It is most useful in those women whose chances of the cancer coming back in the mastectomy area are greater. The need for radiation therapy after mastectomy is based on each individual woman and depends on things like the size of the cancer and the number of lymph nodes affected by cancer. A detailed description of what's involved in radiation therapy can be found in chapter 4 . If you have radiation therapy after your mastectomy, you may want to read about the possible side effects from radiation therapy listed in chapter 4 . After your surgery, you may need additional treatment.
Additional treatment is called adjuvant systemic therapy.
It is usually used to treat cancer that may have spread before surgery. Such adjuvant therapy could be chemotherapy or hormone therapy and is described in Part 3 . After mastectomy Physical appearance After a mastectomy, the side of your chest that was operated on will be flat with a scar across it. You wear the breast form inside your bra or pinned to your nightdress, slip or camisole. It will give shape to your clothes.