New here with questions about Radiation

LdyJane
LdyJane Member Posts: 7
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hi, I was diagnosed with DCIS, High Nuclear Grade, non-comedo; had a lumpectomy last Friday, now I'm waiting for the final pathology and maybe radiation.

There is an extensive family history of breast cancer, although no one is positive for BRCA 1 or 2, and the biopsy path reported the DCIS, atypical hyperplasia, proliferative fibrocystic change..on and on; my breast surgeon (and long-time friend) has said that 5 day Mammosite may be an option, but the oncologist may decide to do 6 weeks instead.

So here's my questions: Have any of you opted out of the radiation? Does anyone know how, or on what basis, the decision is made to go 5 day vs. 6 weeks? Has anyone had the final pathology come back saying, nope, nothing there? (seriously, what are the chances that everything was taken out in the biopsy??)
Thanks,
Janice

Comments

  • confused123
    confused123 Member Posts: 251
    #2
    Hi Janice,
    I also had DCIS
    Hi Janice,

    I also had DCIS etc etc. Had mastectomy due to 3 tumors and cancer in and out of ducts. I also have a family history but my mom's BRAC test was negative. The doc told me it is genetic just not with those genes.

    I have not heard of the 5 day mammosite radiation until someone else posted a question and I read about it today. Not sure what the difference is. I can tell you that I am not sure there is anyone who wants to do radiation less then I do and I am still doing it. I went for 2 opnions and both said "yes". I still considered skipping it due to the fact I had a double mastectomy and chemo and am on Herceptin(the idea of any of these did not bother me like the idea of rads). Anyway I had close margins and was told the cancer could come back in the breast tissue if even one cell was left. So no they can't guarantee it is all gone. I was also told for my case that there is no way fo them to test me when I am done to see if it is all gone. She said we take " a leap of faith".Did not love that amswer.

    My mom did opt out of radiation but had a tiny tumor, size of the head of a pin I think and she tok Tamoxifen. Anyway she is 6 years out now.

    My gram did the rads

    Anyway I am sure you will make the best decision for you and your case. Good luck with deciding. Hope I was of some help.

    Kim
  • cats_toy
    cats_toy Member Posts: 1,462 Member
    #3
    Janice
    I did not even have the option of the 5 day rads, never heard of it. And everyone has the option of not doing it. Everything is a choice, but I (and most of us) choose to go with what will reduce the chances of recurrence. The surgeon will get clean margins when the lump is removed, but the radiation will help kill any stray cells that may be outside of the tumor area.
    Good luck and keep us posted.

    =^..^=
  • Kat11
    Kat11 Member Posts: 1,931 Member
    #4
    cats_toy said:

    Janice
    I did not even have the option of the 5 day rads, never heard of it. And everyone has the option of not doing it. Everything is a choice, but I (and most of us) choose to go with what will reduce the chances of recurrence. The surgeon will get clean margins when the lump is removed, but the radiation will help kill any stray cells that may be outside of the tumor area.
    Good luck and keep us posted.

    =^..^=

    That was the plan for me
    That was the plan for me before surgery, When nodes turned out to have cancer in them, thats when it changed for me. It's a good treatment, and much easier. I am sure you will get post here from others who have had this done. Good Luck
  • Jeanne D
    Jeanne D Member Posts: 1,867
    #5
    cats_toy said:

    Janice
    I did not even have the option of the 5 day rads, never heard of it. And everyone has the option of not doing it. Everything is a choice, but I (and most of us) choose to go with what will reduce the chances of recurrence. The surgeon will get clean margins when the lump is removed, but the radiation will help kill any stray cells that may be outside of the tumor area.
    Good luck and keep us posted.

    =^..^=

    Hi Janice
    I had the option of the mammosite 5 day rads, but, turned it down. I

    didn't want to risk my life on something that is not proven long term to work. So, I took

    the 37 treatments and feel secure that every lil cancer cell that was there is dead! I have

    heard of a few opting out of rads. That is their personal choice, we all have choices.

