I had stage 0 breast cancer three years ago. My breast and chest on one side received radiation. My upper chest has brown spots from sun damage, as does my neck. I noticed that when I use my Retin-A prescribed for adult acne, the neck spots are diminished or go away if I also use sunscreen religiously. On my face, they are diminished but do not go away, presumably because my face has and does get more sun exposure than my neck. I can use Retin-A on my chest and don't have problems with it. My skin never got very damaged from the radiation and healed very well.

Now, I am considering IPL to lighten the remaining dark spots. I'd like to get my upper chest done at the same time so there is not a marked contrast between my face/neck and my chest, and I don't like the chest brown spots anyway. Is this safe to do? I have been told that radiated tissue is more delicate and does not heal as well as unradiated skin. Again, the doctors were amazed at how well my skin tolerated the radiation. I attribute that to great nutrition and good overall health. But, I don't want to do something foolish and have a bad reaction.