A method to protect the heart during breast cancer radiation therapy (Deep Inspiration Breath Hold - DIBH)

Have you been diagnosed with breast cancer and are scheduled to undergo radiation therapy? Then you may be a little worried, 'Will this treatment harm other organs in my body, especially my heart?' This is a very reasonable fear. Many people have this question in their minds. But the good news is that today, thanks to advanced medical science, there are very effective ways to minimize such risks. Today we are talking about such a very important, simple technology.

What is Deep Breath Holding (DIBH)?

Although the name sounds a bit complicated, the process is very simple. DIBH (Deep Inspiration Breath Hold) simply means that you take a deep breath in, filling your lungs, and hold that breath for a short period of time, about 20 seconds.

Think about what happens inside our bodies when we take a deep breath like this. Below our lungs is a large, dome-shaped piece of muscle. We call this the diaphragm . When we breathe in, this piece of muscle moves down. What happens is that the heart in our chest moves down a little and away from the chest wall. To be precise, the position of the heart changes a little. This simple action is the hero of our story.

Why is DIBH used in breast cancer treatment?

After you're diagnosed with breast cancer, your doctor will create a treatment plan that's best for you. This will depend on many factors, including the type, size, and spread of the cancer.

Radiation therapy is a major treatment for breast cancer. It uses high-energy X-rays to target and destroy only cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy cells. This treatment is usually given to the remaining breast tissue after a lumpectomy.

But there is a slight challenge here. Especially when giving radiation treatment to someone with left-sided breast cancer, since our heart is on the left side, there is a chance that some of that radiation energy will hit the heart as well.

We use DIBH technology to protect the heart from that risk.

Simply put, the radiation energy is delivered to your chest during that short period of time, about 20 seconds, when you hold your breath. When you take a deep breath and hold it, as I mentioned earlier, the heart moves away from the chest wall. That means the heart moves away from the 'danger zone' of the radiation beam. This can dramatically reduce the radiation dose to the heart.

This can be understood more clearly from the table below.

How do you prepare for this? Can you train?

Now you're probably thinking, 'Oh, I can hold my breath for 20 seconds straight.' Don't worry about that. You'll be trained well for this. This is not something you have to do alone.

Radiation therapy centers have special equipment designed for this purpose. Before treatment begins, you will be given the opportunity to practice deep breathing using this equipment. You will be taught how long to hold your breath and how to do it correctly.

Practicing at home is very important.

The best thing you can do is to practice this at home every day, even before your treatment begins.

• Sit in a quiet place.
• Take a good deep breath to fill your lungs.
• Then try to hold that breath for as long as you can without exhaling.
• Do this several times a day.

This will increase your lung capacity and allow you to do this without any discomfort or fear during treatment. Studies have even shown that practicing this process at home can be very successful.

If you want to know more about this, don't hold anything back. Ask your treating doctor or radiographers/therapists for details. They will be very kind to answer all your questions and allay your fears.

Breast cancer, radiation therapy, radiation therapy, DIBH, heart protection, cancer treatment, breast cancer treatment sinhala