“Is 33 radiation treatments normal?”
I have hormone positive breast cancer (the size of my pinky finger) that's been surgically removed, It spread to one lymph node, again, removed along with a second node for good measure. My oncotype score was 19. The radiologist I'm seeing has me on a regime of 33 treatments of external radiation. Is this a normal regime? I feel like it's an awful lot and I worry about the long-term effects.
Female | 61 years old
Conditions: Breast Cancer
3 Answers
That is normal or conventional treatment for breast cancer after lumpectomy to control cancer in the breast and achieve good cosmesis. Normally we treat the whole breast 28 treatments with Photon then give additional 5 treatments to tumor bed with electron beam.
Yep, that’s standard! It’s tiny doses over a long time to prevent bad burns.
Hello,
You are asking about the duration of post operative therapy following surgical removal of the cancer. You mention that one lymph node was involved. I presume that you are referring to “adjuvant” therapy which is given to decrease the chance of the cancer recurring following surgical removal. Many studies have been performed to assess the effectiveness of these therapies.
You are asking about the duration of post operative therapy following surgical removal of the cancer. You mention that one lymph node was involved. I presume that you are referring to “adjuvant” therapy which is given to decrease the chance of the cancer recurring following surgical removal. Many studies have been performed to assess the effectiveness of these therapies.
