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After Radiation

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Comments

  • torigirl
    torigirl Member Posts: 748
    Hey...grannydukes hasn't posted since March 19th...anyone hear from her lately?  We all know that this is certainly like her to be so quiet!  :)
  • omaz
    omaz Member Posts: 4,218
    grannydukes - Where are you????
  • anne67
    anne67 Member Posts: 14

    Hi Ladies!  I just finished rads 2 weeks ago.  The fatigue is starting to lessen, but my breast feels just as tender and swollen as ever.  Can anyone say how long it took for their radiated breast to feel normal again?  Thx!

  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 7,545
    Tori & Omaz - Granny is in PA with her GD.  I don't think she has internet access.  She is trying to decide if she is going to move there or not.  She was going to look at an apartment complex.  I have not heard from her either.
  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 7,545

    Anne67 - Welcome and Congrats on finishing rads.  I can't help you with your question but I'm sure someone will come along and give you some words of wisdom.

  • kingjr66
    kingjr66 Member Posts: 406

    Anne67 - I finished a week ago and I am still swollen and still can't sleep on that breast.  I guess it will eventually go away. 

  • omaz
    omaz Member Posts: 4,218

    Thanks Jo!

    King and anne -  It can a little time.  the skin heals first then the tissue starts doing better and healing.  Keep putting on your skin ointments for a while.  I am over 1 year out and my nipple area is slightly darker and my breast looks like it has a mild tan but all in all good.  My doctors said it can take about 2 years to heal up from rads.  I remember that my pec muscle was tight so I gently stretched that and I had some cording/LE from rads and I got PT for that.  After about 3 months those problems were sorted out.  Good luck, keep drinking lots and eating well (lots of protein to help with healing).   Congratulations!!!

  • summergirl1
    summergirl1 Member Posts: 27

    Hi Girls, this is my first time on this thread,                                                                                June 2011 I had right MX with immediate reconstruction (TE)  lymph noid removal 3 noids affected followed by 6 rounds of TC (chemo) which ended in Dec, then on to radiation which started in Jan and ended 3 weeks ago ,                                                                                My experience of rads was not too bad my skin held up very well just got quite pink my last few days, my biggest problem with the rads was having to hold my arm over my head every day as it is still quite stiff since surgery, I am now getting PT for it ,                                                         I used E45 lotion on my breast daily and am still using it, it works really well to moisturise the area I was told by the RO that even after I finished the area could still burn but it didnt TG it gets better daily it just looks more tan than the other side now, I do get some stingy pains from time to time in my breast area but was told this is normal, I am now trying to get back to my normal routine now , its kinda hard to forget all this as it is a long and draining year I am hoping my hair grows back quickly I still really miss it. but I guess its a small price to pay :) , I havent read through all your posts but just wanted to share my experience with you .  Carol 

  • torigirl
    torigirl Member Posts: 748

    Thanks Jo!  I appreciate the update on granny...I worry about that lady! 

    Welcome to summergirl, anne67 and kingjr66!  Congrats on being done with radiation!  I'm doing a little dance for you right now in my chair!  (okay, I"m chair dancing, but it still counts!)  Be good to yourselves, treat yourself gently and let your body heal...it's remarkable how quickly your skin starts to look better....Just keep lubin'!  :)

    Been a good day.. so pretty outside...

    Hope you all are doing well!

    Tori 

     

  • Sandeeonherown
    Sandeeonherown Member Posts: 1,781

    well can't keep up with the old potst but wanted to share my amazing osteopath appointment...he workes with BC survivors a lot and realllllllly helps to put things back where they belong...felt like he reached into my soul...weird but a wonderful experience.

  • anne67
    anne67 Member Posts: 14

    Thanks Tori! I was so happy to be done with rads that I brought cookies in for the radiation oncology staff and started crying on my ride home. For me, the end of rads is the end of this nightmare and the beginning of moving on with my life. I am going to use the time I was going to the rad oncologist to get back to the gym and am going on Weight Watchers to get back to my fighting weight after all the comfort food I ate the past few months- much of it home cooked meals from family and friends. I've been on vacation the past 10 days but am ready to get back to my real life---and get things back in order ...Woo Hoo!

