Rheumatoid Arthritis and IDC

LaurieInDallas

Anyone else have rheumatoid arthritis?  They are insinuating that I will not be able to have radiation but have not told me that straight out.  Told me I had to meet with a Radiologist.  I have huge swelling in my neck making it hard to breathe and swallow. 

I am still deciding between lumpectomy and masoctomy but I had the genetic testing done and if its positive then my Dr wants me to do double masoctomy and removal of ovaries.  I feel like I am on a train that is off the tracks and heading toward a canyon over which the bridge is out.....

I would appreciate any advice.  Thank you

giglgrl

I have RA. I had a double mastectomy, chemo and radiation. I did go off my RA meds during surgery and treatment. The chemo kind of put the RA in remission. It has come back strong after treatment though. I have lots of joint pain and my RA has spread.I am often worried as to how I am supposed to know I won't get bone mets everytime I have joint pain. Sorry if not to helpful, just wanted to let you know there are others with RA here.

judyfams

I have had rheumatoid arthritis for over 30 years (Iam 67 yrs. old)  and have been treated with Remicade, plaquenil, methotrexate and folic acid for many years.

In Feb. 2010 I was diagnosed with stage 1IDC and had a lumpectomy, chemo  and 33 rounds of external beam radiation which was finished on Nov. 2010.  I did stop my arthritis treatment and meds during chemo, and had no problems tolerating radiation. My rheumatologist consulted with my other doctors and they had no problem with my having radiation.  Honestly until today i never heard that women who have RA should not do radiation so I did some research.

I have found that older articles from 2007 and before seem to say RA patients should not have radiation.

Have you checked with your rheumatologist? You say you are going to see the radiologist, but I would think you should also have him consult with your rheumatologist too. Has your surgeon told you exactly why he feels you should not have radiation? Are you sure it's the RA and not the swelling in your throat that makes the surgeon think you should not have radiation?

Thus far I have had no problem with my RA and breast cancer treatments.

judyfams

Your post was interesting so I did research and found 2 articles that basically state that it is OK to have radiation if you have rheumatoid arthritis.  Some diseases do pose a problem with scleroderma being at the top of the list and rheumatoid arthritis being at the bottom of the list.

These links are as follows:

http://www.hss.edu/conditions_lupus-radiation-cosmetic-enhancement.asp

and

http://cancergrace.org/radiation/2011/03/13/rt-in-collagen-vasc-disease/

Hope this helps you in making your surgery decisions.

grammytotheboys

Hi...I have RA and was on Enbrel..stopped during chemo and radiation..have to finish one year of herceptin in May. I agree with earlier post....RA settled down during treatment but had a decent flare up afterwards and am still dealing with it. Don't know future course of meds...need to get new oncologist and rheum first. Such a pain in the butt to manage all of this! Linda



PS Glad to know there are others like me out there!

JulieGeek

I'm here, too. I'm 41. I was diagnosed with RA in 2006 and ILC (stage 2A) in 12/2010. I was on MTX and Humira, but as others have described, my RA symptoms are in remission when I started chemo (yea!!!) Chemo has not been difficult for me, so I'm probably the only one in the room saying "I love this!" Six months without having to worry about RA is like a mini-vacation. I've finished four rounds of AC and I'm three weeks into 12 weeks of Taxol. Then it's off for a complete hysterectomy and I'll kiss this all goodbye...

Thanks for the warning about the post-chemo flare. I'll be ready for it. 

grammytotheboys

Julie-good luck. I did the same route - 12 Taxol after 4 A/C. One year ago I was 3 wks into the taxols. Met with new rheum at MGH .. Might try rituxan? Follow-up in July. Keep me posted. Linda

Heidi207

      Anyone still around that used Humira, then stopped for surgery?  I'd love to hear from you. Did you ever get back on the Humira and what happened? 

      I just stopped my Humira three wees before surgery .. scheduled for April 20th. The RA is already kicking my butt and I'm not sure what to expect post-surgery. I have an appt with the radiologist beginning May but have already refused chemo.  Am not a fan of radiation either, but am willing to at least hear the sales pitch.  

     Tried Methotrexate briefly and ot outrageous headaches. Humira with Diclofenac was working but they made me stop the Diclofenac before biopsies. Prednisone (5mg) just isn't cutting it.

Tino

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone had replied to you. I was diagnosed with RA Jan. 2011 and then with IDC April of this year. I had just started Humira and it was helping. Had to stop meds for surgery and through Chemo. Just finished Chemo and RA is out of control. Taking 7.5mg of prednisone(no help now) but Rheumy seemed to suggest I won't be able to restart RA meds. What has been experience of others here? I am also concerned about starting radiation with RA flared up.

Onelife2012

Hi, I have RA too. The disease was very bad when I was diagnosed 11 years ago but I remember something my surgeon said at the time that made me smile.

He said " i have good news and bad news. The bad news is ...you are going to lose your hair.

The good news is your RA is going to go away."

He was right......it stayed in remission for 10 years.  When it came back it was nowhere near as bad as before and very manageable.

I am now back in Cancerland and looking forward to being RA free for a while again! Cancer has to have some perks!!

Hope this helps. 

Tino

So I did see rheumatologist and am now taking 20 mg prednisone a day and she wants me back on methotrexate so now my concern is taking methotrexate while doing radiation. Anyone have experience with that? Prednisone has helped some but still lots of swollen, stiff joints:(