Fear of radiation after lumpectomy

I am dealing with a similar situation. I just had lumpectomy for Grade I invasive ductal carcinoma, ER/PR positive and HER-2 negative. Spot removed was only 0 .6 cm (smaller than pea size). Surgeon rec is radiation plus AI. I have suffered for my nearly my entire life with chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, autoimmune thyroid, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, vertigo, dizziness, swelling, severe allergies, etc. Three lymph nodes were removed and none of them tested positive. My BARC genetic test came back negative also. Surgery report says all margins are clean. I have struggled my entire life to overcome the overwhelming amount of symptoms I already have. In addition, my father died of leukemia and also my cousin on his side. My cousin on my mom's side has lupus and thyroid issues as does the entire side of mom's family. My aunt had lung cancer. With my history, I do not want to risk making my already awful quality of life even worse. So I am waiting on my Oncotype results. I too have read horrible things about AI and radiation. Radiation can bring on leukemia and lung cancer later on. I've had to cut back on work already due to my existing issues, so I can't afford to quit. I need to still work to pay bills. So far, I have not found that the benefits of radiation or AI's outweigh the risks or decreased quality of life. Unless there is some indication that you are at higher risk of recurrence. I'd like to see some studies on this topic but haven't found much out there yet. Has anyone out there found any studies on this?

Jump to this post

I totally agree with you. They lump everyone in the same category regardless of Onco scores K167 scores clear margins no lymph node involvement etc. cancer is a Multi billion $ business and this is their standard of care and they make no exceptions... It is very scary to be facing radiation if you have low numbers. I’m sitting on the fence and must make a decision by Friday . I am full of anxiety about it. I have done my research and there are a lot of natural holistic antitumor properties that we can take instead of the anti-estrogen meds which give you a horrible quality of life. Good luck to you and your decision as I know how hard it is.

Jump to this post

I totally agree with you. They lump everyone in the same category regardless of Onco scores K167 scores clear margins no lymph node involvement etc. cancer is a Multi billion $ business and this is their standard of care and they make no exceptions... It is very scary to be facing radiation if you have low numbers. I’m sitting on the fence and must make a decision by Friday . I am full of anxiety about it. I have done my research and there are a lot of natural holistic antitumor properties that we can take instead of the anti-estrogen meds which give you a horrible quality of life. Good luck to you and your decision as I know how hard it is.

Jump to this post

I had lumpectomy then 15 radiation treatments then anti estrogen pills all since last Year November. Now in July I have chronic Myeloid Leukemia. I wonder if the radiation had anything to do with it? I am now taking Gleevec , a chemo pill with some side affects

Jump to this post

Mine was a 1.3 cm tumor, clear margins, super high positive ER/PR and HER2 negative, no lymph nodes. I chose only lumpectomy and breast reduction but no to radiation, chemo, and hormone therapy. I also declined the Oncotype test. I had my first mammogram 6months post op and all was well and good, next one in a year! Been in a good mood ever since. It was like a giant decompression mode since when she said "oh you're all done see ya next year"! I view my breast cancer as in my rear view mirror now. Could it recur? sure, but should I worry about it, I don't' think so nor will I.

Jump to this post

Are you 65 or older? I’m 65

Jump to this post