Radiation therapy for breast cancer uses high levels of radiation to kill cancerous cells in the breast or cease them from growing further. All the mutated cells that are left out after chemotherapy i.....
Radiation therapy for breast cancer uses high levels of radiation to kill cancerous cells in the breast or cease them from growing further. All the mutated cells that are left out after chemotherapy is also killed in the process.
-
Steps to take before the treatment
Our team of doctors at Medanta will carefully review your medical condition and will map the areas to be treated. You will need to go through a CT scan for determining and mapping the treatment area. Ink marks or permanent tattoo dots will be placed on your skin to determine the area of treatment.
-
What happens during the treatment?
There are two approaches for radiation therapy, external radiation and internal radiation. In external beam radiation, high-powered energy beams are directed from a machine outside your body to kill the cancerous cells. In internal radiation, a small radioactive device is placed in the breast near the tumour site which delivers radiation to the affected breast tissues.
-
After the procedure
The therapy can be done on an outpatient basis. Your doctor will guide you through all the post-care procedures to be followed.
This minimally invasive treatment effectively treats breast cancer, but as any other radiation therapy, it comes with a few disadvantages that a
The advantages of Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer are:
- The treatment kills the cancerous cells.
- It reduces the chance of cancer cells to spread.
- It is also helpful in reducing pain.
- It is often used with chemotherapy to treat remaining cancer cells.
The risks associated with Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer are:
Common risks of the treatment include weakness, skin reaction, swelling in the breasts, and different skin sensation. Rare symptoms include swelling of the arms, a fracture in the rib, swelling in the lungs, heart risk, and even bone and muscle cancer.
It causes damage to the surrounding tissues. Sometimes one session of the radiation therapy is not sufficient to kill all the tumour cells, and therefore, subsequent sessions might be required.
