My primary prayer going into surgery was that the cancer had not spread and that I would be a candidate for internal radiation (i.e., brachytherapy). There are several criteria for brachytherapy but the two that I had not met were 1) no presence of cancer cells in the lymph nodes and 2) (from my radiation oncologist) sufficient tissue against the chest wall muscle.
Prior to surgery my surgeon stopped by and I mentioned to her the radiation oncologist's requirement of having 1cm of tissue in the front of the chest wall muscle. My surgeon said, "The tumor and margin will take it all the way to the chest wall muscle." I then said that I would like the option of internal radiation and not external, whole breast radiation. But I was surrendered and at peace with whatever radiation I would have to undergo.
I awoke after surgery to see my husband sitting patiently beside my bed. He quickly tells me that my surgeon called the radiation oncologist during surgery and together they determined how she could take the tissue all the way to my chest muscle wall and still leave brachytherapy as an option for follow on radiation. In her post surgical update she told my husband, "I know how important it is that her radiation treatment be targeted and so we worked it out."