why nobody will respond? Help please?

christald21

HI,

   I was just informed that i will have to have radiation.  I just got done Having surgery, double masectomy with reconstruction.  Now my surgeon told me i will have to have radiation, because my lymphnode came out positive.  Is this pretty normal.  And i have expanders in, can it still be possible to have radiation ?  Help please,  any good advice would be appreciated.  Thank you

disneyfan2008

I had radiation , after

I had radiation , after lumpectomy-no expanders

andi44

christald21

From what I understand, I believe most women fair pretty well with having radiation with tissue expanders.

For me, not so much...the radiation caused the tissue and skin to encapsulate around the tissue expander...Having another surgery to remove the scar tissue and put in a new expander, the thin skin started breaking down after the PS started doing the fills - I could actually see the tissue expander thru the open, gaping wounds. I fired my PS and went to another facility. Ultimately, I had to have a skin graft and a latissimus flap procedure - not fun... 

My advice is to talk to your surgeons (maybe get 2nd opinions) and don't solely rely on the radiation oncologist to know what's best in your situation...

Good luck,   Andi

cati0314

Hi!

They knew I'd have to have radiation before my surgery as my tumor was approx 6cm and told me that I could not have reconstruction done at the time of surgery, since I had to have radiation.I had no lymph node involvement proven by a sentinel node biopsy although they thought I did as the lymph node was hard.  Biopsy of the sentinel node was negative.

I would have to have DIEP Flap reconstruction.  They removed fat and veins from my abdomen and reconstructed breasts out of that material.  It was pretty painful and over 15 hours in surgery.  That gave me a small B cup.  Later I had implants put in and nipples constructed out of some tissue left at the sides of my abdomen. I was told this was the only way I could have reconstruction since I had to have radiation.

I'm not saying they didn't do right by you but you can see from one of the answers you received that the radiation may have ruined her expanders.  Others do fine.  It's a very good question, BUT, not every case is the same.  We all have very different cancers.  What is not right for someone may be right for others.  You should ask your surgeon for a definitive answer.  I don't know how they know they can put in expanders before testing the lymph nodes but they do.

 

Sorry if this didn't help but I wanted you to know that you must speak with your doctors.  Only they can answer your question.  We can speak from our individual experiences but there doesn't seem to be any set rule as a general answer.

Wishing you the very best!  At least the worst is behind you!  

 

Sharon

 

 

 

Just_lori6

I'm here

Hi, My name is Lori. I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer October 22 & had a double mastectomy on November 19th. I to have expanders .I am supposed to start chemo around Christmas and radiation as well. My doctors (4 of them) have all said radiation is fine with expanders. I believe that's why they uses expanders, because radiation will mess up the permanent implants. 

I am really new to this cancer stuff but anything I learn I am happy to share. It is hard and I think my husband is getting tired of hearing me worry. 

Hang in there your not alone~

 

christald21

spoke with my reconstruction doctors nurse

I called her and spoke with the nurse about my situation.  She said that they like to do one expansion before radiation. 

so i guess it is all about timing.  i am seeing my reconstruction doctor on Monday, and i will talk to him more about it.   And the soonest i could get in to see the radiation doctor isn't until next Friday...  UGh!  But thank you ladies for you insite in all of this.  I realize that every situation is different and every game plan is different...  I just want to be Cancer Free!

mschaben

Radiation with expanders

I had bilateral a year ago today with immediate placement of expanders. Did chemo and radiation .  Still have exoanders a year later. Won't have final reconstruction surgery for several more months.  They basically just won't do any fills for you til after radiation .. Because radiation changes your skin a lot.  Hope this helps.  Good luck. Take care 

Mary 

tufi000

FYI

If you have expanders you cannot have an MRI.  I am glad cause I have had enough radiation from CTs and treatments

 

Marcia527

This is what I responded on your other post. Same question??

I was stage 3A also. My tumors were 6cm and 3cm. I had 4 rounds of chemo A/C and surgery. I knew I'd also need radiation but after surgery I was told I'd need 4 more rounds of chemo which were Taxotere. I was very upset because I didn't want 4 more chemo rounds. After the surgery I was decreased to 2A. I got thru it and then had the radiation. Radiation was easier but you have to watch the skin and make sure you aren't getting burned. After each radiation treatment ask the doc to check the area. Mine didn't and I got burnt and had to take a break till I healed. When I was on radiation I got very tired. 

 

The way it was explained to me was radiation kills any cancer that is in the surgery site. Chemo kills cancer that is in the body. but chemo doesn't absorb well in the surgery site. That is how it was explained to me. 

I went through treatment 2003-2004. I did not have reconstruction and only had one breast removed. They found 5 lymph nodes with cancer out of 15 they removed. 

misslisap

HI.  I am new here.  My name

HI.  I am new here.  My name is Lisa and I am a 43 y/o Physician Assistant that was newly diagnosed w/Invasive ductal carcinoma in Aug 2015.  I am hoping to help with your concern from a medical prospective as well as to give some suppport.

First of all, from a radiation oncologist standpoint, they will almost always recommend radiation for positive lymph nodes to decrease your risk of local regional recurrence and generally, your breast surgeon will also recommend radiation for the same reason.  However, radiation should be considered dependent upon your overall risk and how many lymph nodes were involved. Also, if you proceed w/radiation, it should be started no later than 7 weeks after mastectomy. If you are having chemo, then radiation is typically done after chemo.

This should also be discussed with your medical oncologist as radiation may not be recommended if you had bilateral mastectomies, and again, dependent upon how many lymph nodes were involved as well as micromets versus macromets.

Now, from the standpoint of the reconstruction surgeon, they understand the importance of radiation, but they simply do not like radiation and try to avoid it because of the possible complications to the reconstruction process.  Radiation can cause changes to the overlying skin of the radiated side (tightening and hyperpigmentation).  It can also cause internal changes, in particular, "capsular contracture" can occur which may result in loss of the expander of the radiation side.  Scar tissue can build up around the expander, asymmetry can result, however, these can be corrected with additional corrective surgeries.

It is a tough decision and I hope you find peace in your final decision to proceed with radiation or not.  I consulted with three radiation oncologists and two medical oncologists before I made my decision.  Personally for me, since I already had bilateral mastecomies and now undergoing chemo, I chose to not do radiation to save my reconstruction.

I hope this helps !!  Big bear hugs!!