Just curious - who had a mx and still had to have rads?

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Houndmommy
Houndmommy Member Posts: 377
edited June 2014 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

I was told that only about 10% of people that have a mx still need rads - I was one of the lucky ones (I really need to go play the lottery!).  Just curious as to how many others out there are like me.  Despite the mx and small tumors (although I had 4!), they could't get good margins both near the skin and near the chest wall.

How much does radiation help decrease the odds of recurrance?

Have a good day! Kim

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  • Bethie1
    Bethie1 Member Posts: 393
    edited July 2010

    Hey Kim--My name is Beth, and I'm a year out from this dreaded disease in August.  My cancer was IDC, 2cm, 5/24 nodes involved.  I had chemo of adriamyacin/cytoxin, and radiation because of lymph node involvement.  That was fine with me because when I found my lump--it was by accident--I scratched myself in the right place at the right time.  I wasn't due for a mammogram, so I had no baseline to go by.  I would've had it this year, but no such luck.

    Everyone's cicumstance is different--with me the doctor told me that even with chemo and rads there's a 10 % chance of cancer reoccurrence in your lifetime. I don't know if that's me personally or everyone who is diagnosed and he  was just generally speaking.

    Hope this helps!

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  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 3,225
    edited July 2010

    I had rads following mx. Rad onc said better results that way when there is lymph node involvement.

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  • precioustime
    precioustime Member Posts: 233
    edited July 2010

    I also had rads following bilateral mastectomy.  I was going to have Rads anyway because of lymph node involvement in the mediastinal area -- they were unable to surgically remove it. 

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  • Iamstronger
    Iamstronger Member Posts: 378
    edited July 2010

    I too had rads after mastecomy.  I was borderline on whether or not to do it.  But, since my tumor was 3.0 and I had one lymph node involved, both rad dr. thought I should have radiation. 

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  • Ann97
    Ann97 Member Posts: 156
    edited July 2010

    I too have been told that I will need rads after mastectomy.  They did not get clean margins.  For those of you that have already had it, how many times did you have to do it?

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  • Laurie09
    Laurie09 Member Posts: 313
    edited July 2010

    I had rads (33 I think) after mastectomy.  I had positive nodes that still had disease after chemotherapy which is why I had to have radiation therapy. 

    I think they still do radiation after a mastectomy 1) if they are treating lymph node beds or 2) if they can't get clean margins or the margins are too close for comfort.

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  • mumito
    mumito Member Posts: 4,562
    edited July 2010

    I had rads after my MX because my lymphnodes were involved.But the decision was not easy to make.I found rads more stressful than chemo.

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  • 1marmalade1
    1marmalade1 Member Posts: 308
    edited July 2010

    I had a mastectomy in June - 5 nodes removed, all negative.  I still have to do 33 rads in Sept., even with no nodal involvement.  I believe it has to do with the original size of the tumour (6cm).

    Some people are led to believe that there will be no rads after a mx, and base their decision to have a mx rather than a lumpectomy for this reason.  It seems that more women are having rads after their mx than they let on.

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  • Houndmommy
    Houndmommy Member Posts: 377
    edited July 2010

    Hi Ann97!

    I am currently undergoing rads after a mx without clean margins and they will be doing 28 treatments of my whole chest area (where the breast was) - it is a square about 7 x 7.

    Good luck!  Kim

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  • SallyEvian
    SallyEvian Member Posts: 21
    edited August 2010

    I had chemo followed by a bmx w/ 27 nodes removed (one positive).

    I started radiation, 28 treatments + 4 boosters, on July 1st.  It's 100x's worse than chemo!! I never missed a day of work on chemo but trying to work at all during the radiation is very hard for me, But... like the others have stated, it is reccommended when there is node involvement.  My doctor said it can increase survival by as much as 25%.

    This probably sounds silly, but can someone explain what it means to "have clean margins?"

    Thanks Ladies! Best of Luck!

     Sally

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  • Houndmommy
    Houndmommy Member Posts: 377
    edited August 2010

    Clean margins are an area of tissue around the tumor that doesn't have any cancer cells in it.  I can't remember how much "clean" tissue the doctors like to see around the tumor.  For some reason 5mm stick in my mind but I may be way off on this and it might also depend on the doctor.

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  • SallyEvian
    SallyEvian Member Posts: 21
    edited August 2010

    Ah ha! Thanks.

    I figured it was probably something like that.  I'm guessing I had the clean m's since they offered a lumpectomy, but I had them take everything from both breasts instead.  I didn't want to f*** around. My mom died at a young age from BC.

     Thanks!

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  • Melinda41
    Melinda41 Member Posts: 672
    edited August 2010

    I also had Mx, 6 months of chemo and 30 rads Tx.

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  • KristyAnn
    KristyAnn Member Posts: 793
    edited August 2010

    I had 33 rounds of rads after 6 rounds of TCH and weekly Herceptin. I had a really small tumor (9 mm) and a negative sentinel node BUT they found a positive intramammary node during pathology- which in combination with the aggressive tumor (highly Her2+), they recommended rads in addition to mx. Apparently the combination of a positive intramammary and a negative sentinel is quite uncommon so the docs opted for more aggressive treatment!

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  • lago
    lago Member Posts: 17,186
    edited August 2010

    I was told most likely I will have rads due to the size of my tumor. Right now there is a 70% chance it isn't in my lymph nodes based on the fact that they can't feel any, nothing showed up on the MRI. I'm also pretty thin and small (according to the BS &PS) so lymph nodes are easier to feel on me if they are inflammed… but again that's no grantee. I'll know soon. Surgery tomorrow.

    I too have heard if there is lymph node involvement then rads are usually prescribed. Makes sense.

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  • Carole66
    Carole66 Member Posts: 63
    edited August 2010

    My sentinel node tested positive after my mastectomy and being told I need to go for 6 weeks of radiation.

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  • chele
    chele Member Posts: 1,465
    edited September 2010

    I had BMX followed by A/C and Taxol, then 33 rads.  I had "extranodal extensions" - cancer outside the node.  Three of nine nodes removed were cancerous.

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  • mom3band1g
    mom3band1g Member Posts: 817
    edited September 2010

    me, for bad margins.

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  • LisaSec
    LisaSec Member Posts: 13
    edited September 2010

    Hi ladies!  I had bmx with no node involvement and opted for immediate reconstruction as I was led to believe I would not need rads. 

    Initially, I had partial mx with positive margins then opted for bmx in July but once again margins were not clean. I have been told I will have 25 sessions. For me the difference in recurrence percentage was significant so my DH and I agreed that rads was the appropriate path.

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