External Beam Partial Breast Radiation or CyberKnife treatment?

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SleeplessIn
SleeplessIn Member Posts: 114
edited June 2014 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

After finishing chemotherapy (2.5 weeks ago), I am supposed to start radiation asap. I am fairly certain that I do not want to get whole breast radiation (many reasons), however, my treatment facility does not offer any (external) partial breast treatment. So I was considering not doing any radiation at all, but figured this kind of treatment may be a compromise. Now I am in a time crunch of finding a place that will offer me either External Beam Partial Breast Radiation or CyberKnife....



I would love to hear from ladies who have undergone either of these treatments, and where they went. Also, if responding, please include your age, because I am trying to determine whether any centers offer these type of radiation options to women under 45 (for IDC) and 50 (for DCIS). All the places I have found seem to require a minumum age of 50 (and I am 40) for this type of treatment.- If need be and there is no hospital closeby (Seattle), I am willing to travel to a facility.

PS: edited to add age requirement I have come across

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  • Cowgirl13
    Cowgirl13 Member Posts: 1,936
    edited May 2012

    bump.

     I considered the partial beam radiation but since I was HER2 i decided against it.  If you would consider flying somehwere for the partial, my radiation oncologist does the external partial beam.  He is in San Francisco at California Pacific Medical Center.  his name is Mark Rounsaville.  good luck. 

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  • SleeplessIn
    SleeplessIn Member Posts: 114
    edited May 2012

    At last as reply! Thank you, Cowgirl 13!!! Hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend.



    I was beginning to lose hope, since no one had responded in so long. Is Partial Breast Irradiation really that rare and no one on this entire board opted for it? I don't understand it!

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  • Cowgirl13
    Cowgirl13 Member Posts: 1,936
    edited May 2012

    I think its fairly new--last 3 or 4 years?  I rarely see mentioned it here on the board.  If it were me I would strongly consider the partial beam--its 5 days of treatment, twice a day.  I thought about it a great deal but decided not to do it because there weren't any studies on it with women who tumor's were HER2. 

    Just something to think about--for me I wanted to throw everything everything at cancer because if I had a recurrence, I would know that I had done everything.  So I wouldn't be looking back and kicking myself.

    Good luck and don't hesitate to ask more questions.

    Liz 

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  • ICanDoThis
    ICanDoThis Member Posts: 1,473
    edited May 2012

    Well, I was over 50 when I had external partial beam - 5 day treatment. I highly recommend it. It got me back to my life in a reasonable amount of time, my skin is so much better than anyone else I have talked to, and my only real side effect was fatigue.

    I had a long talk with the rad onc about this - it is a treatment in the same clinical trial as Mammosite - have you looked to see if there is a facility that is part of the clinical trial.

    Another option you might want to consider if you cannot find a participating facility that is convenient - is the Canadian Protocol - 15 days. I know several young woman who had very good results from this.

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  • ej01
    ej01 Member Posts: 155
    edited May 2012

    I had the external beam partial breast radiation last fall.  I am in my late 40's.   My cancer was very small with great margins (actually had gotten it all during the core needle biopsy, no cancer present for lumpectomy) and my proliferation index was relatively low, which the RO said made me a good candidate for this.  I had no noticable side effects...maybe minor fatigue or maybe I was just tired one day.  It was pretty easy.  I was not in a clinical trial, but I found a web site that showd a lot of clinical trials going on for this treatment for DCIS and they included patients in their 40s.     My RO had initially talked to me about mamosite, but because of the location of my cancer, that would not work (too close to the surface i think).

    For me it was the right balance of treatment vs. risk.     I was not open to 5 weeks of whole breast radiation on my left side, so partial breast radiation was my best optoin.  

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  • SleeplessIn
    SleeplessIn Member Posts: 114
    edited May 2012

    Thank you, ladies, for responding.



    I can do this,

    Were you in a trial? And did you get tattoos for your treatment? Also were you able to cover the part of the body that was not treated (with an apron like when getting x-rays at the dentist's office)?



    So far I have not been able to find a place that would offer me APBI (accelerated partial breast irradiation). For one, i don't want to be placed in a trial where I could end up getting whole breast radiation. So those are out. Other trials rule me out based on age or the fact that I already had chemotherapy. I am running out of time soon, as preferably radiation is started within 6 weeks after the end of chemo (8 weeks post chemo the very latest). So now I am extremely stressed out because my gut feeling is to stay away from whole breast radiation!!! :-(

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