Hi, I was diagnosed in March with grade 2 IDC, had my lumpectomy 8 weeks ago and have got an appointment for radiotherapy and hormone tablets for ER+ on 4th August… originally doctor said 3 weeks of radiotherapy but people are telling me I could have just 1 week, really not sure which worries me more 1 week as worried it’s not enough or 3 weeks and have more side effects.
Ad far as I know 3 Weeks is the same dosage as the 5 days but spread out more
@Hudson25 there was a clinical trial called Fast-Start, which compared 1 week of Radiotherapy (5 days -26Gy) and 3 weeks of Radiotherapy (15 days - 40Gy). The phase 3 results (5 years data) published in 2020, found that having 5 doses of radiotherapy over 1 week worked as well as having 15 doses over 3 weeks and that the side effects were also comparable across the two radiotherapy regimes.
But do speak with your oncologist if you have any concerns. My oncologist mentioned that the 1 week regime has become the standard in many (not all) NHS settings since Covid in 2020, when explaining how the change came about after the results from the above trial.
I am starting my 1 week of Radiotherapy next week.
Thank you for your response and reassurance, I have made some notes of question I want to ask so I don’t forget when I have my appointment.
wishing you well for you radiotherapy next week.
I had radiotherapy early last year and my Oncologist said it might be 15 treatments or it might be 5 but that the dose would be the same . However @TDG is correct re the FastStart trial they have found that 5 treatments with a lower dose in total works as well as 15 at a higher total dose in the majority of BC .
The rules must have changed not long before my radio as at my pre- treatment phone call I when I asked about the dose ( worried about having a high dose in a short time ) she said that it would be a lower dose . It was 29gy over 5 treatments as opposed to 40gy over 15 . She also said this was the plan that had been worked out for me but offered to refer me back to Oncology or get further clarification for me if I was unhappy - but I had the treatment as planned .
Research is constantly resulting in treatments being revised and I’m on a medical trial myself at present .
I had some sunburn some fatigue afterwards - try to take things easy for a couple of weeks after, moisturise , do the post surgery exercises . After 6 weeks I was ok with just an odd day when my energy was low for another few weeks but after that I was fine - many people don’t really have any fatigue at all. I was nervous as you are but it went fine and the staff were lovely .
If you have any queries it’s probably best to discuss them with the treatment team though.
Wishing you all the best for your treatment and recovery.
Joanne x