Diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2008, Patricia Ferreira, 71, of Tiverton, had many of the same concerns as others facing the disease.
Is this a death sentence?
How will it change in my life?
What about radiation therapy and its side effects?
Diligent about scheduling mammograms each year, Ferreira’s doctor said the tumor was very small and caught early. After having the tumor removed, Ferreira’s surgeon recommended a traditional radiation treatment, lasting five to six weeks. But Patricia’s husband, Thomas Ferreira, had other ideas.
“I would have just done the six weeks, but my husband, who reads up on this stuff, asked the doctor that because they caught the cancer so early, if there was an alternative besides the regular radiation,” said Ferreira. “He knew of high dose radiation, but he also knew there were many conditions attached to it.”
Ferreira met two of the most important criteria for high-dose radiation: She was over 60, [...]

Original post by Jay Pateakos