“My 82-year-old mom was operated on for left quadrant cancer last January. The oncologist prescribed a radiotherapy visit, while the radiotherapist considered it inappropriate to carry out these treatments, because according to him the chances of relapse are very low. My mom has no particular health problems. Should we hear another opinion? I would not like to find myself one day with the remorse of not having done what we should “.
He answers Annamaria Molinoprofessor at the School of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Verona, former Director of the Complex Operating Unit of Medical Oncology and of the Breast Group at the Integrated University Hospital of Verona.
Dear reader
we cannot express an opinion on the advisability or not of radiotherapy, given that we do not know the case and that in this column we never give personal opinions. However we can observe that the chronological age in itself would not contraindicate radiotherapy in people who, like his mother, are in good condition.
What emerges from your request is an important fact: in the so-called Senology Units or Breast Units, now mandatory in Europe, cases should be discussed between specialists both at the beginning and when the histological examination arrives, and this group discussion must be both the oncologist and the radiotherapist are present. Who, together with the pathologist, the radiologist, the surgeon, assess the patient’s risk of relapse and decide whether radiotherapy is indicated or not. The subsequent communication to the patient, therefore, should be inclusive of everyone’s opinion. Often both specialists are present and sign the letter together, or in any case there is a reference to this collegial discussion in the letter. This avoids that, as in the case of her mother, the lady is given conflicting opinions that cause a comprehensive insecurity. You could ask the oncologist why this did not happen and if it is possible to have a shared opinion.