Anyone on Here a few years out from doing Radiation treatments?

I am almost 5 yrs post rads TX. I have had no SE's that I know of . Rt side. Maybe you should discuss with your medical team, including the Radiologist, if you have questions or concerns. Treatments carry a risk. They can be more concerning If you have a family history of heart or lung issues, pre-existing conditions, etc. You may have options with your recommended radiation treatment .You can always seek a second opinion also. Best wishes.

I'm 3.5 years out from left-sided treatment (35 including boosts). I was quite concerned about damage to heart/lung. My heart fell completely outside of the treatment area - something I didn't even realize was possible. It's also feasible to do a breath-hold technique or treatment in a prone position - definitely talk w/your RO to understand your particular situation.

I do have some lung scarring. It's usually not an issue although I've noticed that my lung capacity seems to be affected by colder weather and irritants such as wood smoke.

None of these treatments are without drawbacks, unfortunately. In my case, RT would have been required no matter what due to location of the tumor; given how close to the chest wall it was, I was glad RT was available and tolerable.

Again, I'd strongly encourage you to explore your concerns with your RO - and get a 2nd opinion if needed.

I finished radiation 10 years ago and all is well. My tumor was at 2 o'clock, left breast.

9 years out. Left side 6 o’clock. Aside from arthritis, I am fine. That said, I recall the radiologist mentioning he had a lot of calibrating to do to avoid my heart and lungs.

Kec....as I said earlier on another thread, talk with your radiologist and perhaps, get a second opinion if you have concerns. While I think it is healthy to have some skepticism about radiation, whether it be targeted or whole breast radiation, at some point, I think it is important to have trust in your team, so you can be at peace with your decisions.

One of the things I learned on this journey was that I could never, ever, know as much as I wanted and needed to know to make an informed treatment decision. That was the most difficult thing about this journey that I learned about myself.

Before this journey began, being a voracious reader, always helped me make informed decisions. But this journey taught me something. And, that is, that no matter how much I knew and ultimately learned, would NEVER substitute for the amount of EXPERIENCE and knowledge my team had when it came to MY situation. I realized right then and there that I needed to let go. I needed to let go of trying to gain as much knowledge as I could.i needed to let go of being in control. And guess what? Letting go of being in control and letting other people, who had more experience and knowledge than i could ever gain in such a short period of time, was refreshing!

And that journey has made some other journeys a lot easier for me. Whether it be as simple as choosing something to eat from a menu and asking the server what they recommend and choosing their recommendation or choosing medical or legal advice, my life has become less stressful and is now more vibrant and as I said earlier, more refreshing! No more reading until my eyes are bleary and my nerves are shot. My brain is no longer bloated. Once I trust the person in front of me, I am DELIGHTED that they can decide something for me.

I know cancer is scary. But so is living. Each day, believe it or not, we make tens of thousands of decisions. That’s right! We make tens of thousands of decisions. The voracious reader that I am, read that in a neuroscience book. Surely, some of those decisions are tiny ones and some are humongous. However, how they affect the brain is quite similar, if not the same. All those decisions make us do something, even if it is nothing at all. So, I now know that ALL of my decisions lead to some form of action. I feel better when IACTIVELY decide to let others make decisions for me!

So, gather whatever info it is that you need to make you feel better and informed. And then, TRY to let the heavy lifters, that is your medical team, do the heavy lifting! Perhaps then, this journey and all future journeys will be easier....

Hi Karen,

Thought I would chime in.

Nine years out, I am just fine. I do endurance events, and trust me, I would have noticed cycling over 50 miles last year in 100 degree heat last year if anything had been amiss. (Last 50 miles of the Seattle-to-Portland Bicycle Classic.) I am headed out for 4 days of Nordic skiing in 3 weeks.

At this point, I exercise as much to remain fit and strong for the rest of my life as for the survival benefit. 

Just think, you will be done with everything by the time spring arrives. And then, you have the rest of a fabulous life to look forward to. Really!!!

Good luck!!! I personally work on the rewards system. So plan on something super-special for yourself to celebrate when done! - Claire

voraciousreader, Bravo! Well said! Thank you!

"Before this journey began, being a voracious reader, always helped me make informed decisions. But this journey taught me something. And, that is, that no matter how much I knew and ultimately learned, would NEVER substitute for the amount of EXPERIENCE and knowledge my team had when it came to MY situation. I realized right then and there that I needed to let go. I needed to let go of trying to gain as much knowledge as I could.i needed to let go of being in control. And guess what? Letting go of being in control and letting other people, who had more experience and knowledge than i could ever gain in such a short period of time, was refreshing!"

I had chemo & radiation 19 yrs ago. I have had no issues from the radiation in the yrs since. During the radiation my breast got a little red, but no pain. Doing radiation is a good thing, as it increases your chances of beating this horrible disease

I had radiation 7 years ago and so far, so good. I had just a little redness too and some fatigue but nothing other than that. They are extra careful to radiate only the affected areas but I also know lung scarring, etc can show up years later.

Diane

joy...At first I had burning when applying the cream. I was told to discontinue it and from that day on, I had no other issues whatsoever. I asked the team what that was all about and they said there is simply no way of knowing who will have side effects and who won’t. Bottom line, maybe less is more. Check with your team.

With respect to fatigue...I am an avid walker. I didn’t walk as much during treatment. However, I did walk...even when I was a little tired. I felt the walking improved my energy levels AND made it easier to resume my regular walking schedule once I completed my treatment.

Hope you feel better soon

hi Joy, I am 2 1/2 years passed radiation treatments. Mine was left breast 5 o’clock position. I had the treatments in the breath hold, prone position. Not all patients are eligible for this position.This technique prevents heart and lung involvement. I had some redness and inflammation, tiredness during treatments, but not too bad. I do experience some skin tenderness still occasionally, in fact, just recently. It always passes. I use a numbing cream and wear non restrictive sport bras and clothes when it flares up. You can do this! Carolyn

Hi Kec1972

I had 25 rads left breast (whole breast and armpit). My breast was fine for first two weeks. Third week it went red, fourth and fifth week it went deep mahogany brown. I was not in pain, and I used special radiation cream (can't remember name) after every session immediately, and then again at night. I was careful to only use water (no soap) on the area, and to gently pat it dry. No bras either, nothing that would irritate the area.

Unfortunately my skin did react, in that it tightened significantly, so that my left breast is quite a bit higher than my right. My skin mainly went back to normal colour but with small patches of darker pigment. I also have small patchwork of red capillary looking marks underneath the breast. My doctor says that is due to radiation. None of these marks or slight discolouring are particularly noticeable. But my skin is tight and my breast is harder than my other non radiated breast. Not trying to frighten you but the tightening is a possibility. Having said that, my friend did same treatment as I did and 9 years later has absolutely no signs that she ever did radiation. Neither of us suffer from any breathing issues or heart problems.

Hello to all,

Thank you all for sharing your past experiences. I will be starting radiation (breast, chest all, lymph nodes) in a couple of days and reading your replies made me feel better. I am looking forward to enjoying blue skies after this storm! Thanks a lot. Hugs to all.

Keepthefaith,

Hello. I will start my rads in a few days. I have serious concerns about the dosage and length of my proposed treatment. Your dx is as exactly as mine. Do you mind sharing with me the information about the length of your radiation therapy and its dosage? How many sessions of Rads did you receive and what was the dosage? My doc proposes 33 sessions. The dosage for the first 28 will be 180, and last 5 will be 200. I feel it is an overkill since I already had chemo, my tumor was small and there was no node involvement. Thank you for your reply.