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Breast Cancer in womenArrow
Women 50 - 69
Interview 33  

Interview 33

Age at Interview: 56
Sex: Female
Age at Diagnosis: 54
Background: .
Brief outline:Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. Underwent a lumpectomy and was given Intra-operative radiotherapy and Tamoxifen.


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Describes her experience of intra-operative radiotherapy.

 



So when I went to see Professor [name], by this time armed with a briefcase full of research, he told me about another new procedure called intra operative radiotherapy.

Instead of having six weeks post radiotherapy, which is traumatic, which is uncomfortable, which can be scarring, he explained to me that they had developed a tool that whilst you were in surgery, after they had removed the lump and made a wide excision so that if there's a little spread around where the tumour is they do what they call a wide excision, then they put a golf ball type thing into the wound, everybody evacuates the theatre and a sort of lead screen goes up.

And I was out of it because I was under anaesthetic.

So I had my sentinel node biopsy, then I had intra operative radiotherapy. And that in my opinion, as far as I was concerned, negated the need for post operative radiotherapy.

Although they are doing now larger doses under the operating, they didn't give me the full blast and therefore they wanted me to have continuing radiotherapy but for less weeks.

And that was then a personal decision I had to come to terms with.
Jenni Murray - Breast Cancer
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