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  • Radiation without More Surgery Sometimes OK

    Posted 6/4/2013 by hhill
      This report from ASCO may be the beginnings of a game changer for some women with early breast cancer. A study from The Netherlands Cancer Institute found that some women with a positive sentinel lymph node who went on to radiation therapy without the intermmediate step of a full axillary dissection did just as well as women who had another surgery. If this results holds up in other studies, it could save many women more surgical time an the increased risk of lymphedema that comes from a full axillary dissection. Read more... Comments (0)
  • Radiation after Reconstruction

    Posted 4/20/2013 by hhill
      It is extremely difficult to make a decision about reconstruction. Women who need or opt for a mastectomy are then faced with the choice of whether or not to have reconstruction surgery--and, if so, which kind to choose. I always recommend that a woman talk with more than one plastic surgeon, no matter how highly recommended and respected the first was. Different plastic surgeons frequently make different recommendations, and it is wise to have as much information as possible. If both suggest the same surgery, that makes the decision a bit easier. I digress, however as this article is about the possible risk of having radiation therapy after reconstruction, and that is often an unknown factor at the time of surgical choice. Read more... Comments (0)

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About the Blogger

Hester Hill Schnipper, LICSW, OSW-C is the Manager of Oncology Social Work at BIDMC. For more than thirty years, her daily work at BIDMC has been primarily focused on supporting women with breast cancer. A nationally known writer and speaker, she was the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's first Hatcher Survivorship Professor. In 1993, and again in 2005, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through the standard treatments of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy. These experiences have given her great credibility with her patients and transformed her life's work to her life. Ms. Schnipper lives gratefully with her husband in an ancient farmhouse outside of Boston and spends as much time as possible in a water front cottage on Mt Desert Island. Between them, they have five adult children and seven grandchildren; she claims biological responsibility for two and three of them.