WHY DOES THEIR RISK OF RADIATION DERMATITIS VARY AND HOW IS IT EVALUATED?
Linda Carlin, RN, MSN, OCN®, CJW Medical Center, Richmond, VA. Topic: Radiation therapy is one of the main treatment modalities for patients with breast cancer regardless of their stage of disease. The techniques used in treating patients with breast cancer who are receiving external beam radiation therapy are standardized with the reality that patients with breast cancer will get some degree of radiation dermatitis. However, all patients with breast cancer do not have the propensity for the same degree of radiation dermatitis and therefore, patients need to be treated differently. Problem/Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a tool to identify patients with breast cancer receiving external beam radiation therapy that are at increased risk for radiation dermatitis. Interventions: Prior to initiating external beam radiation therapy treatment, each patient with breast cancer is evaluated using a combination Skin Toxicity Assessment Tool or STAT (Berth
