Some years ago a survey of radiotherapy treatment given after surgery for breast cancer showed that many years later there was an increased risk of heart failure and other cardiac complications.

However, this study was looking at treatments carried out as long ago as the 1950s. At that time the radiotherapy machines used for breast cancer treatment were quite basic and primitive and as a result of this they did give quite a high dose of radiation to the heart.

During the late 1950s and 1960s two entirely new types of radiotherapy machine were developed (called Linear Accelerators and Cobalt Units). These give much more precise treatment than the old machines and they also allow the treatment to be planned so that the dose of radiation was virtually confined to the breast area with only a minute amount reaching the heart.

With these developments in mind, further surveys have been done looking at the outcome of radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer carried out during and after the 1960s, using this newer equipment, and these results show that there is virtually no increased risk of cardiac complications.

With modern day radiotherapy equipment and the careful preparation and planning, which is always done before radiotherapy for breast cancer, there is really no need for you to worry about long term damage to your heart.