    Good luck with whatever you do. Jeanne
  • LdyJane
    LdyJane Member Posts: 7
    #6
    Jeanne D said:

    Hi Janice
    I had the option of the mammosite 5 day rads, but, turned it down. I

    didn't want to risk my life on something that is not proven long term to work. So, I took

    the 37 treatments and feel secure that every lil cancer cell that was there is dead! I have

    heard of a few opting out of rads. That is their personal choice, we all have choices.

    Good luck with whatever you do. Jeanne

    Thank you!
    First, thank you for the warm welcome, I appreciate it! Secondly, I appreciate your advice and counsel; I should hear about my pathology today, we're supposed to meet with the radiation oncologist tomorrow. I'm very curious as to what the final report will say...was there anything there at all?, was it more extensive than they thought? was there any microinvasion? or, or, or!!! :)

    I'm curious by nature!
    Janice
  • mimivac
    mimivac Member Posts: 2,143 Member
    #7
    Radiation
    Janice, People do opt out of radiation and your case sounds borderline. It is my understanding that DCIS requires radiation if it is high grade and has other risk factors. Maybe with your family history, high grade, hyperplasia, etc. it will be recommended to be extra safe.

    As for getting out all the cancer cells. Well, they can definitely tell if they got clear margins. As someone else said, all the other therapies are for the ones they can't see. Radiation kills microscopic cells that have the potential to grow into cancer later. Chemo does the same systemically.

    Please let us know about your final pathology report. It's great that they got the cancer at this early stage.

    Mimi
  • LdyJane
    LdyJane Member Posts: 7
    #8
    Pathology Report is in..
    The information I rec'd is not complete, I'll get that tomorrow, but the report says that it's all DCIS, high nuclear grade, no invasion, and surprisingly (to me anyway) is the size...3.2 cm! Only a small cluster of microcalcifications showed up on the mammogram; I was told it is combined total, one from the target site and more from a distant site. That did it for me! Radiation is definitely in my future.

    My surgeon is a long time friend and I know she's saying (at least to herself!) I told you so, I told you so!! haha! I'm amazed that so much of this didn't show up on the mamogram and the ones I get are digital too!

    So, I head back tomorrow and meet with the RO and the Naturopathic MD and find out what he recommends for radiation.

    Thanks again for your wisdom!
    Janice
  • dyaneb123
    dyaneb123 Member Posts: 950
    #9
    LdyJane said:

    Pathology Report is in..
    The information I rec'd is not complete, I'll get that tomorrow, but the report says that it's all DCIS, high nuclear grade, no invasion, and surprisingly (to me anyway) is the size...3.2 cm! Only a small cluster of microcalcifications showed up on the mammogram; I was told it is combined total, one from the target site and more from a distant site. That did it for me! Radiation is definitely in my future.

    My surgeon is a long time friend and I know she's saying (at least to herself!) I told you so, I told you so!! haha! I'm amazed that so much of this didn't show up on the mamogram and the ones I get are digital too!

    So, I head back tomorrow and meet with the RO and the Naturopathic MD and find out what he recommends for radiation.

    Thanks again for your wisdom!
    Janice

    Yeah I think you can do
    Yeah I think you can do mammosite if you have clear margins and no node involvement. I hope it works for you.
    Dee
  • peb
    peb Member Posts: 23 Member
    #10
    does 5 day radiation kills cancer cells in whole breast
    I was wondering if the 5 day radiation is used to kill cancer cells for the whole breast or just the area around the lumpetomy? I know the extensive kind kills all cancer cells in the whole breast. If the 5 day extensive does and I can op for it I will choose it but if it doesn't I can't see chosing it.
  • survivorbc09
    survivorbc09 Member Posts: 4,374 Member
    #11
    peb said:

    does 5 day radiation kills cancer cells in whole breast
    I was wondering if the 5 day radiation is used to kill cancer cells for the whole breast or just the area around the lumpetomy? I know the extensive kind kills all cancer cells in the whole breast. If the 5 day extensive does and I can op for it I will choose it but if it doesn't I can't see chosing it.

