Dangers of radiation?

Well, rads not hurt me, at least hat I know of. My right breast was the area treated, so I can't speak to heart issues. BUT, anecdotal evidence on an internet message board is hardly the way to make such an important decision, imho.

Regarding your husband I have only 3 words of wisdom to offer:

IT'S YOUR BODY.

I agree with yorkiemom - your body, your decision.  If you choose not to do radiation and the cancer comes back later, who's going to be dealing with it?  You, not your husband.  I fully respect the choices others make, and from what little I know Rick Simpson Oil could be a good treatment option, too.  You might want to wander over to the Alternative forum where there is a discussion about RSO going on right now; they might have more information for you about that.  

Radiation is meant to destroy any stray, remaining cancer cells left
behind after surgery. With DCIS you did not have invasion, which is why
chemo is not required. There has been much discussion on these boards
and other places online about "overtreatment" of DCIS which includes
mastectomy and radiation.  Another forum to check out might be the DCIS forum here, to ask others with the same diagnosis about their choices.

In the meantime, let me ask you this - what does YOUR gut tell you to do?  What do YOU feel most comfortable with?  There are risks with any treatment - even surgery - that we cannot predict nor control. I had left-side rads, in an area that was directly in the line of my
heart/lungs. I had to use a breathing machine that forced me to "hold"
my breath at a specific point so that the radiation would hit "as little
of my heart and lungs as possible" (their words, not mine). In essence
- I radiated my cancer AND my heart and lungs. I had to weigh the risks and benefits, and after much thought I chose radiation.  Then again, I was dealing with an aggressive, invasive cancer, and I wasn't taking any chances.

Keep researching your choices until you come to the decision YOU can live with. 

faery...I had 33 RADS treatments following a lumpectomy. I have Stage II, Grade 1 BC. I also had the Oncotype test done at the request of my Oncologist to determine what treatment would be best for me. I had a micromet in my SN. My score came back@11 and my tumor was determined to be non-aggressive. To be honest I never thought about NOT doing them. According to my Oncotype test I have an 8% chance of recurrence with RADS and Tamoxifen for 5 years. I didn't have any issues with the RADS except for slight burning and fatigue. That's not to say down the road I won't have the after effects but sometimes I think you have to roll the dice and take your chances. I don't want to look back in a few years and say what if or why didn't I but that's my personal decision. My husband didn't offer any input in my decision; he figures by now I have done my homework and decided to go with the doctor's recommendations. Good luck....diane

I did rads, left side. No problems then or now. It is very targeted now (as opposed to 'the old days') so rarely has serious SEs. Radiation is considered part of the treatment if you have a lumpectomy; so yes, it very much lowers your recurrence risk....and if it recurs, then you are talking mastectomy, possible chemo, possible death......no brainer to me, do the radiation now.

Keep in mind that the heart and lung issues can show up 5, 10, 15 years later, at which point it is more difficult to assign culpability strictly to rads.  You will see some stats on immediate, acute problems caused by rads and the percentage is not too high, but in the long term I feel the problems are under-reported. 

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You wrote:  "I would kick myself if I don't do rads now and in 10-20 years its back and is worse than DCIS"

BCO wrote (in second article link up above): 

"Recurrence risk was much lower in women treated with radiation therapy
after surgery. Still, if cancer did recur in women who got radiation,
there was a more than 50% risk that the cancer would be invasive
compared to a 38% risk in women who didn't get radiation therapy after
surgery."

and

"Late recurrence (cancer coming back more than 10 years after the
original DCIS diagnosis) also was more likely in women treated with
radiation therapy after surgery. About 33% of women who got radiation
after surgery for DCIS who had a recurrence had a late recurrence
compared to 9% of women who got only surgery."

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Radiation has the potential to cause some grave collateral damage to internal organs.  I don't think I would take the risk for a non-invasive cancer where the grade was not aggressive, but I have not been in your position, faerywings, so good luck in sorting through all the info. and making your choice. 

[Personally, I did have rads.  Minor to moderate skin issues & fatigue at the time.  Then a few years later, on imaging, I had a lung "nodule" that had not been there before.  I've got to wonder about that, don't I?]

I don't know if you are still deliberating this, but I was informed by a friend with DCIS that rads are given to DCIS patients in the chance that other undisclosed DCIS remains, and that when DCIS recurs it might not be found until it has gotten invasive (IDC.)  So, I better understand why a person might choose to lower that risk (by about half) with rads.  

Still, for me, I think I would avoid the rads if I had DCIS surgery with clear margins and no invasion discovered; and if the pathology of the cancer showed it was not a high grade of aggression.  Either way, you will be monitored closely for recurrence.  Either way, whichever you choose, I hope your cancer is gone for good.