Help with Rads

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Pure
Pure Member Posts: 1,796
edited June 2014 in Stage III Breast Cancer

i start rads in 2 weeks. I was told they were doing3 of thr 4 fields. They would not be doing the field over my heart. i read some rads doctors DO radiate that area by doing a breathing technique called gating. (you hold your breathe as they radiate that field)

I am ok with the only doing 3 fields but what if I have internal mammory nodes that are positive? I would then need rads I would think.

How does one know if they have internal mammory nodes that are positive?

Did anyone have all 4 fields radiated or used gating?

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  • Kandy
    Kandy Member Posts: 1,461
    edited April 2010

     I would not want them to radiate if there is a chance of getting the heart. Any part of the heart that gets radiated dies. Your PET scan would have showed if there was positive internal mammary nodes

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  • lexislove
    lexislove Member Posts: 2,645
    edited April 2010

    Any scans that you have had prior to starting rads would show IM nodes, if they were +.

    I'm trying to remember...but I think I had 3 fields as well. Up top zap....the side zap...and the back zap.

    I did not have boosts, they just gave me the max. Good enough.

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  • Leah_S
    Leah_S Member Posts: 8,458
    edited April 2010

    I had internal mammary nodes radiated. The technique used was not the same as for the regular rads; it was the technique used for boosts. It's electrons, which are lighter & don't penetrate as far into the body, and it's done on a tangent.

    The rad onc said that with women with many nodes involved (I had 6) they've been doing this for years with very good results. I have also heard of studies done about this in Europe but I don't know how much it's done in the US or Canada.

    Leah

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  • KerryMac
    KerryMac Member Posts: 3,529
    edited April 2010

    I had 4 fields, but it was on my right side, so I guess there's no heart there.

    I had 25 rads, no boosts, but a Bolus every 2nd time.

    I would imagine internal nodes would show up on an MRI??

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  • diana50
    diana50 Member Posts: 2,134
    edited April 2010

    Pure

    your chemo took care of the internal nodes. if there was any cancer cells in them; they would show up on scans. remember; first surgery to take tumor out...then chemo...rads....and hormone treatment to clean up rouge cells if there are any left.

    i had 36 rads....plus boost. i have tatoos down midline of my chest...i am thinking i had 3 fields but not sure.. my cancer was on left side....i don't have any heart damage from rads or chemo that is anything significant. 

    take care**

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  • diana50
    diana50 Member Posts: 2,134
    edited April 2010

    Pure

    your chemo took care of the internal nodes. if there was any cancer cells in them; they would show up on scans. remember; first surgery to take tumor out...then chemo...rads....and hormone treatment to clean up rouge cells if there are any left.

    i had 36 rads....plus boost. i have tatoos down midline of my chest...i am thinking i had 3 fields but not sure.. my cancer was on left side....i don't have any heart damage from rads or chemo that is anything significant. 

    take care**

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  • clariceak
    clariceak Member Posts: 752
    edited April 2010

    I believe I had an internal mammary node light up on the Pet, not MRI The whole thing is a blur right now,

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  • krcll
    krcll Member Posts: 343
    edited April 2010

    I am getting rads now- on the left side and am getting 4 fields zapped. I don't know if they are doing the internal mammary nodes. I'll have to ask. I get the Bolus each time (at least so far). The rads techs said that boosts are only for women who have had breast preserving surgery. I had a Mx, so I don't get boosts.

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  • krcll
    krcll Member Posts: 343
    edited April 2010

    Oh, I forgot- after the planning CT, they said that they were having problems finding the right angles to avoid radiating the heart. I had to go back to take another CT to see if it could be that I had been breathing out when the 1st CT was taken. If the results had been the same, I would have had to do my rads in Stavanger, which is the only city in Norway where they do the the gating technique. In the end they found a way to do the rads here in Oslo.

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  • precioustime
    precioustime Member Posts: 233
    edited April 2010

    Pure-

    After being diagnosed with BC and having 5 biopsies---

    There was an enlarged Internal Mammary Node that showed up on MRI.  I also had a biopsy of that node which also came out positive.

    I then had Neo Adjudvant Chemo prior to surgery to see how well tumors would respond to Chemo.  I was given 6 treatments of TAC every 3rd week.  After Chemo was completed the Internal Mammary had shrunk 1/4 of it's original size.

    I am now 4 weeks post RADS.  

    Because of the Internal Mammary Node - I was given radiation on the TOMO machine and because of having BMX a Bollus was placed for all 32 treatments. I was radiated on both rt. and left side of Internal Mammary Nodes and basically the whole rt. side of my chest from the neck down and underneath my rt. arm where I had an axillary dissection.   

    Not sure if you ladies remember me --that after Chemo -the PET scan showed "no signs of cancer" except for internal mammary node that had shrunk 1/4 of it's size.  THEN the pathology report showed 2 tumors in rt. breast-- and 12+ lymph nodes!!!  This sure doesn't make me feel good about future PET scans if you know what I mean....  

    I am currently on Prednisone from a cough that I developed during RADS -- guessing Radiation related, HOWEVER it could be from Chemo??  On the Tamoxifen train too-- woo hoo....  JUST HAPPY to have these treatments behind me and working on getting physically healthier than I've ever been in my Life:)

    I wish you the best PURE-- You definitely have been through A LOT and I hope that you have smooth sailing real soon:)  

    Loretta

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  • karen1956
    karen1956 Member Posts: 6,503
    edited April 2010

    Jen.....my BC was on the right side....with positive nodes....so rads were 3 fields....don't really know how to describe them....but one seemed to be over me, another to the back side (more or less) and the 3rd was more in front again......I had 25 rads.....rad onc said it was the same amount of rads as people who get more, just more "rads" with each zap.....it was monday-friday for 5 weeks.....rads was a walk in the park compared to chemo.....and mine were in the summer, so for some reason they were not as busy and I was barely there 1/2 hour from the time I walked in till I left....skin did burn a bit and by the end I was tired, but no other real side effects.  Hugs, karen

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