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After Radiation

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Comments

  • tb90
    tb90 Member Posts: 297

    Sunny:  This does not appear to be a very active thread.  There is one called radiation therapy, ten years out, or something like that.  It has been much more active, so check that one out.  I will find the proper name. 

  • tb90
    tb90 Member Posts: 297

    Long-term radiation side affects, 10 years after . . .

  • Sunny1012
    Sunny1012 Member Posts: 8

    hi TB90,

    I see that your diagnosis timeline is close to mine I was diagnosed 10/28/13 and surgery 1/8/14.  Now time for radiation.  Are you doing radiation and if so how are you doing?

  • FireKracker
    FireKracker Member Posts: 5,858

    yes this thread has ben quiet for quite some time

    BUT

    if u want some real good info read from the begining

    We all finished treatment at the same time,and there is a lot of info that says it all

    Any thing u can think of we had,done,liked,disliked and we were quite blunt about it.

    Ill be checkin in if anyone needs help and some of the other sistas will be more then glad to give you any info.

    Please dont be so fast to jump ship..

  • gmafoley
    gmafoley Member Posts: 5,978

    TB90 - All I have to say is if you can take the short 16 treatment route - do it - Many people have no problems, some people like me have permanent nerve damage from the full force 28 day treatment.  My sisters both had the 16 day and have no problems at all.  Good luck and you are always welcome here to ask questions. It is on my favorites list, so if someone says something I see it.  FireKracker was correct though. Start a page 1 and read through - I think all your questions will be answered.

  • I have just started radiation so I have no side effects yet. For those of you that had side effects how long after you started did they appear?

  • kicks
    kicks Member Posts: 319

    My burns came the day after last rad. No problems at all during rads. The deepest of the burns did finally heal 4 mths after last rad. It took using Domeboro soaks to finally dry it up.

  • hopeful82014
    hopeful82014 Member Posts: 887
    I started tx midweek and by maybe Tuesday of the following week started to see pinkness. The pinkness built slowly. I felt tired early on in the process but that was intermittent and unpredictable.

    I never really burned much - mostly pink to dark pink and it started fading as soob as treatment ended - actually, once the boosts started the rest started to fade. I still have some issues with tightness and tenderness of the underlying tissues but my skin loomed completely normal again pretty quickly. My RO said I would do very well and she was right!

    Good luck with your treatment!
  • gmafoley
    gmafoley Member Posts: 5,978

    Unfortunately for me, I started the pink within the first week and had 28 treatments. By the time I was done I was very red and had damage to my lymph nodes.. It took a long while to heal. I would keep them aware and don't let them brush you off if you feel burned.. I got the "you don't know what pink is" snicker snicker..... At the end, when the original radiologist saw me he scrunched his nose and said, "I didn't think you would burn that bad" My skin did go back to normal..

  • kkubsky
    kkubsky Member Posts: 47

    I have had 13 out of 18 treatments and so far no big SEs. A bit of redness in the crease under my boob....started this week. No real fatigue from the radiation, mostly mental stress fatigue. My boob might be feeling a little beat up but it has been I suppose!! Hoping it doesn't get worse these last few days.....

  • mom45
    mom45 Member Posts: 1

    I finished radiation 4 days ago. I'm really burnt on top of my breast and open raw spots on the bottom. I am miserable right now. A bra is not possible. I'm using a spray cream they gave on the bottom.it forms,sort of, a barrier for the skin.As long as I lay on my back. I'm a 42 dd. So it stays warm and moist in that area. Hurting and wondering if this will ever heal!��













  • Tessio
    Tessio Member Posts: 14

    Hi ladies,

    I am five weeks post 30 radiation treatments. My skin has healed and everything looked good at my radiation follow up appointment 3 days ago. My energy level has been cruddy the past 2 weeks. The last 2 days I've noticed increased shortness of breath, stairs are a nightmare right now. Of course it had to happen after my follow up appointment.

    I've also started Tamoxifan 2 weeks ago and my hemoglobin was low on Tuesday due to a heavy period. TMI !! :)

    I will call my doctor today, but wanted to check in with my warriors too. Anyone else get shortness of breath post radiation? Thank you!!

  • gmafoley
    gmafoley Member Posts: 5,978

    Mom46 -

    It will get worse before it gets better hunny. I started to take pictures to see the progress because when I was in the middle of it you don't see improvement. It really helped me realize I was improving. I didn't wear a bra and when I started to my skin was so sensitive I wore a pure cotton tank inside-out under my bra. I saw improvement daily but will take about 2 weeks. Keep it clean and you will be ok.

