Do you use bolus for the lumpectomy cavity boost when the seroma is within 5mm of the skin?
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Community Practice
I agree with the above that this is very rarely necessary. When it is required, it may be hard to define where the bolus is to be placed on an intact breast. One neat trick is to have dosimetry create an en face setup field with an aperture equivalent to where you want the bolus to be (cavity plus m...
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Radiation Oncologist at Washington University School of Medicine An easy way to face this "dilemma" is to repeat a ...
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Academic Institution
I typically would not unless there was significant concern for the skin margin (hopefully would have been excised). I worry about the skin toxicity and wound healing issues, and the area is already getting boost anyway.
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Academic Institution
I will use a small area of bolus if cavity is close to the surface to ensure the cavity is getting adequate dose from the whole breast fields.
This is less necessary when using 6 MV photons but in cases where mixed energies or higher energies are needed there can be substantial drop in dose for sup...
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Radiation Oncologist at Toledo Clinic Inc. The surgical teaching is to preserve 3-5mm of sub-...
Radiation Oncologist at Varian Medical Systems/Allegheny health network It is tolerated well, as we do this all the time f...
Radiation Oncologist at Cleveland Clinic Agreed, it is well tolerated from my experience wh...
Radiation Oncologist at Toledo Clinic Inc. I agree in the scenario of PMRT but with significa...
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Academic Institution
I wouldn’t do it normally. The skin margin is probably the most difficult margin to assess. If the surgeon used cautery, the margin is bigger than reported. If cautery is used, you could have breakdown (happened in 1 patient with diabetes). Many patients probably don’t need a boost. I ha...
An easy way to face this "dilemma" is to repeat a ...