Wellbeing blog

Breast cancer is the most common cancer found in women, and although it’s considered the number one cause of cancer deaths among women, more and more women are overcoming this disease. 

This success is due not only to advances in screening and early detection, but also to improvements in breast cancer treatment. 

One treatment on the frontline of fighting breast cancer is radiotherapy after breast surgery.

Radiotherapy to the breast after surgery confers a number of benefits but also brings with it some potential downsides. One issue is the risk of damage to organs near the breast(s) undergoing treatment, such as the heart, liver and lungs. Techniques such as deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) are now used to reduce the amount of radiation reaching these organs.

We’ve been using DIBH for all patients who have breast cancer treatment to their left side (the same side as your heart). Recent evidence shows that DIBH also gives essential lung and liver protection during radiotherapy on the right side. 

We’re now also using DIBH for right-sided cancers as standard. We always work to offer our patients the latest treatment options.