Hi Everyone, I had a lumpectomy to the left breast and therapeutic mammoplasty of both in October’22. My left breast had a 23mm mixed lobular and ductal carcinoma. No node involvement and oncotype score of 13. I started on Anastrazole in November but due to my left breast not healing my ct planning was cancelled 4 times. Following further surgery in January I was called for my ct planning scan on Tuesday past and received a phone call from the oncologist today to say that they are not going ahead with radiotherapy as my wound still isn’t healed enough and it would cause a further breakdown in healing. I now feel very worried about recurrence and was wondering if anyone has had this experience and what was the outcome.
Hi Shaz
Your concerns are understandable. If you’re not in a position to discuss this with your oncologist or breast care nurse, maybe talking to the nurse on the helpline (number top right) which is an excellent service. The nurses are very knowledgeable and sympathetic and it might help ease your worries. Having said that, your first priority should be to ask for phone consultation with your oncologist - s/he knows the specific details of your cancer.
A lot of people do have hormone therapy only. Radiotherapy can cause problems and, with a badly healing breast, it definitely would cause you a lot of suffering. Your MDT must have weighed up all the benefits and risks - they wouldn’t put you a risk of a recurrence, in my opinion; they’d even offer chemotherapy as a substitute if there was a risk. But that’s an uninformed opinion so please discuss it with a professional.
Wishing you all the best xx