Radiation Treatment NOW 3 months after Surgery

Barb,   You do fibre art?  WOW that is awesome. I have always loved fibre art but I cant make it.  Its like altered books. I cannot do an altered book. I am trying but its painful for me because it has lots of little doo dads.  But I love fibre for one reason, textures.  I love textures in all arts.   Its my most favorite part of art.  I just cannot do it.  Its so much more easier for me to make something with a paint brush or palette knife.  I think all the little doo dads and pieces drive me crazy and I cant figure out where to put them or how to put them together. 

 How exciting to finally get your art room set up.  I have laminate in my studio because it was way cheaper than what is in my house, hand scraped is too expensive to get paint on.  Anyway, it works well in an art room.  Do you have any blog on your art?  I do but I do not update it regularly now. I should but not quiet there again.   

Look  at some of these pieces I found on google.    my tongue sticks out over this kind of art. LOL

http://www.google.com/search?q=fibre+artists&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1280&bih=626&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=roRlTuLKEYHHgAf5t_ipCg&ved=0CDgQsAQ

I just found this link and I can see why women do not want radiation.  

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/20/study-no-radiation-after-surgery-ok-for-certain-breast-cancer-patients/comment-page-1/#comment-228822

Barbe this is why I am saving up.  I am not going to get rads. Ihave made a decision. I do not want them and they have a good chance of causing sarcoma and damaging my heart and lungs.  Forget it. I will take my chances of the slow growing cancer growing back.  Meanwhile I am taking aromasin everyday.    I think the mistake of thinking I was already under treatment was a blessing.   I am very sensitive to many things and I am very afraid I will get heart damage. Plus I have a spot on my lung as it is and getting a ct scan tomorrow.  I think it is fine and its been there since my 30's. I believe it is scar tissue.

As for the iodine I am trying to get all information  as well. There is a so called baking soda and honey therapy as well.  I have read so many things people have claimed healed them.  I am at the point where one size certainly does not fit all so goes treatment for  cancer. 

Thank you.  The risk of me getting secondary cancer are high called angiosarcoma. I have been doing some research and it is common.  The experts want to say its rare but it is NOT.  Please do recent research before you try and defend the rare part.  Also, it is my left breast over my heart and lung.  My chances are very good for no reoccurance and much better than NOT getting secondary cancer for which is more aggressive. Since I have encapulated papillary carcinoma not invasive its very slow growing.  Thank you all for respect. 

Hi moderator.  I do not see anything for angiosarcoma in the side effects from radiation.  Just wondering should this not be in the side effects as well?    This is what I am very concerned with more than anything else.

http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/radiation/side_effects.jsp

 Any further information to educate myself is appreciated.

Thank you

This morning was my meeting with the Radiation Oncologist, 1 1/4 hrs we talked. I asked lots
of questions and he answered me. I told him about my mitral valve and the worry I had about radiation so close to my heart as well as my lung. I asked about radiation angiosarcoma as well.

He told me I will not try and hard sell you because as I get older I realize patients need to be able to understand they have a right to choose. All in all he would not say I need it and he would not advised against it either. What he did tell me that some patients he had treated and years later they show back up with other problems.. and he told me he had wondered if he had not been so aggressive would these patients not have these secondary problems. This is the thing that made me know I was making the right choice. I have a bigger chance of having secondary heart, lung and getting angiosarcoma than I have of my slow growing cancer coming back. He also said lots of doctors would tell me not to come back should I tell him my decision was to not get the treatment. He said he was not like this. We (he) and I talked about what if it came back I could get surgery again. And if it were to develop in the other breast or the same one I could just have a mastectomy and get reconstructive surgery if I wanted it. I asked him if I decided not to get the radiation treatments now, but came back in a few years and needed radiation would he treat me.  He said yes he would. He told me to make sure the surgeon kept an close eye on me and I said yes that would be my plan.  I know he did not want to deny me because of the business. But he said I won't tell you if you don't get it you're going to die because that is not the case with you.  Your cancer was encapsulated and that is very good. 

Barb, thank you for being so interactive and helping me out here. Really you have been a big help and me not feeling like I'm a mutant if I decided against radiation treatments. 

I am going to tighten up even closer on the foods I put into my body as well as keep my exercise program up.  I am going to work iodine into my plan like any other vitamin or mineral I take now and find a good maintenance program.

Thank you

Barb, thank you thank you.  And thank other Ladies for reading. 

I believe the most important thing to do for yourself is to study and read about what kind of cancer you have or had.  Google, find history on different treatments and go read diagnoses and their treatments from as many as you can find..  It was hard to find much information on papillary because it is more rare and not much was found at all.  It's one of the slowest growing cancers from what I have discovered, so far.   I also learned there is a type of radiation you can get when your having the lumpectomy on the operating table. It shoots a beam right on the area where the cancer was growing.  I probably would have gotten this if it had been available at the time of surgery.  It is offered in some states and hospitals.  This kind of radiation treatment decreases future damage from the radiation compared to the typical external radiation.    Also, I would have been more likely to get radiation treatment as well if my radiation oncologist had a bed where I can lay face down and let my breast point towards the floor with a arm beam of radiation shooting the breast only.  This way it would have been probably at least 3 inches from my chest wall.  Being on my left side this really concerns me, a lot. These are very important factors in radiation treatment as far as I am concerned. I think ALL cancer facilities should off a table where women can lay down and let the breast dangle should this be a better approach.

Maybe there should be a special section for rare or uncommon cases and treatments. 

Now, today I go in to my medication oncologist and get a cbc.  Hoping that comes out well.

thank you all

Have a great day.