Should I Delay Radiation Without Oncotype DX Results?

I had radiation on the left side, 20 treatments. They had me do breathing techniques to keep the affected area away from my heart. It was 2 years ago and I have no side effects. I do high intensity exercise frequently and have no issues with my heart.

Hi had radiation 5 yrs ago left side with breathing technique. I would agree to have follow up with cardiology. I'm glad Julia is doing well. However, I do indeed have cardiac issues related to the radiation and I am followed by Cardiology you are advocating for yourself NOT being overly dramatic. Good luck take care

My left breast also had the cancer. I hadn’t thought bought being followed by cardiology. I did know about the breathing technique. I meet with my oncologist Tuesday so will bring it up with her.

So they aren’t doing the breathing technique on me. I’ve had 4 treatments so far and they told me that they wouldn’t need to do that for whatever reason and they won’t be consulting with a cardiologist. I don’t understand but I will be speaking with my oncologist about my concerns. Laurie, you are right! I guess we do need to advocate for ourselves because who else will?

My radiologist said no damage to heart and mine was on left side. They zoom in to the breast . I asked my cardiologist and he agreed.

I had a cardiac stent just before my diagnosis. I did the breathing technique and had ultrasound before and a few months after. No cardiac issues from radiation but did develop a little pulmonary fibrosis

Drs are weird

I am currently doing radiation on the left side and hold my breath (not more than 20 seconds each time) during the actual treatment to move my heart out of the way. The radiation techs are quick to tell me to take a deeper breath if my heart needs moving out of the way. In addition, my radiation oncologist made a special plate that they put on the machine to keep my heart from being affected. I guess time will only tell whether I will have any impacts to the heart. However, never feel that you are being dramatic or overly cautious in advocating for your health. Mental health is as important as physical health, and part of mental health is feeling comfortable with your treatment plan. Gentle hugs!!

I just had an echo on my heart yesterday and will have one every 3 months to monitor my heart due to chemo. I’ll bring this up to my radiation oncologist once I get there but absolutely! Advocate for yourself! There is no stupid question and honestly there’s no question they haven’t heard before so ask away. You are the project manager of this cancer and the doctors and nurses are members of your team. You make the decisions that are best for you.

This is such an understandable concern, and many patients face similar decisions about treatment timing and coordination. Having missing test results when treatment is scheduled to begin can feel really unsettling. Consider asking the oncologist to clearly explain the reasoning behind the change in approach and whether waiting a bit longer for the Oncotype DX results would significantly impact treatment effectiveness. Regarding heart monitoring during left-sided radiation, this is a legitimate consideration that many patients discuss with their care teams - bringing up the cardiology question with the radiation oncologist could help clarify whether additional monitoring would be beneficial in this specific situation.