•    Breast cancer is the leading cancer in the United States for women, and it is estimated that 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer over their lifetime.1

•    Radiation treatment for breast cancer can be used after lumpectomy, after mastectomy, for pain management, for managing metastatic breast cancer and for treating locally advanced breast cancer.2
 
•    Some form of skin damage has been referenced in the scientific literature to inflict nearly all women with breast cancer who are receiving radiation therapy.3

•    The short term and long term skin damage associated with radiation therapy for breast cancer patients include localized burning and blisters that can often be permanent, open wounds, extreme swelling and tenderness of the breast and surrounding lymph nodes, and permanent scars.4

1“Breast Cancer Fact Sheet.” www.5komen.org. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. 30 July 2019. Web. 20 August 2019.
2“Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer.”  mayoclinic.org. Mayo Clinic. 24 March 2018. Web. 20 August 2019
3Kole, Adam J et al. “Acute radiation dermatitis in breast cancer patients: challenges and solutions.” Breast Cancer - Targets and Therapy. 9 (2017): 313-323.
4Bray, Fleta et al. “Acute and Chronic Cutaneous Reactions to Ionizing Radiation Therapy.” Dermatol Ther. 6 (2016): 185-206