  • anne67
    anne67 Member Posts: 14

    Oops- one more thing...am starting Tamoxifen in April and am interested in hearing any of your experiences on it - good or bad. I will check out the Tamoxifen threads in the meantime. What I've read so far is disconcerting, but I consider it as a price to pay for a little more piece of mind. Good luck to all of you gals who are still dealing with further surgeries, chemo or rads. You are all in my heart!

  • kingjr66
    kingjr66 Member Posts: 406

    Anne67 - I can't take tamoxifen due to blod clotting history but would not take it anyway. Yes, be smart and do some research.  I am going to remove my ovaries for my further insurance of this never coming back.  I don't need them anyway. I'm 52 and no signs yet of menopause. 

  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 7,545

    Anne67 - I am post menopausal and am on Tamoxifen.  Not able to take any of the AIs.  I have had very few SEs - in fact, my hot flashes went away - yippee!!  Each one of us responds so differently.  It is smart to do your research and make the decision as to whether or not you will take it.  Even though I truly do not want to take another pill, I do look at it as an added insurance policy to prevent a recurrance.  This whole cancer thing is a crap shoot - there are no guarantees in life.  You know your body best.  Good luck to you!

  • sagina
    sagina Member Posts: 849

    HI Anne, King, and Carol! I'm almost a year out of rads - Granny can you believe that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I still have tightness, and feel bruised....it gets better every day though.  

    Anne, my mom took Tamoxifen for 5 years then femera for 5 more.  She's 13 years out from dx.  Her only compliant really was that her bones hurt, not to a point that she had to stop doing stuff, as a matter of fact they started traveling all over....but she insisted on a bone scan every 6 months to make sure it wasn't mets, and her MO was happy to order them.

    Tori, I bet mine are bigger than yours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't help you with an exercise bra but I FINALLY found a regular one that isn't stabbing me in my radiated side.  I got it at Catherines, it's a plunging bra, which I never used to wear before.  My lumpectomy side is considerably smaller than the other and all bras were pulling to the big side.  The plunging bra allows a natural cleavage without me having to try to move the girls over the wires, tug to the side etc..... 

  • anne67
    anne67 Member Posts: 14

    Tori, are the Genie and Glamorize bras sports bras? Have tried to wear my regular sports bras but they are so uncomfortable and my breast hurts after wearing them. Like you and Gina, I am bigger breasted. Gina, how old were you and your mom when you were diagnosed? I am also the daughter of a breast cancer survivor. My mom was diagnosed at 46 and I was diagnosed at 44.

  • torigirl
    torigirl Member Posts: 748

    Anne67- 

    Genie bra is not a sports bra...but they made the commercials look like they could support bigger breasts (mine are DD-DDD) and they do not....at all.  I can wear them, but if I even start to walk a little fast, I get black eyes...if you know what I mean!  :)

    I forgot who mentioned the Galmorize bras (sorry sister!), but they are on the JC Penney website and the look great for exercising.  They have a mesh-like looking material that goes over the cleavage and looks like it kind of holds "the girls"  in and prevents the "double boobage" we larger breasted women sometimes get.  You know what I mean?

    How long ago was you mom diagnosed?

    I am on generic Arimidex....chemo put me into instant menopause, so onc had me go that route.  I get my levels checked to make sure I"m still there.  I'm sure getting my ovaries out is in my near future as well.  As far as SEs, I ache mostly...my feet in the morning...and if I sit too long it's a second or two before I start moving quick.  They say exercising helps, so I'm doing my best to be doing that as well...but that makes me ache too!  What's a girl to do?

    No BC in my family...I was diagnosed when I was 42...

    Gina-I love that your mom is so many years out from diagnosis!  I can't wait to be there!  As far as your "girls" being bigger than mine?  I dunno....  :)  Thanks for the suggestion on bras too!  I gave up wire bras soon after I was dx, so finding a bra that works for me that isn't wired is hard to do!

    Have a great Wednesday all!

