Dr. Walker on the Use of Radiation Therapy in Patients With Breast Cancer

Eleanor M. Walker, MD, senior staff physician, division director, Breast Services, Department of Radiation Oncology, Henry Ford Cancer Institute, discusses the use of radiation therapy in patients with breast cancer.

One of the areas where clinicians are starting to get a lot of data is in patients who are receiving chemotherapy in addition to radiation, and potentially hormone therapy. Originally, clinicians thought that if patients received a slightly higher dose of radiation, they would experience more skin reactions.

However, clinicians now have data that show that they can treat women who have received, or are going to receive chemotherapy and have the same results. Younger patients are also candidates for radiation therapy. Women under the age of 50 can benefit from radiation therapy without showing any more side effects down the road, says Walker.