postponing radiation

I had a lumpectomy on Tues., very small,sentinal nodes showed no spreading.   Can I put off radiation until July1..This is purely a money situation as I will qualify for Medicare.


This discussion is related to radiation.

[SueYoung55]

Hi there! I'm sorry you've got this happening in your life.

One thing I learned during my treatments is you can negotiate the cost of your treatment. Do you have insurance now? If not, contact the social worker in your radiologists office for assistance and they will help you. Negotiate what you can and cannot afford. My rad's Dr. cancelled out the entire bill for a friend of mine's Father after his treatment. You just don't know what they'll do for you. With insurance, they accepted what my insurance would pay and that was it.

What you do know because they've told you this is that you need radiation. Waiting 7 months isn't a wise decision. Do you really want to give cancer a chance? I can guarantee you that chemo is a whole lot worse than radiation. That would not be a chance I'd take.

I stopped at my Rads Dr at 6am every morning on my way to work, every single day during the week. 20 minutes a day.

Best wishes while you decide.

[zouzi]

Hi,
Radiation therapy should be administered soon after proper healing of tissues has taken place.
The purpose that radiation was recommended by your surgeon is to destroy any cancer cells that may have escaped during surgery.
Waiting 7 months is much too long a delay to start your therapy.
Please, you should talk to your doctor/oncologist about this,to see what can be arranged in your particular situation.
You could call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 for help,advice and to see if there may be assistance available in your area.
Best wishes and good luck...

[grannieannie64]

thanks for your input..this was very helpful info

[bluebutterfly2222]

According to a 2005 study, in older women, the longer the interval, the greater the risk for recurrence:


(Begin quote)Radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer lowers risk for local cancer recurrence and lengthens survival (Lancet 2005; 366:2087). Whether the interval between surgery and radiotherapy affects outcomes, however, is unclear. In this retrospective study, investigators studied 18,000 older women (age, 65) with stage 0–2 breast cancer who received breast-conserving surgery and radiotherapy, but not chemotherapy, to determine whether the length of the interval between surgery and radiotherapy affected risk for local cancer recurrence.

The median time from breast surgery to start of radiotherapy was 34 days. During a mean follow-up of 5.4 years, 734 women (4%) experienced local recurrences. In a multivariate analysis, an interval longer than 6 weeks between surgery and radiotherapy was associated significantly with elevated likelihood of local recurrence (hazard ratio, 1.2). A significant continuous relation between interval from surgery to radiotherapy and local recurrence was observed: The longer the interval, the greater the risk for recurrence.

Comment: A continuous relation exists between the length of time between surgery and radiotherapy and risk for local recurrence in older women with breast cancer. The authors conclude "that there is no ‘safe' threshold in terms of waiting time and that radiotherapy should therefore be started as soon as possible" in these patients.(End quote)

Best wishes...

[bluebutterfly2222]

Correction:

The results from the original study showing benefit from radiation after breast-conserving surgery were reported in 2005.

The results from the study quoted above, indicating radiotherapy should not be delayed, were reported in 2010.

bb

[valliboy]

If I knew then.. what I have gone thru to this day.. and the all of the side effects and pain... from chemo. surgery. radiation.. I would never, ever .. ever  go there again.. I want a peaceful day to day life.. and I don't have that anymore.. constantly painful...never  ever..I wish i had never gone for my mammogram.....SIDE EFFECTS ...... BAD......I carried on a normal life working before... and this is terrible.. and no.. i am still not going to take the 5 year RX. Never,,,

[bluebutterfly2222]

I am so sorry you are going through such a bad time!

I also hope that things will gradually get better for you, and that someday, from a different perspective than you are able to have today, you will say, "Thank goodness I had that mammogram; it probably saved my life!"

Warm regards,
bluebutterfly

[Pam]

Hi

I am so sorry you have received this diagnosis.  Having been through lumpectomy, Chemotherapy (9 months) and 2 months of daily radiation I can tell you it is NO picnic.  However, I'm still HERE after 11 years and I am thankful for every extra moment I have with my family!

It's great to hear from everyone who has walked the same path, but the honest truth is that this is a decision you need to make and you need your doctor's help in order to make the RIGHT decision for you.  Only your doctor can help you decide what to do and when, based on your personal medical history.  

I also wanted to mention that every single pharmaceutical company offers reduced (or even free) drugs to anyone who qualifies.  Also, most every hospital has a Patient Advocate who can help you find out what is available for you in your local area.

Hope this helps and I'll keep you in my thoughts & prayers.

Pam

[grannieannie64]

After a weekend of quiet thinking and prayer, I have decided to go ahead with radiation and the Dr. said I could only have a 2 month grace period and he will do 3 wks. instead of 5 as is done in Canada & England.  I have someone who offered to  pay for it which has relieved my anxiety 100%.

[zouzi]

Hi again,

I am so glad that everything has been resolved! I believe in prayers too....
Good luck and I wish you all the best! :-)

[SueYoung55]

Awesome!

You can do this. Remember that you may get tired during those 3 weeks and when then happens, let your body rest.

Best wishes from another who believes in the power of prayer!