A day in the life of a radiotherapy patient

Well done Mita! Proof once again of the merits of discussing everything and anything with our doctors. I'm a great believer in each of us taking personal responsibility for our own treatment. After all, long after the doctors have moved on to other patients we'll still be living in our bodies (hopefully!). It's so great to have the information that allows you to make a confident choice. I was told that I would need radiation regardless of whether or not I had the breast removed and that (contrary to a lot of the media response to Angelina's surgery) having a mastectomy would not improve my survival chances. It was an easy choice to keep my breast but only because I had all of the information I needed. 
I would like to suggest that you discuss reconstruction with your surgeon before you go much further. The advice I have from friends with mastectomies is that the type of surgery you have can differ depending on the outcome you want. One friend who has no intention of getting reconstruction was given a partcular type of mastectomy that has resulted in a 'flap' under her arm. She was told (when she woke up!) that the surgeon chose this type of operation because it would facilitiate reconstruction. She has never wanted reconstruction and now faces a dillema; have a second surgery to 'tidy up' the orginal mastectomy or go ahead with a reconstruction that she didn't want in the first place. Meanwhile, another friend wishes she'd opted for 'reconstruction ready' surgery because they've told her that the full mastectomy hasn't left sufficient room to move for the type of reconstruction she wants!
I guess it's a case of being sure about what you want and whether you want to keep your options open. As always, getting lots of information from your own doctors will help with that decision.
My very best wishes with whatever you decide.

Meg

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