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This is just a tad of info for the "why" have rads after lumpectomy. A few months ago, I was reviewing a slide set from a presentation to doctors discussing rads for bc. One of the slides discussed what is a "clean margin." The answer surprised me - "clean margin" in bc surgery does NOT mean a specific boundary (i.e., 2 mm) or that no cancer is left, but rather ANY cancer left in the breast is at a level where rads will finish it off in the surgeon's opinion. I did not understand that when I had surgery, and my surgeon's practice is very good, very precise, and does not remove more of the breast than they absolutely have to. Now I know why they freaked out when I said I didn't want to do rads! (I did do them BTW, after finding a facility that could see to it that my heart was kept out of the field). Anyway, I thought I would share this in case others get asked "Why?" It is the best answer I can think of.
Hopeful
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