Has anyone here asked for a copy of the plan?
My fears are about my heart as affected breast is left.
Any suggestions for a sensible question to onc before I start?
I had ny apt for planning last week and treatment starts just before Xmas so I need to find out quickly.
Any thoughts much appreciated
I think the risk of heart damage is absolutely minute,if that’s any comfort (mine was left side too) I don’t see why you shouldn’t have a copy of the plan if you asked. Good luck with rads - they are really ok,I promise.
Hi
My rads were to the left as well. I was told that the planning is done to make sure that the heart is not affected, evidently we all have different sized hearts. I was warned that in the future if I need a chest x ray it may show a slight shadow left from the rads and not to worry but to mention that I had rads in the past.
Good Luck
Andie
Hi Andie
I read somewhere on the net about having rads on the left side and possible effects on the heart. Can’t remember where it was but if you google something like Breast cancer, rads and heart you will probably find it. The gyst was all to do with breathing and how the position of your heart changes slightly depending if you are breathing in or out. The idea was that when your heart is lower in your chest cavity then they zap the tumour. It all depends on you and the radiographers working in synch. I breath very slowly and this was taken into account with the zapping.
Hope you find it.
Good luck
Margaret
xx
It does sound like where you have had a radiotherapy is very advanced Margaret. This certainly wasn’t what happened for me. I was told that the very edge of my heart went very briefly into the field so the risk was kept as minimal as possible.
From what I’ve read the risk was much greater in the past when radiotherapy was done differently and with higher doses.
It is a worry but I suppose we have to think that the cancer is the biggest threat.
Elinda x
My rads were on the left. 15 ordinary sessions and 4 boosters. I was told not to worry about heart problems and coughs etc that it was very rare to have problems. 3 years on and I am still ok.
Debbie
xx
Mine were on the left, too - and on the lower inner quadrant of the breast so right over the heart. I asked the senior radiotherapist, and she said that the way they set them up now, and with the modern Linac machines, the rays are much more precisely targetted so there is very little likelihood of damage to other tissues. That said, it can still happen, so if you are one of the rare unlucky ones you need to get it followed up. Even if you get a problem, it’s usually temporary - you’d have to be SERIOUSLY unlucky these days to have a bad effect.