Hyperbaric oxygen therapy during radiation?

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Mandy6
Mandy6 Member Posts: 2
edited September 2020 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

Forgive me if I've missed some previous thread on this, as I am new to the forum, but I am having a heck of a time trying to find information on this. I've found quite a few people talking about using it effectively after radiation, or around surgery, to alleviate skin/tissue related issues, and some research regarding it's safety as it relates to stimulating cancer growth/recurrence, but nothing yet about using it sort of prophylactically during radiation.

I've finished my chemotherapy already (miraculously a PCR on an 8cm+ TNBC tumor, thanks to an amazing oncologist), and had a bilateral mastectomy with subpectoral tissue expanders about a week ago. I seem to be healing well, but I am leaning pretty strongly towards having a prepectoral reconstruction, and as such I am concerned with maintaining the quality of my skin flaps.

As I understand it, the primary cause of skin/tissue damage during radiation is due to bloodflow issues, and HOT could potentially help preempt these sorts of issues if used at the same time as radiation. My thinking is that it's easier to prevent these issues than it is to attempt to fix them after the fact, and I can't imagine that I'm the only one who has gone down this rabbit hole.

Haven't got a chance to talk to my radiologist, although I will be picking his/her brain on the matter when I do.

Please feel free to correct me if you find any incorrect assumptions, but I would love to hear from folks who have tried this, or if anyone has any links to research on the topic that would also be appreciated. Hell, I'd even be interested to hear educated guesses on why this is a good/bad idea if that's all that's out there.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2020

    Here is a link to the page of posts that come up when you type "hyperbaric" into the search function. There are some members that are still active here that posted in some of them. If their posts don't contain the info you are looking for you can always private message them directly.

    https://community.breastcancer.org/posts/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search_builder%5Bkeyword%5D=hyperbaric+&search_builder%5Bauthor%5D=&search_builder%5Bsource%5D=&search_builder%5Bdate_range%5D=&commit=Search

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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited August 2020

    I did HBOT during radiation. Did it during chemo too in conjunction with high dose C.

    HBOT was VERY good to get healed after radiation.

    No ongoing problem, no LE, no issues. I had whole breast rads. But I only had a LX prior to rads, so not sure about the surgery aspect,

    There is something called pentoxifylline which I took after rads and that is supposed to prevent fibrosis.

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  • Mandy6
    Mandy6 Member Posts: 2
    edited August 2020

    Santabarbarian, good to hear someone else has tried this. A follow up question, if you have a moment: how often did you go and do the HBOT? What factors or information contributed to that decision, or was it something that was prescribed?

    It's a bit pricey, at least locally, and I've seen people reference anything from 1-2x per week all the way to 5x a week. Leaning towards the lower end of the range at least until or if a specific issue crops up, but frequency isn't something I've put a lot of time into figuring out just yet.

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  • santabarbarian
    santabarbarian Member Posts: 3,085
    edited August 2020

    I did 2 x per week during chemo & IVC and then dropped back. During rads I went once a week. After rads I went 2-3 x a week for 2 weeks to heal my skin

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  • Jaybird627
    Jaybird627 Member Posts: 2,144
    edited September 2020

    Hi,


    I posted my experience somewhere else but saw this thread and decided to post here.

    I had BMX 2 years ago, 2 expanders, chemo and then rads on L side. Had previous rads on R side (lumpectomy and chemo in 2005) with no issues until expander , then I had open wounds. Had expander removed, lat flap Dec 2019, and now getting ready for a new expander with new surgeon.

    This surgeon recommended 20 HBOT before surgery and then 10 after surgery to help with healing. I've had 10 so far, 10 more before surgery in October. I go every day. I'm hoping for the best, for no open wounds after expander/exchange. The L side is fine skin wise, just capsule contracture of implant so that will be exchanged eventually, probably when I have R expander exchanged. My new surgeon seems experienced with skin issues whereas my previous surgeon who did my lat flap is less experienced as he didn't suggest the HBOT.


    Jaybird~

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