picture shows normal position of patient receiving breast
radiation, the arm needs to be pulled upward in the 'breast board' which sometimes can be
quite uncomfortable
Breast Radiation after a Lumpectomy
The traditional radiation technique was 6 weeks of
radiation the whole breast (here,
here and
here) but there
has been more interest in using accelerated partial breast irradiation (go
here) or faster
treatments protocols (called hypofractionation techniques as
here) and
here.
There is evidence that using
IMRT techniques will get better results (go
here).
Recent studies show that if the
radiation is not given after a lumpectomy, the risk of a relapse in the breast is 300% higher and the risk of death is at least 8% higher (see studies.) There is eveidence
that radiation is of benefit even in older women (see study)
