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A Consise Overview of Corrective Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer
September 28, 2008 |
For most women undergoing therapeutic radiation, breast cancer is the reason why. It is the most common cancer among women in the United States, and radiation therapy is one of the most widely used treatments. To learn more about radiation and how and why it’s used, read on.
How Radiation Therapy Works
Radiation therapy for breast cancer uses high-energy x-rays that either kill cancer cells or inhibit their ability to divide or grow. Cancer cells grow rapidly and are therefore more susceptible to the effects of radiation therapy - more so than normal, healthy cells.
When Radiation Therapy is Used
Radiation can be used to treat almost any stage of breast cancer. It’s most often used as the primary treatment in stage one and stage two breast cancer, but in conjunction with surgery or after a mastectomy.
Radiation: After Lumpectomy Surgery for Breast Cancer Treatment
A lumpectomy is a surgical process where a cancerous lump or small tumor is removed from the breast. After this procedure, most practitioners prescribe radiation treatment to prevent an in-breast recurrence or relapse.
The risk for in-breast recurrence hovers at around 30 percent if radiation therapy is not given to the patient after a lumpectomy. Yet, if the patient receives radiation therapy, that risk is reduced to a fraction (between 5 and 10 percent).
Despite the survival benefits for radiation therapy after a lumpectomy, it’s not for everyone. If you’ve had radiation before, suffer from a connective tissue disease like lupus or are pregnant, you should not undergo radiation therapy.
Post-Mastectomy Radiation Therapy
After a full mastectomy, some doctors may still recommend radiation therapy to prevent the cancer from recurring on the chest wall. You are considered at risk for recurrence if your underarm lymph nodes test positive for cancer, you had a tumor that was larger than 5 centimeters in diameter or the cancer was dangerously close to the chest wall when it was removed.
If a patient has a very small amount of lymph nodes that test positive for cancer cells, many practitioners argue over the value of radiation therapy at all. While breast cancer survival rates may be higher, many patients suffer from other issues like heart or coronary problems caused by the radiation.
Side Effects of Radiation
Radiation is cumulative - that means as your treatments progress, so do their effectiveness and your side effects.
In general, the most noticeable side effect is fatigue - constantly feeling tired, weak and unable to tackle daily tasks. If you’re heading into an upcoming course of radiation therapy treatments, you may want to consider taking time off your job or simply reduce your workload both at the office and at home.
Skin irritation, itchiness, redness, shininess, soreness, peeling, blistering, swelling, decreased sensitization, hypersensation are all also common side effects of radiation. Breast cancer survivors often compare them to symptoms similar to those experienced after a painful sunburn. As the treatment ends, these symptoms gradually fade and go away.
For helpful information on various cancers, please visit cancerinfotips.com, a popular site providing symptom and treatment insights, such as men’s breast cancer, childhood osteosarcoma, and many more!
Article Source: A Consise Overview of Corrective Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer
