cancer or increase the chance for it to occur in the right? Yes, I will ask my Dr. the next time I'm in his office but in the mean time I'm asking someone that may know this here.
2007-05-04 02:49:10 · 6 answers · asked by COblonde 3 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Cancer
If the radiation is on the rt breast it could increase the chance of BC there--but it shouldn't be targeting that area, it should only be on the left breast---so in short, the answer is no. But like others have said radiation can cause an increase in recurrence.....but the benefit certainly outweighs the risk. Radiation only increases the risk in areas that have been irradiated--not other areas, those cancer would be caused by something else.
I have breast cancer and it's b/c of all the radiation I had to my chest area when I had Hodgkin's 23 years ago. But if I now had liver cancer it would not be related to Hodgkin's treatment b/c the radiation did not target that area.
2007-05-04 05:07:58 · answer #1 · answered by kathylouisehall 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
It is better today and not as bad, but it could be better. My wife had L. side breast cancer 30 years ago. They determined that the cause was actually connected to X-Ray traetments che recieved as a child (1950). It may sound strange but X-Ray was the new cure on the block then. She had multiple bouts of bronchitus and felt that the X-Ray treatments would help. There were a significant number of patients who recieved the treatments that developed cancer to make the relationship. She ended up with a Mastomectomy in 1980 and underwent Chemo and Radiation. The two treatments did cure the cancer. The problem is that the radiation treatments were still fairly new. They didn't know how to shield the rest of the body as they do today, also they used broad spectrum treatments then. The radiation actually damaged her heart. It was almost the same *** exposing her body to a microwave oven. She did not have heart desease, but needed to have two valves in her heart repaired and a double bypass. These were not deseased but damaged by the radiation.
She died two years ago from Lymphoma. The cancer was not a result of the breast cancer but Lymphoma has been linked to the particular Chemo from the 80's.
There is always some chance that cures, procedures of today may cause some complication in the future. Every person does not act the same a others.
In my wife's case no one is sure if the X-Ray treatments helped or not, but we do know that the Chemo and Radiation did cure the cancer. It allowed her to live and see our two daughters grow up, get married and bless us with 7 wonderful grandkids. It was very hard to loose her, but we ended up with 44 wonderful years that we would not have traded.
2007-05-04 04:30:56 · answer #2 · answered by ttpawpaw 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I just finished my radiation 1 week ago and the chances are extremely slim that radiation could trigger cancer in the right. Only if there are cells located on the other breast that are missed and begin to develop
2007-05-04 05:15:06 · answer #3 · answered by xoxodolphin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Environmental Causes:
"Women who have received high-dose ionizing radiation to the chest have a relative risk of breast cancer between 2.1 to 4.0"
2007-05-04 11:07:11 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Always radiotherapy increases the risks for a second malignancy. Not necessary in the other breast, but anywhere in the body, especially in the irradiated area and forms of leukemia due to irradiation of bone marrow.
More about radiotherapy side effects on my blog:
http://www.newcancerguide.com/common-side-effects-of-radiotherapy.html
Cristiana
2007-05-04 02:58:37 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not the radiation, but if you have the gene, that would increase the chances of bilateral involvement.
2007-05-04 03:13:57 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