Planning Sessions
Radiation therapy can harm normal tissue, so it needs to be carefully planned and precisely given. This helps ensure that the radiation kills as many cancer cells as possible while doing as little damage as possible to other parts of your body. Every woman must have her therapy planned specifically for her, since each woman's body is shaped differently. For this reason, radiation treatments cannot be split between multiple facilities. In general, therapy is planned based on tumor characteristics, such as size, type and location.
Your radiation oncologist oversees the radiation planning sessions. The radiation oncologist works with technicians and nurses to deliver your care at each treatment session. At these sessions, you will lie on a special X-ray table while the oncologist decides the proper dose of radiation and the best areas to receive the radiation. In some cases, he/she will use a CT scan to guide the radiation planning.
During the planning, the radiation oncologist places small marks on your skin. These marks are small, about the size of a pinhead, and are used to make sure you are correctly positioned for each treatment. These can be ink spots, or they can be tattoos. If they are ink spots, it is important not to wash them off until after radiation therapy is completed.
Radiation Therapy Sessions
During a radiation treatment session, you will lie on a special X-ray table. Usually, the entire breast will be given a dose of radiation. If lymph nodes removed during surgery were found to have cancer, the area around the lymph nodes may also get radiation. (For more on lymph nodes, see the Diagnosis section.) Each session lasts about 20 minutes. Most of this time is spent positioning your body. Treatment is usually given one session a day, five days a week, for five to seven weeks.
At the end of the five or seven weeks, you may receive more radiation (called a boost) to the part of the breast that had the tumor. These extra treatments are called boosts. Boosts are given to help get rid of any cancer left in the area of the original tumor. They may be given in a similar way as the regular radiation sessions. Or, small, radioactive "seeds" or a single small balloon may be implanted in the breast near the surgical site and used to deliver radiation.
Things to Remember While Going Through Radiation Therapy
- Do not wash the ink marks off your skin.
- Check with your radiation team before applying any lotions or powders on the affected area when being treated.
- Do not use deodorants or deodorant soaps.
- Do not wear tight-fitting clothing or jewelry.
- Wear clothing that is easy to take off, in case you need to change into a hospital gown.
- Use reliable birth control to prevent pregnancy, since radiation can harm a fetus.
- Keep the treated area out of the sun.
- Inform your health care provider about any side effects.
(Adapted from the National Cancer Institute's Radiation therapy and you: support for people with cancer [6].)
Updated 08/24/09
