What You Don’t Know About Breast Cancer Treatment

i recently finished radiation, and people were surprised to know i was still receiving treatment. after chemo, most folks assumed i was good to go. cancer free and living my best life. while somewhat true, there’s more to breast cancer treatment than chemotherapy.

first, let’s talk about my type of cancer. i had stage one well-differentiated breast cancer that was hormone responsive. translation: it was early stage breast cancer that was slow to spread and largely driven by estrogen.

initially, my doctors were hoping my treatment would only include surgery and radiation. unfortunately, a mammaprint test determined my cancer had a high chance of reoccurrence. this means chemotherapy was necessary.

what’s the difference between chemo and radiation?

chemo treats your whole body, while radiation treats the location where the cancer is/was. in my case, chemo’s goal was to kill any cancerous cells that may be floating in other parts of my body and help reduce the chance of reoccurrence. my radiation was to double-down on treating my right breast, the actual site of my cancer.

---

while chemo is the most well-known treatment option for cancer, it’s not the only treatment. surgery and radiation are just as important and often times difficult as chemo. in other words, chemo might be beyonce, but we can’t forget about kelly and michelle.

READ: How Losing My Hair Boosted My Self-Confidence

here’s what you don’t know about breast cancer treatment.

my surgery included a partial mastectomy and lasted eight hours. i walked away with two drains near each breast to catch fluid that might cause an infection. i experienced complete misery for almost three weeks. aside from the pain, simple things like sleeping and taking a shower are pretty complicated with drains.

since the side effects of chemo are so well-known i’ll spare you those details. just know that i couldn’t taste food for months and felt like i got hit by a truck for about two weeks after each treatment. right when i started to feel better, i had another round. the irony.

next up was radiation. i cried my first day of treatment because it was just too much. i couldn’t face the sight of another big machine, sterile doctor’s office or body altering procedure.

---

radiation has to be spread out over weeks to protect your body from the toxicity of the high-energy rays. i had 19 short sessions over four weeks. every monday to friday for a month, i took my clothes off, raised my arms and laid on a table while a machine circled by body.  as you can see from some of the pictures, it ended with my skin darkening similar to a severe sunburn.

so what’s next?

the last phase of treatment differs based on cancer type. since estrogen caused my body to produce cancerous cells, doctors recommend that i take hormone blockers for the next five years. helllllloooo menapause! let’s see how this works out. now that the cancer is gone, i’m much more open to alternative and natural treatments that don’t involve night sweats.

---

READ: Breast Cancer and Button Ups

overall, cancer treatment is a journey that doesn’t begin or end with chemotherapy. please share this post with someone facing treatment or supporting a loved one going through the process. most importantly, make sure to check your breasts every month.

all pictures by  adriana parilla