    Tori 

  • omaz
    omaz Member Posts: 4,218
    Glamorise Women's No Bounce Full Support Sport Bra - I mentioned the glamorise bra - very supportive 
  • SusanHG
    SusanHG Member Posts: 455

    Had my RO appointment today (10 months post-rads)...everything looks great, I can go in the sun now safely with sunscreen, and I definitely have shingles! I guess they see shingles and fungal rashes all day long in cancer patients, so they are very good at diagnosing them.  I don't go back for six months!  I wanted to say, "Please can we just do monthly checkups?"  I always feel better after doc appontments. They are sending me to the plastic surgery department to see about what can be done about my ugly scar.  It will definitely show once those summer clothes come out, and I don't want to always have to talk about my BC experience when people ask about it.

    Also, had an abdominal ultrasound today--my gallbladder is hugely inflamed!  Looks like I might need to ponder the surgery question again.  This has been going on for 20 years, so I am at the point where the knife does not look so bad right now!

    It is good to know there is a reason why I have felt off these past couple weeks, but kind of tired of health problems by now.

    Susan

  • torigirl
    torigirl Member Posts: 748

    Omaz!  Thanks for posting the picture!  Sorry I forgot that you mentioned it! You get all credit!  They look like they are great!  Can't wait to check them out!

    SusanHG-Congrats on a great RO appointment..it's always such a relief, huh? 

    Ladies..I need a few prayers...going in tomorrow morning for follow up diagnostic mammogram.  Of course, I'm freaking out already...I can use all the support I can get...

    Hugs,

    Tori

  • crog234
    crog234 Member Posts: 324

    Prayers are coming your way Tori for your appointment tomorrow...



    Cindy

  • sagina
    sagina Member Posts: 849

    Anne my mom was 56 when dx. I had just turned 41 at my dx.  I'm triple neg, so no meds for me. we are both BRAC negative. my mom had the breast cancer that never forms a lump??? I should know this.....she was bleeding from the nipple, the gyn did a needle aspiration i think, came back neg, but my mom insisted on a biopsy.  

  • omaz
    omaz Member Posts: 4,218
    ToriGirl - Good luck tomorrow. My annual followup is next week!  Hope we both get through with no problems - fingers and toes crossed!!!!!!!
  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 7,545

    Tori - POCKET PARTY TOMORROW!!!  Please wear something with lots of pockets - you are going to need it or should I say we are going to need it so we will all fit.  LOL!  You are going to do great and will get the all clear.

  • gmafoley
    gmafoley Member Posts: 5,978

    Tori - I'm in your pocket too!

    I haven't been on ladies because my eye infection turned into keratitis (inflammation of the cornea).  I have to wear sunglasses all the time including in the dark because the glare was so bad... Doing better today... have 3 types of drops I have to put into my eyes and I see the specialist again next monday.

    Went to my primary yesterday for a "check-up" and I'm having a breast ultrasound on my other breast today... in a few hours... I found a change that was bothering me even though it didn't show up on my mammogram 2 months ago... I figured the doc would just say, "I don't feel anything", but he didn't - he felt it too...  I don't think its anything, could it just be lymph node that doesn't show up on a mammo? and is that worrisome?

  • anne67
    anne67 Member Posts: 14

    Tori, sending out prayers and positive thoughts to you... Best of luck tomorrow!!

  • anne67
    anne67 Member Posts: 14

    Gina, My mom had a large tumor under her arm and they could never find the primary site- this was 23 years ago. She was nearly at Stage 3 but survived. She also had colon cancer 10 years later. You would never know any of this by looking at her-she is healthy at 68. I had DCIS, which is different than what she had. Got my BRAC analysis and I was negative. It's strange how many if us have had moms with BC even though we are BRAC negative.

    .
    Best of luck gmafoley-just saw your post.
  • kingjr66
    kingjr66 Member Posts: 406

    Same with me, my mom had BC too.  She is a 35 year survivor.  Hope I can be too.  I'm also brca negative.

  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 7,545

    GMA - Sorry to read about the eye infection - hope it is getting better - we miss you.

    Update on Sherry - She is home from the hospital and resting.   I talked to her on the phone a couple hours ago and she was settled in her chair.  She says she is in some pain and taking meds.  She may post tomorrow if she is up to it.   

  • gmafoley
    gmafoley Member Posts: 5,978

    Thanks for the update on Sherry, Jo...

    I have good news too! the Ultrasound came back normal breast tissue... The Radiologist today didn't make me wait for the report... That is such a relief...

    In the pocket tomorrow Tori and praying for good things to happen for you too!

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