Prone position mapping for left breast.

That’s where mine were as well and I didn’t ask why. I had 21 sessions, all face down, arms overhead. It was a big strain on my shoulders at the end but I kept repeating to myself “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4: 13

@glendafl, in addition to @gldilli's reply, I'm tagging fellow members @hollyng @jeanadair123 @cherziggy @sessioja @kimogi57, who had prone position radiation so they can share their experiences. I, too, will be interested in their answers. I assume the markings are to line up the machines.

True the markings are to line the radiation.
It was very painless except uncomfortable as the bed you laid on was rather hard. No pain though they put your breast through a hole just like when you get an mri of your breast. I did have one area that was colored from the radiation no big deal, it took about a year to disappear.
All in all very painless. Just got tired nothing I couldn’t handle.

I had 16 treatments prone & the last 5 were on my back for a more localized treatment. I was at University of Nebraska Medical Center - I had ink markings on my breast. When I asked - they said they had mapped the locations in their equipment (from the MRI) & would re-mark the ink if needed - they were covered with like a waterproof band-aid. SO Nothing permanent. I think in the 5 weeks - they remarked it once. I had a friend in the past - who got a small ink tattoo for the location of the radiation.

Hi and thanks for responding. I have a couple of questions. Did they explain why the last 5 were on your back? How long ago was that? Mine was stage one. There were no lymph node involvement. I have large breast (D). I am supposed to get 18 radiation treatments, followed by 5 years hormone blocker but no chemo!!! My cancer was on the left side. That is why I sought after a facility that offered the prone position in my area. I wanted minimum exposure to the heart and lungs. I question everything but it’s like pulling wild mules, to get answers. I just want to be sure I’m getting the best possible treatment and hopefully the best outcome. Heart trouble runs heavily in my family so I’ve avoided smoking and alcohol but I’m 72 facing cancer. I also have some spots on my lungs. They are very small and a pet scan revealed no cancer but advised a Pulmonary follow up. No one in my immediate family has had cancer (except skin cancer )and most all smoked for years before quitting. So everyone is surprised I have this cancer.

It’s exhausting enough to have to go through cancer without having to do one’s own research for the nest treatment all the time. A friend of mine recently got AML they said it was from the radiation, how scary is that? I guess that’s why we get blood tests all the time? No one ever mentioned that to me in the past. My mother had liver cancer never smoked or drank alcohol I believe it was from the medication they gave her. No one else in my family has had cancer and I got uterus, recurrence of the vaginal cuff and breast. Radiation twice, I thought radiation was a better alternative than chemo but it certainly makes one think? It’s so tiring being so proactive. My husband also has had three cancers it’s like a full time job keeping track of our cancers.

Hi. What is AML that your friend had from radiation.??? You are so right. It’s exhausting having to research and find out things on your own all the time. The Doctors are so busy. They just think we should follow the leader kind of thing. I question as much as I can. But sometimes you don’t even know what to question/ask. You don’t know enough to know what you don’t know!!!

It’s Acute Myeloid Leukemia, starts in the bone marrow and quickly moves to the blood.

How do you know that your friend’s radiation therapy caused this disease in her body?

That’s what her specialist told her
that it was caused from the radiation. They caught it because she went into the hospital for COVID and her blood tests were not good.