Seeking Advice: Radiation After Mastectomy and Reconstruction

My sister has double mastectomy and after surgery one of her oncologists suggested radiation. Ther other doctor asked why? She ended up not doing radiation. I thought getting mastectomy eliminated the need for radiation. Also my doctor told me that radiation and implants " do not play well together". I don't know details but I guess if you have implants and get radiation you can have complications like hardening of the implants and that can lead to pain ( also messes with the shape of the implants). Ask your doctor again about this. Maybe get another opinion.

Gm and I hope your recovery goes well for me personally I haven’t had the surgery so I don’t know what all the terms mean and I’m lost. If you don’t mind what made the surgery a to go to next step for you

Caitlin , are you in an area where reduced radiation txs is an option? In was offered 5 txs. I ended up in a study where I only had to have one. It was high powered but effective. Tumor shrinking. Surgery scheduled for this to all. I had very little negative side effects from the radiation.

I just finished my 15 rounds of radiation, but I had lumpectomies. The final week of radiation was a little rough and had to put ice packs on my breast. Another Dr was saw wanted to do 17 rounds. What I didn’t ask was how do you decide on how many rounds someone needs. I would definitely ask your Dr again and get a second opinion. I’m glad I got a second opinion. Good luck and home that means your cancer free at this point

It's completely understandable to feel anxious about unexpected changes to your treatment plan, especially when radiation wasn't initially expected. Many community members have navigated similar decisions about radiation after reconstruction and found it helpful to connect with others who've been through this experience. Hopefully some members who've had radiation with expanders or implants will share their insights to help you feel more informed as you work with your medical team.