Radiation Therapy: An Effective Treatment in the Fight Against Cancer
Every breast cancer survivor has a story—one filled with fear, hope and courage. While these survivors have many things in common, from the heart-wrenching diagnoses, to receiving some combination of chemotherapy, surgery or radiation therapy – none of their stories are exactly the same. The types of cancer are different, the way it affects their bodies and the way their bodies respond are unique. To battle this disease, teams of physicians, nurses and clinicians work together to treat each patient individually. With specifically tailored treatments and one-of-a-kind responses, miracles happen every day.
Holly’s Story 
“I just knew something was really wrong,” says Holly Swanson, a breast cancer survivor from Spokane Valley. “It hurt so bad I couldn’t even touch my right side.” Holly’s right breast was swollen and sore. After an appointment with her primary care physician, she went home feeling uneasy. He had prescribed her a new kind of birth control pill, but two months later, the pain was still getting worse. She decided to go in for a mammogram that Friday. By Monday morning, she was meeting with an oncologist who delivered shocking news.
“My doctor said, ‘you have breast cancer and we have to start treating you right now,’” says Holly. “She told me how fast it grows, how it spreads through skin, bones and blood – and that it was potentially life-threatening.”
Holly was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC), a rare cancer that affects only 1 to 3 percent of breast cancer patients. Instead of a lump or tumor, IBC reddens the skin, causes swelling and makes the skin feel hot. Cancer cells block the lymph vessels in the skin and begin rapidly and aggressively spreading.
“When I started looking for information about IBC, it scared me to death,” says Holly. Statistics show a five-year survival rate of only 40 percent.
With a custom framing business, a husband and three young children, Holly ignored the statistics and chose to fight for her life. After a discussion with her team of physicians, she immediately began chemotherapy treatments and lost her hair, her eyebrows and even her eyelashes. On the positive side, her tumor shrunk to less than a centimeter. On September 8, 2008, Holly had a modified radical mastectomy to remove her right breast and 17 of her underarm lymph nodes. In November, Holly began radiation therapy to help keep the cancer from coming back.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation is invisible energy that kills cancer cells, effectively stopping further growth. Radiation oncologists use radiation to cure or shrink early stage cancers, stop cancer from spreading and treat symptoms caused by advanced cancer, including pain management. Modern radiotherapy treatments have improved dramatically. Doctors are now able to provide customized treatment plans, improving outcomes and minimizing side effects.
At Cancer Care Northwest, a team of physicians work together to customize and optimize the very best overall treatment strategy, tailored to each patient’s diagnosis. Together with advanced medical therapies, patients receive social, nutritional and financial support.
Radiation therapy for breast cancer involves carefully delivering treatments to the areas at risk of recurrence. When breast cancer is found early, most women will be candidates for breast conservation therapy, which can be as effective as a mastectomy. It involves removal of the lump and immediate surrounding tissue, leaving the breast intact and using radiation to kill any remaining cancerous cells.
In situations were the tumors are more advanced or aggressive, like Holly’s, surgical removal of the breast and selected lymph nodes is the best option. Radiation therapy can then be used to further reduce the risk of the cancer returning, by treating the chest wall and the lymph nodes. Chemotherapy, immunotherapy and hormonal therapies are used as “whole body” treatments which reduce the chance of cancer returning in other parts of the body.
Doctors use 3-D imaging to pinpoint areas of treatment. “We can visualize the heart and lungs and shield them from radiation,” says Wayne Lamoreaux, M.D., a Radiation Oncologist with Cancer Care Northwest.
“With state-of-the-art imaging and software, we can precisely plan our treatments and minimize the variability in the dose and location. The overall consistency is much better than it used to be. The long-term side-effects are also reduced.”
Since Holly’s risk of recurrence was high, 33 radiation treatments were prescribed after her mastectomy. The radiation oncology team made a mold of Holly to hold her in the exact position for each treatment. Side effects for radiation therapy include fatigue and skin reactions.
“I went to Cancer Care Northwest at Deaconess every day for radiation treatment and I was overwhelmed at the care I received,” says Holly. “The staff became a part of my family. They cared about how I was doing and it showed.”
The majority of breast cancer patients have whole breast radiation therapy as part of breast conservation therapy for about six weeks. For selected patients at very low risk of recurrence, radiation oncologists may use Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI). This newer, more targeted approach requires higher daily doses of radiation for a shorter period of time (twice daily for one week). Because of Holly’s mastectomy, she wasn’t a candidate for APBI, but it can be a great option for 10-20 percent of patients with early stage breast cancer.
“Even if you’re facing a life or death situation,” says Holly, “you have to remember the life. My husband went with me to every treatment and we told jokes and took cookies and candy to lighten the mood.” After a combination of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy, Holly’s cancer is gone and she’s thankful for another chance at life.
“Holly did a beautiful job through the radiation therapy,” says Dr. Lamoreaux. “We’re very optimistic that she will continue to have an excellent outcome.”
After almost a year of taking time off to fight her cancer and then to recover, Holly is back to work in her framing shop. She enjoys every moment with her family and treasures the friends who stuck by her and helped her business survive in her absence. She hopes other women will learn from her story and get their yearly mammogram screening.
“I was so lucky,” says Swanson. “I noticed something was wrong and did something about it. Take your healthcare into your own hands and listen to your intuition. It might just save your life.”
Story Featured in NW Woman. Written by Julie Holland, Deaconess Medical Center.