  • gmafoley
    gmafoley Member Posts: 5,978

    Tessio - I was very tired and any exertion made it hard to breathe. It should pass but if you have any concerns about your breathing, don't hesitate to call the doc. You need to be able to breathe... My asthma did flare about the same time too.

  • Tessio
    Tessio Member Posts: 14

    Thank you Gma Foley! I have an appointment tomorrow, but am feeling much better today. Of course, it is the weekend and I have not been exerting myself. W


  • Rhyfelwr
    Rhyfelwr Member Posts: 52

    New here, and will be finishing rads this week. I feel like an absolute mess, and don't know what "after" really means. Are there any others out there lurking who want to join this board and give it a reboot of new sisters?

    Just thought I would raise the flag and see what happens. BTW, this is my first ever post.

    Rhyfelwr (Warrior, in Welsh. I wish I felt like one. Most days, I feel like a Victim.)

    Dx DCIS 5/5/2017; Lump 5/12/17; SLN biopsy 5/19/17 (my bs and I had this Friday thing going); Stage IIA, Hr+/HER2-; AC x4; Taxol x 12; Rads x20

  • Georgia1
    Georgia1 Member Posts: 188

    Hi there, warrior sister! I am still in radiation land, with number 11 of 15 set for Monday. So I guess we both finish this week! There are a bunch of us over in the "radiation in December" topic thread if you want to say hi over there. It's a more active thread. But welcome! We all have "feel like a mess" days as well as "I can kick cancer's butt" days so that, at least, is perfectly normal.


  • dodgersgirl
    dodgersgirl Member Posts: 1,902

    Rhyfelwr - I finished rads about 10 days ago and wondered what's next.....so I started a new thread for those who went through dx or tx in 2017 to give us a place to continue to help each other.

    if you are interested, please take a look at this thread

  • BiddyBridget
    BiddyBridget Member Posts: 1

    Hi! I just started my radiation treatment. I’m trying to read as much as I can to plan ahead. I appreciate the recommendations on the lotions that provide relief. Is there a post or discussion where people have shared their different experiences with tiredness related to your radiation? I have to plan as much as possible in advance for work (Within reason of course :) )

  • lauramv
    lauramv Member Posts: 6

    Hello all. Just saw your thread and would like input on best topical for pealed burnt skin under armpit. Just finished rads, and while chest is red, the armpit area was burnt black, and now has pealed in the last few days. Trying aquafor, and aloe and lidocaine gel for the pain.Any feedback would be wonderful!

  • AutismMom1
    AutismMom1 Member Posts: 17

    To Lauramv - my skin did not get that bad, but I used Natural Care Gel by Bard (my aunt's RO had given her some to use so I figured it must be good!) and I used Calendula Salve and Aloe. Also, toward the end of my radiation treatments I found a product called Miaderm (created by ROs) which I also liked and it seemed to have as ingredients a lot of those natural products I was using. Hope you heal quickly!

  • marciam
    marciam Member Posts: 84

    Thank you dearest ! Warning ladies with sensitive skin or psoriasis!

    I’m glad I discontinued radiation as some ten years later I’ve only now discovered how brutal this treatment was in me . Not only did I develop lynpadema but I had severe radiation damage to my breast’s clavicle and a rare form of psoriasis that’s chronicly infection with cellulitis!

    I’m suffering terribly for years never understood what this skin condition is - a diagnosis of a rare trope of psoriasis and cellulitis has required almost constant monitoring and antibiotics.

    I’m relived that light therapy has helped me somewhat but this is a very chronic dieease resulting from just 3 days of radiation!

    Ladies with skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis beware . I had stage 4 and had been misdiagnosed at the time of radiation subsequently

    I’ve had a brain tumor that was there at time of rads so it wouldn’t have affected outcome it’s too long a story here but I had surgery for that abs steriotactuc rads which worked out perfectly for me I’m Happy thst im


    Still here some 10 years later . I use alternative therapy - diet essential oils and reiki which has all helped me be cancer free .

    My opinion is that if you’re cancer free after chemo . I think you should think twice what you’re up against with radiation ! Very harmful and very ineffective for me ! 😐

    I wish alt the best

    Marcia