What is the soonest you can start adjuvant whole breast radiation after surgery?

My general preference is 4-6 weeks (up to 8 weeks) expecting normal healing. I rarely start sooner than 4 due to healing concerns (even if things look good) and have only done this (starting 3-4 weeks post op) a few times due to extenuating circumstances, and only if the healing appears adequate. I see no compelling reason to routinely start sooner than 4 weeks.

I typically wait 3-4 weeks for simulation, starting a week later but the soonest I have done is 2 weeks post-op if healed.

The healing concerns are all valid. We wait 4 weeks (due to the additional below practical anecdotal reasons), and aim to start within 12 weeks.

• Path report takes several business days to be returned.
• OncotypeDX takes about 2-3 weeks to return.
• Patients like to see their surgeon post-op to discuss the next steps based on the path.

We don’t generally sim until we know the chemo determination. The exception might be your small, low grade, highly ER positive tumor where you have some confidence o...

The patient must be healed prior to starting. Typically, this occurs around 3-4 weeks. The risk of poor wound healing and infection is greatly increased when starting before the wound is healed.