Post-mastectomy radiation: what's your experience?

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Sea_nymph
Sea_nymph Member Posts: 32
edited June 2014 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hello,

I am deciding on post-mastectomy whole-breast radiation. I had a small invasive recurrence under the skin two years after a bilateral mastectomy for DCIS. I learned there is a high chance (60%) of complication and loss of the reconstructed breast/implant following whole breast irradiation.

Have you had post-mastectomy radiation? If so, how long ago? What was your experience? Do you regret it? Are you high risk? Have you had a recurrence since?

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  • vbabey
    vbabey Member Posts: 48
    edited April 2010

    I also had a bilateral w/ immediate reconnstrntn on 2/19/10 and am about to start radiation to the breast, axilla and sub-claviacl nodes above the breast due to type of cancer and the size of the tumor and that it was originally packed in my axilla node...no invasive cancer found anywhere including my nodes after my chemo, but they are going ahead as a precaution...my surgeon is not happy about rads, but knew from the start that that is what I was going to do...he said his failure rate is no way that high ...I had mentioned to him that I thought it was 50%...would love to hear from more of you about this and am keeping my fingers crossed!!

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  • Sea_nymph
    Sea_nymph Member Posts: 32
    edited April 2010

    Yikes! Thanks for pointing that out. I did not mean 60%, I meant 40%. I just finished chemo, apologies.

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  • vbabey
    vbabey Member Posts: 48
    edited June 2010

    I wonder what is really is, cannot find out much on this topic...I finished radiation two weeks ago, still red, surgeon said to come back in late August and to keep moisturing all the time until then, then he will switch out implants.

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  • jankell7
    jankell7 Member Posts: 7
    edited June 2010

    I had a bliateral mastectomy 5 years ago with two tumors in left breast, none in right, no lymph node involvement, no chemo, no rads at that time. Had reconstruction three months later. In May 2010 I discovered a lump in the left side just under the skin and had a lumpectomy from the breast tissue that was left. I have to have radiation but the plastic surgeon says most likely I will have so much scarring that I will have reduced ROM and will require another surgery taking the lastisimus dorsi muscle from my back to give me motion under my arm. That is a miserable surgery and I'm questioning whether or not radiation is worth that. I also was told by my onc that I would have to be on Femara for the rest of my life, which is completely depressing because I could not tolerate tamoxifen and stopped taking it after three months of joint pain, energy loss, depressing, weight gain and plain misery. Has anyone had radiation after breast implants? How did they hold up?

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  • Bethie1
    Bethie1 Member Posts: 393
    edited July 2010

    I had whole breast and lymph node radiation on right side after mastectomy.  I believe it was best in addition to chemo, but my skin broke down faster than it healed.  The doctor gave me a week off to let it heal, and suggested to use Aquaphor ointment--it's a vaseline based ointment that eased the burn and helped heal the raw skin.

    I'm now just about a year out from treatments, and got the all clear from my doc about my MRI

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