Whole Breast External Beam Radiation Therapy After Lumpectomy

After lumpectomy, the usual course of radiation treats the whole breast and, if needed, nearby lymph node areas. The radiation beam comes from a machine called a linear accelerator, or linac. The radiation beam is a specialized X-ray, and is painless. Each treatment is brief; however, you may be in the treatment room for 15 to 30 minutes because the setup for treatment needs to be very precise. Treatment is delivered every day, five days a week, Monday through Friday. The full course of treatment is usually delivered over one to seven weeks, depending on findings during surgery.

Before beginning treatment, you will be scheduled for a pre-treatment planning session to map out the area to treat. This involves having X-rays and/or a CT scan.

Some centers will place tiny tattoo-like marks on your skin to help the radiation therapist precisely position you for daily treatment and other centers may use markers and stickers.

Typically, radiation therapy is done with high energy X-rays, or photons. If needed, electrons or protons may be used to treat the breast or chest wall in select cases.

Recent clinical trials focused on early-stage breast cancer have shown that whole breast radiation therapy courses may be safely shortened by treating the tumor with slightly higher daily doses over less time. You can ask your radiation oncologist if you might qualify for a shorter course of radiation therapy.

If you have left-sided breast cancer, breathing techniques may be used during your treatments to minimize heart dose.