can my 85 year old mom skip radiation

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barbee59
barbee59 Member Posts: 3
edited June 2014 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

This is my first post and it's not for me, but for my mom. This is a general question for anyone who might be able to give me some info.

My 85 year old mother was diagnosed with Paget's disease of the nipple. Her mammogram also detected something 50mm in so they did an MRI guided needle biopsy and found DCIS.

A wire guided "apple core" lumpectomy was performed (in June) that took the nipple and the DCIS.

The margins were clear, DCIS was slow growing and stage 0 and her recovery has gone very well. Sounds great so far.

My anxiety is this: Her doctor has her scheduled to see a radiation oncologist and I don't want her to have to go through radiation treatment, if she doesn't really have to. I will be going with her to the appointment, but I'd appreciate any extra info from whoever can help.

Does anyone have any information on radiation treatment for the over 80 year-old? Does the oncologist ever NOT recommend radiation? What side effects were there? I've heard about fatigue and radiation burns- but how much fatigue? how severe the burns? and will it really lengthen her life? and at what cost to her quality of life? If the DCIS recurs, how long does slow-growing take to grow into something that would be a problem? What would happen if she just let it go if it does recur? 

 and REALLY??? breast cancer at 85???

 Thanks for any help.

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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited July 2012

    My mother was diagnosed at age 80 with a small invasive tumor.  After her lumpectomy, her surgeon recommended re-excision to get acceptable margins.  With the better margins, all of her doctors (surgeon, oncologist and radiation oncologist) recommended against rads because they felt that at her age, if any breast cancer cells remained they would likely be very slow growing - nothing that would seriously affect her during her expected lifespan. She's 7 years post treatment and doing fine, with no further signs of cancer.

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  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 57,235
    edited July 2012

    I think it would be crazy for her to do radiation for a slow growing, stage 0 cancer at the age of 85!

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  • etherize
    etherize Member Posts: 423
    edited July 2012

    I can't give you statistics or anything but I agree with ruthbru; I think it would be crazy for your mom to go through radiation.

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  • HealingDreams
    HealingDreams Member Posts: 50
    edited July 2012

    I'm sorry that I don't have information for you for an over 80 year old, but you can check the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (www.nccn.org) and read the standard of care for breast cancer with your mother's diagnosis and age in mind. Look under the tab, "Patient Resources," for the "NCCN Guidelines for Patients." That (long) document will tell you what your mother should be offered, according to current best practices.

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  • thefuzzylemon
    thefuzzylemon Member Posts: 2,630
    edited July 2012

    What does your mom say? You can elect out of ANY treatment...that's our rights.

    My opinion is this: if the ONC says she needs radiation, I'd get a second opinion from a different facility.

    I became friends with an 80+ woman who was going thru rads at the same time I was and she had constant care fromher son and...by the end...had severe tissue loss and damage. Rough stuff.

    All symptoms will vary from person to person...I Had very aggressive treatments and I still have significant fatigue...and I am not healed yet (ended rads in October 2011). During treatments....my skin broke down. I'm not trying to scare you so I wont get too graphic.

    A second opinion never hurts....

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