Hi
I have had a wle with total axillary clearance, TAC chemotherapy and am now about to start Radiotherapy. After that comes tamoxifen.
I was just wondering why if you’ve had chemo to mop up any stray cancer cells, why you need radiotherapy afterwards? Surely there won’t be anything to zap anymore!
I was told that the chemo was just a precaution so why the radio as well?
Anyone help?
Hi
I was told that the chemo attacks the whole body but radiotherapy just attacks the area concerned
Take Care
Mary
xx
Thanks for replying Mary.
I thought that too - so why bother with rads if chemo has gone through the whole body so to speak including the rads area?
I will still have the rads but can’t get my head around this one!
There is no guarantee that chemo will zap everything (otherwise no-one would go on to get secondaries) so rads is just another assault on any remaining cancer cells.
Hi
as I understand it, chemotherapy drugs travel through the whole body and damage cells that are dividing so they cannot continue growing, wherever they are. Radiation either kills cancer cells or prevents them from being able to reproduce but only in the exact area targeted, so very local. Radiation can cause damage so it has to be very limited, apparently you can lose a little of your lung capacity and they are also very careful if over your heart. Also to get an equally good prognosis from a lumpectomy (rather than a mastectomy, if you have the choice of either) you have to add rads, I assume as a greater chance some micro cells got missed.
Anyway those are the answers I have been given, if they shed any light, probably not.
Good luck greenpea and well done for getting so far in this marathon!!
Lily x