Radiotherapy for secondary breast cancer

Radiotherapy uses high energy rays to destroy cancer cells. The rays only treat the area of the body they are aimed at. Radiotherapy can be given to different areas of the body at the same time. It tries to do as little harm as possible to normal cells. The section about radiotherapy for breast cancer gives detailed information.

Radiotherapy is helpful for treating women with secondary breast cancer in any of the following areas

• One or more bones
• The skin
• Lymph nodes in the armpit
• Parts of the brain

Radiotherapy works by killing off most of the cancer cells in the treated area. It shrinks the cancer and so relieves pressure on the nerves. This reduces pain.

Secondary cancer can weaken bones, because the growing cancer cells destroy the bone. A bone affected by cancer is more likely to break. This is called a pathological fracture. If you have secondary cancer that is weakening your bones, you may be offered surgery before you have radiotherapy. After radiotherapy, the bone begins to replace the lost tissue and becomes stronger again, so is less likely to fracture.

If breast cancer has spread to your brain in one, or a small number, of places, it may be possible to remove the secondary cancer surgically. After that you might have radiotherapy to the whole of your brain. If you can't have the secondary cancer removed, you might still be offered radiotherapy to your brain.

Radiotherapy is very effective at treating cancer cells in one area or several distinct areas. It is different from cancer drugs because these treatments go into your bloodstream and they act on cancer cells throughout your body.  Radiotherapy is not painful. But some women find it uncomfortable to lie in position while the treatment is done. It only takes a few minutes each time, but if you think it might help, ask the radiotherapist if you can take a painkiller half an hour before your treatment.

The whole of your bone structure can be treated with strontium 89 if your breast cancer has spread into several places in your bones. There is information about strontium 89 treatment in the main radiotherapy section of CancerHelp UK. Strontium 89 is radiotherapy that you have as an injection. It circulates throughout your body in the bloodstream. You have this type of treatment to control pain. It may also slow down the development of the cancer in your bones. The radiation from the injection only lasts a few days in your body. It is such a small amount that it is not dangerous to anyone else. But it can work very well for controlling bone pain.

Because secondary breast cancer usually only needs a short course of radiotherapy most women have few side effects. The treatment may cause damage to some normal cells around the cancer. The body then repairs this damage and you may feel tired if you are having a few treatments.

Radiotherapy to the stomach, abdomen or brain may make you feel sick. Any sickness can be relieved by anti sickness drugs (antiemetics) which your doctor can prescribe. You may find that taking an anti sickness tablet an hour before your treatment helps.

If you have radiotherapy treatment to your brain, you may have some hair loss. Your hair usually starts to grow back a few months after the treatment is over. But this growth is sometimes patchy, particularly at first.

If you have any questions about radiotherapy, you can ask your radiotherapist or the staff in the radiotherapy department. The questions for your doctor page has some questions you may want to ask. And there is more information in the main radiotherapy section.