additional treatments with Stage 1 IDC and have Lupus

ksmith6912

Recently diagnosed with Stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma. The discussion with my team right now is about treatment (most likely lumpectomy). i have lupus so my concern is with radiation therapy and lupus. What are my other options? Anyone have similar situations post-lumpectomy?

SummerAngel

I have mixed connective tissue disease. My doctors, both the surgeon and the oncologist, spoke to my rheumatologist after I was diagnosed and because I have skin involvement decided I should have a mastectomy (this was before they found the tumor in the other breast) to try to avoid radiation if at all possible.

pingpong1953

I had a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy (one positive) and was going to have radiation, but the RO told me that my lupus makes me a bad, bad candidate for rads. So I'm going to have a mastectomy and lymph node resection instead. I was upset at first, but I rolled it around in my brain during my drive home from the hospital and I'm OK with it. Although surgery doesn't always go off without a hitch, radiation has so many more unknowns. The fact that the side effects are on a 2-week "delay" isn't encouraging. Even if you stop when you start to have nasty symptoms, that train is going to keep thundering down the track for another 2 weeks. Scary!

Anonymous

Just completed radiation in two areas so I could breathe. I told both rads onc and hema onc that I have Lupus-like flares from sun exposure (though I have not been diagnosed) and neither said not to do the rads. Maybe bcz I was in more need of breathing? I suppose that's it. Now I feel very worried that I did have the rads and what my future holds. Am just now coming out of a flare so to speak that started at the end of the last radiation. Joints, muscles, exhaustion, cough again.

stotamom

Another here with lupus. I was scheduled to have radiation but declined. I did way too much research and was not about to have it unless it was necessary to continue living. It was a hard choice as I was getting mixed messages from different doctors.