The following e-mail exchange is self-explanatory:
Patient
It's been seven weeks since the completion of my radiation treatment. My breast size and pain have subsided substantially. I am pleased with my progress to date and I appreciate the effort of the radiation oncology team.
My questions are as follows:
--How much longer can we reasonably expect further improvement?
--I expect to remain on Hormone Therapy, which precipitated my gynecomestia, for evermore. After my improvement has reached its maximum will my breast size and pain begin to reoccur?
--What can I expect in the long term, let's say, in the next three to five years.
Treatment Team Representative
You can continue to have improvement for several more months. The symptoms should not recur with continued hormone therapy – the radiation kills the cells in the area that are sensitive to the unblocked estrogen. Normal cells should be oblivious to the estrogen. Hopefully, no new issues. With this low dose, problems with delayed fibrosis are rare – in fact, I’ve not seen any.
Stay tuned.
