A 43-year-old member asked:
How effective is radiation therapy for breast cancer?
3 doctor answers • 11 doctors weighed in

Dr. Barry Rosenanswered
General Surgery 35 years experience
Very effective.: Radiation therapy (rt) is never a primary treatment for breast cancer, but rather a supplement to surgery for the local treatment of breast cancer. Rt is mandatory following breast conserving surgery: local recurrence rates are decreased from >25% to <5% with rt. Rt is also used after mastectomy for patients that are at high risk for local recurrence.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Kris Gastanswered
Radiation Oncology 32 years experience
BreastCA&radiation: Most ladies will have two options for treatment of the primary breast cancer at the time of diagnosis:mastectomy/axillary sampling or breast conserving therapy(bct).Bct is a combo of the removal of the "lump", sample axilla, and radiation to the breast.Both of these options have the same local control rate(meaning the same chance the cancer will come back) and the same cure rate.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Travis Kidneranswered
Surgical Oncology 18 years experience
Local Recurrence: Radiation is effective for reducing the risk of local recurrence (breast cancer coming back in the breast.).
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Similar questions
A 34-year-old member asked:
How effective is radiation therapy for treating breast cancer?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in

Dr. Myron Arlenanswered
Surgical Oncology 65 years experience
Fairly effective: Radiation plays an important role in treating breast cancer. In the neoadjuvant setting it can reduce the size of a relatively large lesion making surgery more effective. It can be used to treat micro disease in axilla and after lumpectomy can be used to enhance survival and reduce local recurrence. In metastatic bone disease it can control in not eliminate disease.
3.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
CA
A 36-year-old member asked:
Can breast cancer recur after radiation therapy?
3 doctor answers • 12 doctors weighed in

Dr. Devon Websteranswered
Medical Oncology 23 years experience
Yes: After a lumpectomy and whole breast radiation, there is a 12-15% chance that breast cancer will come back in the same breast within 5 years. However, the chance of recurrence is much higher without radiation therapy.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Is radiation effective for breast cancer?
3 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in

Dr. Richard Orranswered
Surgical Oncology 45 years experience
Yes: After lumpectomy, radiation cuts local recurrence (recurrence in the breast) from 40% to less than 10%. It is also helpful after mastectomy if the lymph nodes are involved.
5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
CA
A 25-year-old member asked:
Are there any traditional indian alternatives to radiation therapy for breast cancer?
3 doctor answers • 12 doctors weighed in

Dr. Greg Pahnkeanswered
Surgery - Oncology 45 years experience
Not known: The standard is external radiation in a course of 3 canadian study versus 6 weeks american study versus the newer concept of partial breast irradiation with internal dwelling seeds for 90 seconds / twice a day for 5 days in highly selected candidates.
6.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
I a patient has breast cancer, when would you give radiation therapy?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in

Dr. Manoj Reddyanswered
Radiation Oncology 25 years experience
Breast irradiation: Radiation therapy is used for localized breast cancer. Radiation alone is not a curative treatment for breast cancer. In breast cancer, it is used as an additional (adjuvant) treatment to treat local and regional areas at high husk for microscopic disease. It's use depends on stage and what type of surgery had been performed. For more information, cancer.Gov, cancer.Org, astro.Org, nccn.Org.
4.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Mar 17, 2017
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