Hello AnneC

I'm so sorry to hear that following your recent breast surgery you're now dealing with another health problem that is really impacting your quality of life at the moment. It's perfectly understandable that you may be questioning the necessity of radiotherapy and what further impact it may have on your other health condition. 

I know that we have had members previously who have decided to not go ahead with various aspects of their suggested treatment programme and hopefully some of them will share their stories with you. 

In the meantime, I'd really encourage you to talk to your breast care nurse and/or oncologist about your concerns and questions. They will be best placed to talk through your specific circumstances and give you all the information that you need from a clinical perspective to make this decision. 

If you want to chat with our team of nurses as well for some advice and support you're welcome to call them on 0808 800 4040, Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm.

Whatever decision you make, I do hope that things settle and improve for you soon. 

Best wishes, 
Jenn
Cancer Chat moderator 

Hi Anne. There's no need to apologise to anyone. You are perfectly entitled to your own opinions and thoughts. Being ill with something else with cancer added on must be a massive burden. 
 

I speak as someone who was against going with the radiotherapy initially. Knowing it has side affects etc. I talked it all through with the oncologist/my family and friends. I came out on the side of caution so went with the treatment. I was lucky I guess as I didn't get a sore breast from the treatment nor even got very tired afterwards. That's probably due to good luck though. 
With hindsight I feel it was the best way forward for me. I know I have taken every treatment/precaution possible and in many ways that has helped me psychologically now that I am nearly 3 years on from it. It's a very big decision as I am sure you are aware. I didn't have other obstacles in my way. It wasn't so complicated for me. 
 

All I can say is radiotherapy is there for cancer patients because it's effective. It's not a guarantee but it is a life jacket in this precarious thing called cancer. 
 

I wish you well. Kebbs x 

Thank you for replying to me.  I know that you made the sensible choice and that's probably what I'll decide on too but still feeling I'm being forced into it to avoid hurting others rather than because I feel it's what I want to do.  I should perhaps explain a bit better in that I'm not what's classed as an unwell, unhealthy person so that's not really my reason for not wanting treatment.  Instead I developed an uncommon, severe form of a benign condition in my late 30s almost 20 years ago.  I went from being really active, working and having a full life to virtually overnight, constant severe debilitating pain, housebound, having to be medically retired from my nursing job, complete loss of any social network and a really stressful home life.  It took years to get a diagnosis by which time it was too late for me to have anything but major surgery resulting in a complex type of urostomy which hasn't always worked as well as it should and by then I already had extensive nerve damage causing chronic pain.  Up until a couple of years ago I've managed to get my life under control again by basically keeping myself so stupidly active in an attempt to drown out the pain.  Totally exhausting myself on a daily basis by doing more and more endurance exercise to be even worth bothering going to bed at night to try to feel as independent and normal as I can.  Unfortunately things all took a bit of a nosedive again a couple of years ago in relation to all of this.  Care has been really difficult as the original surgery was do complex.  That along with worsening pain has meant that I'm physically unable to sit down, sleep became a complete non event again last year and I'm now back in hospital as an emergency following complications of the surgery I had a few weeks ago to change the type of urostomy I have, remove my bladder and abdominal adhesions.  I know I'll recover from the surgery but even prior to the breast cancer diagnosis was spending too much time dwelling on how I'm going to continue on like this and to be honest if I really want to.  This sounds so self pitying but I've always been a really independent person which to be honest seriously backfired on me years ago because although my husband knows I struggle he tends to have the, well if you're OK to go a walk I don't know why housework is an issue attitude.  I've basically been going about for far too many years with this fake persona to get me through each day and to avoid upsetting my daughters or husband.  I have tried discussing it with him but he finds it to stressful or choses to ignore it.  If the choice was mine alone I'm at the point where I've had enough but that's not the case and I know I'm going to have to have the treatment because it's what's expected of me.q