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Fear of radiation after lumpectomy
I was seriously thinking of refusing radiation after lumpectomy because I had complete removal of tumor with wide negative margins. I was convinced that there would be no lung, rib, or heart radiation by using the prone(lying on stomach) with breast hanging down. They have been very careful with treatments & very accommodating so after 4 treatments I am feeling more secure by my decision to do this to ensure all cancer was caught.
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I agree with you with chemo. The damage from it outweighed the drop in risk. Not worth it.
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2 ReactionsMy radiation oncologist told me radiation offered a risk reduction of 55% to 60% for recurrence. Since my negative margin was only .5 mm, I went ahead with radiation and tolerated it well. I had all treatments on my back, and the technique did not affect my heart or lungs despite the tumor being quite deep. I did, however, refuse chemo. That only offered a 3% risk reduction. Totally not worth it in my book.
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5 ReactionsI had radiation too. It reduces the risk of cancer coming back from about 20% to less than 5%. That’s a big reduction . So far I’m glad I did it but it’s only been 4 months.
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