Diagnosed in July

Maxiash

Hi everyone I was diagnosed in July with early breast cancer. A 8mm mass at 12 o'clock and calcifications near my nipple. I had a biopsy done and my surgeon told me it was not slow growing, not fast growing but in between.
I had a lumpectomy and since then I have been told it was slow growing and my 1st point Lymph nodes that my surgeon took were all clear.
My clearance for my mass was 5mm and my clearance for my calcifications was 2mm which my surgeon told me is fine.
I have been told I don't need chemo but I will need radiotherapy for 3 weeks and 5 years of endocrine therapy.
I saw my radiologist yesterday and he explained everything to me including possible side effects. 
I must admit its a lot to take in and even though its rare I am concerned about damage to my lung my radiotherapy would be whole left breast.
He also showed me a study that was done in UK on people over 65 and America did the same study for people over 70 about chances of re occurrence with and without radiology. Has anyone else been told about the 10 year study on people over 65. Has anyone had scarring on their lung and if so how has their breathing been effected?.
It really is a lot of information to take in I see my oncologist in a week to start endocrine therapy. I was given Anastrozol when my surgery was delayed due to me catching covid and my lungs were badly effected.
I was only on it for about 2 weeks until I was well enough for surgery.

arpie

Hi @Maxiash - so sorry to see you join our little group xx.  The position of yours sounds very similar to mine!  12 o'clock and Under the nipple, where mine was.   Being slow growing - was it ILC (Invasive Lobular Cancer?)  

Your ongoing treatment also mimics mine too ... tho, with my Onc's permission, I extended my Endocrine treatment for another 2 years - as most data now does not support early BC having 10 years of AIs.

I had hardly any side effects with the radiation & tho I DID have some aches & pains with the AIs, I was able to change medications til I found one that suited me & have successfully stayed on the 3rd one for the last 6 years.  The one that suited me the best was Anastrozole, like yours.

Before I started my radiation, I was given the chance of doing a trial WITHOUT radiation over a period of years (to compare with others who DID have radiation)... but I declined.  I preferred the extra insurance that the radiation gave me, as ILC can still be aggressive, even tho slow growing.  It does have a recurrence rate that is a lot 'later' than most other forms of BC too - often in excess of 10-15 years.

Do you have a link to the Study that you've mentioned?  It would make interesting reading!

A girlfriend had ongoing issues with her lungs following her BC surgery &  after chemo and radiation (nearly 15 years ago) ... If it was your right breast that had the surgery - The Rad Onc will give you specific breathing techniques to separate your internal organs from 'overflow' rays.  As yours was close to the nipple, like mine - ask the Radiation Oncologist about possibly being in the 'prone' position for yours. ..... Mine was (and i've always been a size 34 - so not really 'ample' breast sized.   

So instead of being 'face up' for the Rads, I was 'face down' and my boob was hanging thru a hole in the table.  It meant the table had to be lifted quite high up, to enable the machine to get underneath, to deliver the treatment.  

take care & all the best for your rads & AIs

Maxiash

Hi Arpie thank you for replying what I was told after surgery my 8 mm tumour was tested and it was slow growing my calcifications near my nipple weren't yet cancerous but they can turn cancerous they were in my milk ducts. I don't have a very good understanding of my calcifications and if it was invasive lobular cancer or not. I found the study on the internet after talking to my radiologist this week. I did ring his rooms and asked for him to send me the information so I could read it again but he hasn't replied yet. So I googled Uk trials on women over 65 with slow growing cancer and radiology. I found Prime study 2 it must be the study he showed me on Monday, it was posted on 24/2/23 it came from the New England Journal of medicine and also another site Esmo has posted the same findings. The title on one web sites that published the study is breast conserving surgery with or without irradiation in early breast cancer. On the Esmo site its sub title is radiotherapy can be safely omitted in older women with low risk Hr positive early breast cancer treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy. My radiologist said he would give me radiotherapy going through the side of my breast im not sure what position I would be laying in. There was no mention of specific breathing for me with mine being left breast. I am seeing my oncologist next week to start on Endocrine therapy again. I found the only thing I got was constipated while taking it when my surgery was delayed.

arpie

Many Thanks for at - I've found it!! !@maxiash
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2207586

If your Rads will be 'from the side' - it almost sounds like you may be in the prone position, like me!  

Shame about the constipation with the AI .... regular old prunes may help!  

All the best xx