Breast Cancer Radiation Treatment

Having breast cancer radiation treatment is just one of the treatment options. Surgery and chemotherapy are the other two options to treat your breast cancer. Radiation for breast cancer can be used after a lumpectomy or mastectomy. This could be alone or in combination with chemotherapy. It reduces the risk of the cancer re-growing in the breast.

Breast cancer diagnosis will determine your treatment options.

You need to know about your diagnosis, and what to do next.

What is Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy uses a special kind of high-energy beam to damage cancer cells. The high-energy beam could be light or x-rays. The high-energy x-rays are invisible to the human eye. They damage the DNA of a cell. That is the material a cell uses to divide and grow. You will not feel any pain during your breast cancer radiation treatment.

Over time, the radiation damages the cells in its path. The radiation affects cancer cells more than normal cells. The cancer cells are less organized than healthy cells. It is harder for them to repair the damage done to them. On the other hand, the normal, healthy cells are better able to repair themselves and survive the treatment. Your skin near the x-ray site may become red and irritated.That is a common side effect of your breast cancer radiation treatment.

Types of Radiation Therapy

Radiation for breast cancer can be either external or internal (brachytherapy).

External radiation is the most common type used to treat breast cancer. The radiation is focused from a machine outside the body onto the area of the breast involved. Before the radiation ever starts, the radiologists will carefully measure your body. The radiation beams must hit you at the correct angle. They may make some small ink marks on your skin. This is to insure they aim the beam correctly each time. This external radiation therapy is like getting and x-ray of your chest, but the dose is much higher. For example, a mammogram uses 0.2 rads and you may receive as much as 5,000 rads. (A rad is a unit of radiation dose.)

"You can be assured that while you may have scars, and some nerve damage pain, your overall quality of life can be normal"

The extent of radiation depends on the type of surgery. If a lumpectomy was done, then the entire breast is exposed to radiation. If a mastectomy was done, it depends on lymph node involvement.The radiation could include the chest wall and your armpit. Sometimes they treat the lymph nodes near the collarbone. And, they may treat the internal mammary lymph nodes in the center of your chest.

Radiation for breast cancer is usually given five days a week for 6 or 7 weeks.
-Accelerated radiation is a new approach. Larger doses are given each day but only for 5 days. Another form is a large single dose in the operating room right after a lumpectomy.

Internal radiation, known as brachytherapy, is a different way to deliver the radiation. Radioactive seeds or pellets are placed directly into the breast tissue. Your tumor may not be the right size for this treatment. There are two variations of this technique. One inserts small, hollow tubes into the breast near the lumpectomy. Then radioactive pellets are put in the tubes for short periods of time each day. Then they are removed. The other method involves inserting a small balloon. Then the radioactive source is placed in the balloon, and then removed. These methods are being studied in clinical trials. They are called accelerated partial breast irradiation.

Side Effects of Radiation Therapy

The most common side effects of external radiation are:
- Swelling of the tissue
- Sunburn-like skin irritation
- Fatigue
- Lymphedema-underarm swelling due to fluid buildup

You can be assured that while you may have scars, and some nerve damage pain, your overall quality of life can be normal. There are support groups at most hospitals and community centers. You may want to consider joining one of them..