Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) for Breast Cancer Treatment

Have you been diagnosed with breast cancer and been recommended by your doctor for radiation therapy? You may be a little worried and curious about whether your heart will be affected, especially when treating your left breast. That's understandable. But don't worry, today we're going to talk about a very effective and simple method that can be used to minimize such risks.

Simply put, what is deep breathing hold (DIBH)?

Although the name is a bit complicated, the process is very simple. Imagine yourself taking a deep breath and holding it in your chest for a few seconds. That's what this method is.

Medically speaking, when we take a deep breath, the large, dome-shaped muscle called the diaphragm, located below our lungs, is pushed down. As this diaphragm moves down, our heart, which is located above it, is also pushed down, slightly away from the chest wall. This process is called holding our breath deeply, or Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) .

How is DIBH related to breast cancer treatment?

Okay, now let's see why this simple process is important in breast cancer treatment.

After you're diagnosed with breast cancer, your doctor will develop a treatment plan that's right for you. This will depend on many factors, including the size of the tumor, where it's located in the breast, the results of tests on the cancer cells, and the stage of the disease.

One of the main treatments for breast cancer is radiation therapy . This involves using high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy cells. Usually, after a lumpectomy, radiation therapy is given to the remaining breast tissue for one to six weeks.

Why special attention only to the left side?

One area where this can be problematic is when women with left-sided breast cancer are given radiation therapy. Because our heart is located on the left side of the chest, the left breast is very close to the heart. Therefore, when radiation therapy is given to the left breast, there is a small chance that the radiation beam will pass through the heart. We call this "entering the radiation field of the heart."

The extent of damage to the heart depends on the radiation dose and how much of the heart is exposed to radiation. But the important thing is that we can control this risk very well using this DIBH method.

How does the DIBH method protect the heart?

This is the most important part. While you are receiving radiation therapy, the medical staff will tell you to take a deep breath and hold it for about 20 seconds. During that 20 seconds, the radiation machine will direct the radiation beam at your breast.

Simply put, when you hold your breath, your heart is pushed down, away from the "danger zone," and into a safe position. By changing the position of the heart in this way, the amount of radiation hitting the heart can be reduced by about half compared to breathing normally.

You can understand this difference more clearly from the table below.

How do I prepare for this?

This is not something you have to do alone. At the radiation treatment center, the medical staff will train you on how to do this. There are also special commercial devices that can help make this breath-holding exercise easier. These devices can also help you practice deep breathing before your treatment session.

And you can practice this at home even before starting treatment.

1. Lie down comfortably.

2. Take a deep breath in. Until your chest expands.

3. Try to hold that breath as long as possible, slowly, for about 15-20 seconds.

4. Then exhale slowly.

Practicing this every day will really help you on the day of your treatment. But if you have any questions about this, don't hold anything back and ask your doctor or the radiation therapy staff.

Breast cancer, Radiation therapy, DIBH, Deep Inspiration Breath Hold, Heart health, Cancer treatment, Radiation therapy, Women's health