GENEROSA GRANA, MD: That depends on the type of surgery that is done, the woman's pain threshold and other factors: the type of reconstruction that is used if a woman has reconstruction, whether drains are left in place or not.
ANNOUNCER: For some women radiation therapy follows surgery.
CAROLE CHAMBERLAIN: I think the first thing I asked him and as a woman, I think most women will understand is, "Am I going to lose my hair?" He said, "No, you're going to get sunburned."
GENEROSA GRANA, MD: Radiation therapy really lacks life-threatening side effects, yet women can experience side effects that can be uncomfortable. You can get redness, blistering of the breast and area being radiated, which can be quite uncomfortable. It's usually treated with topical agents to help symptoms.
ANNOUNCER: For Dawn, radiation was difficult. But she found ways to work through the problems.
DAWN COLUCCI: Radiation therapy can also leave you very tired and disoriented as well. I think that was kind of difficult. By trying to keep myself fit, that helped me get through the radiation.
ANNOUNCER: Chemotherapy is another powerful treatment, but can have side effects that alter quality of life during treatment.
DAWN COLUCCI: I'd constantly have this taste of metal in my mouth, which was very difficult to rid of. And the only thing that would soothe that was having cold ice cream. So I got on a kick of having ice cream.
And medications that were given to me to take for nausea and fatigue to get me through the treatments.
