← Return to Lumpectomy with radiation vs mastectomy for stage 1 invasive plus DCIS

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@dawnblair33

In response to your comment. In my mom's case, she was first diagnosed with breast cancer, a lumpectomy was performed without radiation. All was well for a while, but the breast cancer came back, this time she just opted to have the mastectomy, at that time, she was encouraged by one of her Dr's to do the radiation in order to heighten the chances of the breast cancer not returning, but was NOT informed of the risk associated with the radiation. She followed the Doctors advice, got the radiation after the mastectomy. All was well for some time, but then out of nowhere she factored a rib, she went thru further testing and was diagnosed with Angiosarcoma in the soft tissue between her ribs. At that time she was told that she had developed Angiosarcoma due to the radiation treatment. Which was a major blow to my mom, because if she was informed of the risk associated with the radiation she would have taken another route. I just don't understand that if its known that this form of radiation causes sarcomas, why would it be used to treat another form of cancer? Even after my mom was diagnosed with Angiosarcoma, Why would radiation be a part of her treatment option? I don't understand the logic in that at all! I would never encourage anyone to go against their Dr's orders or advice, but after witnessing my mom's journey, I would advise anyone to simply do their research! My mom put all of her trust in her team of Doctors, and that was her choice! They say Angiosarcoma is a rare form of cancer and they don't know much about it. But what they do know is that radiation causes it, and I'm saying...If that's the case then why is radiation being added the the arsenal to fight cancer? I don't understand that.

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Replies to "In response to your comment. In my mom's case, she was first diagnosed with breast cancer,..."

There are things about your moms case that I don’t understand, but I don’t know all the specifics or where someone might or might not have made good decisions.
Reasoning it this way, I can understand why it is part of the arsenal. I have breast cancer for sure, one of my treatment choices carried a risk of less than one half of a percent chance I could get another cancer. I would probably risk it since I know I could die from the cancer I already have.
Like I said before every treatment is a cost vs benefit equation for each patient. I had a cancer that is well known for recurrence and being aggressive, so when I was not offered a mastectomy, but was offered chemo and radiation along with multiple surgeries, I took every treatment they offered me to give myself the best chance of surviving the breast cancer.
I am so sorry that turned badly for your mom. It is heartbreaking to be the one who gets the rare thing. 💔 I understand a bit about this from my genetics.
Can I assume you are getting screen regular to prevent your own life from being threatened in this way.