Single Side Rads Treatment, Prone Position

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nolongerdocile
nolongerdocile Member Posts: 4
edited August 2019 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

I'm sharing this because I think its worth sharing (I hope). I just finished Rads on my right breast. I'm in the US and my doctor is one of the few in the US that does radiation for a single breast in the prone position - think MRI for the breast - lying on your belly and one breast hanging down and receiving treatment. It reduces the exposure to the chest wall and lungs/heart drastically. I asked why this wasn't a common practice in the US and its because the hospital has to put in up-front costs without any insurance reimbursement for it. (Thank goodness my hospital had a huge donor that put in tons of money into the Breast Cancer Center.) That said, if its an option it's definitely worth it. I'm absolutely fatigued and have nipple/some breast pain 3 days after rads but it definitely is less than friends who have had the same dosage of Rads but while on their back.

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  • AliceBastable
    AliceBastable Member Posts: 3,461
    edited August 2019

    Its great for those who can do it. Several women here have had prone position radiation. I thought I'd die from the positioning during the MRI I had, same with any procedure where I'm on my stomach. But I had regular rads laying on my back, 33 sessions, and barely had any pink areas. I don't think the position matters for that.

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  • Reader425
    Reader425 Member Posts: 653
    edited August 2019

    Also had left sided rads in the prone position for the same reasons noted. I have preexisting issues and this was the best option for me. Glad to be at a facility that could do it. Thanks for the explanation as to why it's not done more often.

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