Why do I need full breast radiation vs partial?

Thanks, Sue! And good luck with your radiation research. I asked one doc about Mammosite and she said there weren't enough years of follow-up study to use it on someone in her 50s (I am 51). 

Sue-  If your tumor was near the chest wall then partial breast irradiation probably would not work.  Mine was near the nipple and the problem is similar.  I am not a clinician but I do work in cancer research and I am used to searching the medical literature and reading papers in journals.  I also work with many oncologists and was able to call some I know and ask whatever questions I wanted.  Definitely a luxury -- especially because I already knew who I trusted completely. 

Regarding breast discomfort -- a month ago I was wondering if the breast would ever feel normal again.  It wasn't painful, just discomfort or tenderness or a feeling that was not normal.  In the last week or two I noticed that the breast feels normal!  ...even if I touch the nipple.  That is really great progress!  If my experience is a guide, it took seven months from the last surgery and three months from the end of radiation for that to happen and I had just minimal normal side effects from both treatments.   

My radiation appointment was the very first one in the morning and I loved that time slot.  I would take my shower and head to my appointment.  My onc recommended a radiation moisturizing cream, so I would take that with me and slather it on in the dressing room after my treatment. (You are not supposed to use deodorant or have anything on your skin during the treatment) My skin held up pretty well until the boost, so I think that the cream helped. Some of the girls on the Komen message boards have used a gel that is made by the same company and really liked that.

Do you have a really good support bra?  That really helped cut down on my discomfort, couldn't stand any jiggling at all.  I liked the champion zip front best. I'm not sure exactly when my breast stopped hurting, it was a gradual process.  I had to tell my husband to avoid my nipple for quite some time after treatment, but it seems to me that about 8 months after I was pain free.  Also, do not wear your best bras to treatments as they have to mark the field occasionally and I ruined a really nice bra.  Some ladies are not comfortable wearing one during treatment so it may not even be an issue for you.

Take some cat naps during the day and you will do fine. Focus on taking care of you. Good luck!

I was a sales leader at Bath & Body Works, so I know when you work retail it can be tough, but ask for any help they can give you.  If someone can cover your counter for 10 minutes so that you can just sit down and close your eyes, it will make a world of difference.  Keep in mind, you may not have any fatigue issues at all, many women don't.  14 degrees in Paducah with wind chills below zero.  We were supposed to go away for our anniversary this weekend but have opted to stay home, just too cold.  I take care of my Dad who has advanced colon cancer, so suffering major guilt as I just dropped him off at the hospice respite care. Plan on just cuddling up with my husband for two days, first break I've had since June.  Be careful out in that ice.

I had partial breast radiation via external cornformal beam. I had 10 treatments in 5 days. My radiation oncologist is one of the chief national investigators of partial breast irradiation and gave me some interesting stats at my checkup this week. He said the control rates over 10 years over brachytherapy exceeds 98%.  He has four years of data on the external conformal beam that also exceeds 98%. One of the reasons the control rates are high is that they are very selective about appropriate candidates in terms of margins, age, and grade of DCIS.

I had 4 mm of an intermediate grade DCIS and had to have reexcision to achieve margins of nearly 1 cm. My doctors told me that that the recurrence rate without radiation was approximately 30% which was unacceptable to me in with other options.