Fatigue after radiation

I had 16 radiation treatments and 4 boosters. I'm at 4 weeks after treatment and still have fatigue. It's not horrible and I'm dealing with it. My oncologist said it can sometimes take months to go away. I also had total knee replacement surgery a couple of months before the DCIS diagnosis, biopsy and 3 lumpectomies so my body has a lot of healing to do. I think my biggest issue is that I feel guilty for not doing the things I normally would be doing this time of year but I just can't muster up the energy to do them. Such as planting flowers and a garden. I look at all of it as just overwhelming - so I've decided to not do them this year. I'm 72 so that might be a part of it as well. It's frustrating but I'm glad to be alive and that this was caught early.

I had 16 radiation treatments and 4 boosters. I'm at 4 weeks after treatment and still have fatigue. It's not horrible and I'm dealing with it. My oncologist said it can sometimes take months to go away. I also had total knee replacement surgery a couple of months before the DCIS diagnosis, biopsy and 3 lumpectomies so my body has a lot of healing to do. I think my biggest issue is that I feel guilty for not doing the things I normally would be doing this time of year but I just can't muster up the energy to do them. Such as planting flowers and a garden. I look at all of it as just overwhelming - so I've decided to not do them this year. I'm 72 so that might be a part of it as well. It's frustrating but I'm glad to be alive and that this was caught early.

I haven’t started radiation yet but am reading about others experiences as the plan is also for me to have 16 plus 4 boosts. However I still can’t get clean margins! I go in July 19th for my third re-excision. I must say this has had me questioning whether I should have requested mastectomy. You also had 3 surgeries?

I haven’t started radiation yet but am reading about others experiences as the plan is also for me to have 16 plus 4 boosts. However I still can’t get clean margins! I go in July 19th for my third re-excision. I must say this has had me questioning whether I should have requested mastectomy. You also had 3 surgeries?

Yes, I had 3. It was frustrating. Thankfully the physical recovery from them was pretty easy but the mental anguish was hard. I wondered as well if I should have requested mastectomy but after discussions with my surgeon, the medical oncologist and then the radiology oncologist I felt reassured that for my diagnosis this was the best path and now I'm happy I went with that. Good luck with this hopefully last surgery!!!

Dear meg55,
I had two lumpectomies, and am now cleared to start radiation therapy in a few days. The plan for me is the same as yours: 16 plus 4 boosts. It was frustrating to learn after the first lumpectomy that they didn't get clear margins and I had to have a second one. I am really sorry that you had to have three! I also wondered if I just shouldn't have gotten a mastectomy, but even at two (or three?) lumpectomies, they are much less invasive than a mastectomy, and still leave plenty of tissue so that breast reconstruction surgery is not necessary. I understand that with a mastectomy the skin on your chest is usually permanently numb, plus no nipple. Still having an active sex life, these are important considerations for me. As one of my doctors reminded me, if it becomes necessary in the future, I can still get a mastectomy, but once the breast is gone, it's gone. So I think it is worth a try to see if lumpectomy plus radiation does the trick. Statistically, the survival rate is the same (in my case, better than 99%). Hope this helps.

It was a good 6 months before I was less than completely exhausted. It took another 6 months to get back to feeling like myself. (I had a lumpectomy and radiation. I chose not to do aromatase inhibitors.)