the best person to discuss the risks , benefits and practicalities with would be your oncologist.

All the best

Hi Extraygirl. Thank you so much for your message. I can lie flat on my back but it’s not always easy if I have to do so for prolonged periods of time, after a while my lungs start to object and I feel that I need to sit up. Do you have any idea of how long a patient might need to lie flat and would it be possible for the treatment (if required) to be done in parts allowing me to sit up for a few minutes before having to flat again? Thank you for the advice, I am concerned because I feel that I have had conflicting information from the surgeon. However, I take on board your comments about surgeons doing surgery and not having being expert about RT. I must be a little more patient! Thanks again. Ros. 

Thank you Radge, that’s really helpful information and I will ring the Macmillan helpline for more information. I also have a telephone consultation booked with my BCN so she may be able to assist. Ros.

Hi Ros

It would be for about 15 mins in total

The beam is only active for a couple of minutes and the rest of the time is positioning you which is done very precisely. To be honest it’s not ideal to keep sitting up as it will prolong the treatment as the positioning takes the most time and then you would be back to square one.

Maybe you could practice at home to see how long you can comfortably lie down for so at least you would be able to tell your oncologist what is possible for you should you go down that route.Information is power!

Best wishes

Do you not have a MDT Team which includes an Oncologist plus the Surgeon, so you get an opinion from the Oncologist as well ? The team members meet up to discuss the best options for you. I think mine had everyone but a Physiotherapist (which I did need really to do the radiotherapy effectively and without pain)  Maybe you could ask your BCN to ask that question. I was given an appt with my Oncologist, who was an absolutely lovely man. I was also told all about the possible risks you mention from the Radiologist in a telephone consultation before I was booked in for it. She talked about it in some detail. Difficult for you to make this decision. I found choosing the right options difficult, anyway, in order to get the best result - get rid of cancer, not have too many difficulties doing the actual treatment, and cosmetically a liveable with result afterwards. I had a lot of help from the Breast Cancer Nurses pre surgery. I also practised the breathing for radiotherapy beforehand, so felt as prepared as I could be whilst also waiting for some Physiotherapy which unfortunately there was a delay with.

Thanks Exraygirl, that’s a brilliant idea, I think 15 minutes would be ok (unless I am breathless/wheezing), I will practice at home. I really appreciate you help and support, thank you so much. Ros. 

You’re welcome Ros

Hope everything goes well for you

Keep us posted x

Thanks Venicelagoon for your message. I think the decision has to mastectomy, simply because the risks of WLE are too high. We all have a different approach to how we make our decisions, but of course the main factor is getting rid of the cancer. I think the surgeon was being very kind in discussing the options with me, trying to treat me as a whole person and not simply dictating what should happen. I can see that it is so much better if someone is given the information and then allowed to come to their own decision rather than having it foisted on them. When I asked him what he would recommend he said mastectomy. He is obviously the expert and it would be extremely unwise of me, I think, to not take his recommendation. Apologies, waffling on rather, it’s been a difficult day and it’s late. I have a consultation with the BCN on Monday, so can talk things through with her. Thanks again. Xx

Hi Exraygirl I wonder if you could give an opinion on my nipple. I had trouble with it in radiotherapy as it really didn't like the treatment. The surgeon had to take this nipple off and sew back on. Radiotherapy was Sep/Oct. I now find, belatedly that it hurts and the skin is coming off and new skin trying to regrow I think. Looks a bit of a mess. Should I just continue gently bathing it with aqueous cream to cleanse and moisturising with Aveeno, or go back to Clinic to ask for something stronger ?