    The 5 day only, hopefully,
    The 5 day only, hopefully, kills some of the cancer cells right at the tumor site. It doesn't kill them anywhere else, as, it isn't tunneled anywhere else. Do this with caution. This type of radiation is not documented or reported long term to work. It is in the trial stage and I would not want to risk my life or take a chance when the other "normal" rads work. For those that do, I wish you the best of luck in your future!
  • LdyJane
    LdyJane Member Posts: 7
    #12
    Just got back from the Dr......
    Hi everyone, just home from a sort of discouraging Dr. appt. We met with the Radiation Onco; he was wonderful, he said they were all taken by surprise by the size of this thing and were in no way prepared for that finding.nor the finding of a second site.

    The final path shows that it is fast growing, fairly aggressive and has a high likelihood for recurrence. The margins aren't as clear as they would like and tomorrow my surgeon, the RO and the pathologist are meeting, reviewing the slides and determining if they have to do more surgery.

    Because of the size of the mass, I do not qualify for the 5 day mammosite radiation, but instead have to do the 6 week stuff. I'll be doing that here in Lansing since I can't be gone from home and work for that long a period of time.

    I'll know about the surgery tomorrow!
    Janice
  • rjjj
    rjjj Member Posts: 1,822 Member
    #13
    LdyJane said:

    Just got back from the Dr......
    Hi everyone, just home from a sort of discouraging Dr. appt. We met with the Radiation Onco; he was wonderful, he said they were all taken by surprise by the size of this thing and were in no way prepared for that finding.nor the finding of a second site.

    The final path shows that it is fast growing, fairly aggressive and has a high likelihood for recurrence. The margins aren't as clear as they would like and tomorrow my surgeon, the RO and the pathologist are meeting, reviewing the slides and determining if they have to do more surgery.

    Because of the size of the mass, I do not qualify for the 5 day mammosite radiation, but instead have to do the 6 week stuff. I'll be doing that here in Lansing since I can't be gone from home and work for that long a period of time.

    I'll know about the surgery tomorrow!
    Janice

    Janice
    Just want to welcome you here and wish you all the luck in the world. You will be in my prayers tomorrow. Let us know how it goes. We will be here for you.
    hugs,
    Jackie
  • cats_toy
    cats_toy Member Posts: 1,462 Member
    #14
    LdyJane said:

    Just got back from the Dr......
    Hi everyone, just home from a sort of discouraging Dr. appt. We met with the Radiation Onco; he was wonderful, he said they were all taken by surprise by the size of this thing and were in no way prepared for that finding.nor the finding of a second site.

    The final path shows that it is fast growing, fairly aggressive and has a high likelihood for recurrence. The margins aren't as clear as they would like and tomorrow my surgeon, the RO and the pathologist are meeting, reviewing the slides and determining if they have to do more surgery.

    Because of the size of the mass, I do not qualify for the 5 day mammosite radiation, but instead have to do the 6 week stuff. I'll be doing that here in Lansing since I can't be gone from home and work for that long a period of time.

    I'll know about the surgery tomorrow!
    Janice

    too bad you couldn't do the short rads
    but, better that the docs are keeping track and giving you the best possible treatment for your situation. Keep us up to date with the next phase.

    =^..^=
  • LdyJane
    LdyJane Member Posts: 7
    #15
    Thanks
    One thing that made me a touch nervous, the RO did mention mastectomy; let's see what happens tomorrow. Thank you for helping me keep grounded here!
    Janice
  • aurora2009
    aurora2009 Member Posts: 544 Member
    #16
    LdyJane said:

    Thanks
    One thing that made me a touch nervous, the RO did mention mastectomy; let's see what happens tomorrow. Thank you for helping me keep grounded here!
    Janice

    Welcome
    Hi Janice, I just wanted to welcome you and wish you good luck with your appointment tomorrow, I'm sure alot of things seems to be moving pretty fast for you right now, but it sounds like you dpctors are taking good care of you.
    please keep us up to date as we all learn for each othe here.

    Aurora

    P.S you've come to the right place, be prepared feom open arms and lots of suppoet :)

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