Radiotherapy for breast cancer

Morning, I have had 14 rounds of chemo and surgery last week, wide excision, reduction mammoplasty and removal of sentinel node.I’m doing good at the moment. I know that I will be having radiothe y, not sure how many sessions yet but wondered if you have had it how it was? I’m hearing very mixed views. Thanks if you are able to reply and wish you well

Tracey

  • Hi Tracey,

    I'm glad to hear that you are doing OK at the moment. I wanted to send a reply to your post to give it a little boost, so a few more people should see it and hopefully you'll then get more replies. I'm sure there will be others here with similar experience to share.

    You can also browse or search the forum (using the bar at the top of the page) for other relevant discussions and people to connect with, if you'd like to.

    Wishing you all the best,

    Ben
    Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Hi, so sorry about your diagnosis and everything you have been through so far . I had 5 sessions of radiotherapy last year on my left breast . Due to the radiation being on the left side you do have to practice breathing because you need to hold your breath. This is to stop the radiation damaging heart I think . If it’s right side you won’t need to hold breath , as I understand . The treatment itself is not difficult , but about two weeks later I was exhausted . I would say it took about 4-6 months later until I started to feel like myself . Xxx

  • Hi BerylGladys, good to hear that you are doing well after your chemo and surgery. I started radiotherapy on Wednesday, so have only had 3 sessions out of 15. So far so good, apart from a little rash between my boobs. They've told me to use moisturiser and take some anti histamine. The radiotherapy itself is painless and is only a 15 minute appointment. The travelling is the worst bit for me. For me the experience feels a bit like having a ct scan. As the treatment is on my right breast, I don't have to do the breathing technique. Wishing you well on your journey moving forward. Xx

  • Hi Tracey, I also had 15 sessions and only started to struggle towards the end when it felt like I couldn’t get as deep breaths as I could at the start. Travelling was a huge pain for me because of distance but the treatment itself was a piece of cake compared to chemo so I bet you’ll smash it! Best of luck :)