Radiation recovery
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Yippy that you are done Pat!
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Hey Pat...congrads. You might notice some more skin challenges this week even though the treatment is done. By the 8th day I noticed that by breast was starting to heal. I am at day 12 post rads and my energy is fully back. I noticed after 3-5 days that it was returning. Surprised the RO when she asked. Thought it was kinda early. Hey I am all for having something go my way for a change.
Welcome to this thread.
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Merilee, thank so much for this great picture! I start my rads 9/15!! can't wait to comment on this thread when I am done.
Hugs and blessings!
Everyone keep fighting!
Terri
PS I made that picture my wallpaper on my PC!
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Slept 12 hours last night with the help of Lorizapam. Only slightly itchy today, big improvement from yesterday. See the Oncologist today, should be interesting to see what they think of this plate size red/purple radiation souvenir on my chest & arm pit.
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Hey Merilee by next week your plate size radation souvenir will be faded. I can't believe the difference a week makes. I am having a hard time seeing all the edges of the field to lotion. Start tamoxifen tomorrow. Back to work Monday.
Terri come and visit during your rads.
Pat this is your first day of no appts. Celebrate that also!
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Yes, it was weird this morning turning right towards work instead of left toward the hospital! Want to celebrate with a nice meal at an outdoor restaurant, but all we have is rain, rain, rain. Maybe tomorrow...
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Pat- think south, far south. You deserve an island vacation girly!
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I have 5 regular treatments and 5 boosts to go. Last night I started to feel itchy? What is the best treatment for itchy skin?
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Kat................they told me Cortisone cream............it did help
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Hi Duckyb1, Thanks for letting me know. Is cortosone cream sold over the counter?
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Hi pat01. Welcome to the rads graduates thread. It is good to be here. It is still new enough to me that I am feeling the relief. I finished last Thursday. I am loving having my days to do as I please again, instead of planning my whole day around getting across the city to get my radiation treatment. I stayed home and rested and greased up during the Labor Day holiday. It was a little lonely, but worth the effort. I am healing very well indeed, and the energy is back to normal. I am out soaking up vitamin D (while protecting the new skin) and walking. I started an anti-inflammatory diet too. I just want to do everything right from here on in. I read somewhere that following the right diet, exercise, and weight loss can lessen your chances of recurrence by 5%. That makes good sense to me, and it is something I have control over. That is one thing that has been the hardest to take for me in this cancer journey - loss of control over my own body. Hope you heal fast Pat and the redness goes away quickly.
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Merilee, your plate sized spot sounds like the spot I have on my chest that looks like someone laid a hot iron on there and scorched it! It is sort of a dark tan color now, with splotches of red on it, but it has a definite point at the top. It makes me realize how well they can pinpoint the area they want to radiate. Interesting tan lines for sure.
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Pat: It is a weird feeling to experience the first few days without rads. My appointments were late morning and I panicked during the first week around 11:00am thinking I had missed my treatment. The panic was instantly replaced by joy and relief though. Happy healing!
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The nurse at the rads office wanted to see me after my nurse at my Onc's office saw my chest and called over there. She gave me a peroxide and water soak then put on Thermazene and gave me an rx for it. She said when your skin peels the nerves on the new skin are right at the surface at first and this stuff is supposed to cover them so that they are not so sensitive. She wants me to do this treatment at home twice a day for a week.
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Merilee I hope the new treatments help you and you find some relief very soon!
Only day 12 for me...but I have to pop in now and then to say hello to everyone. I am encouraged readng the progress many of you are making. Congrats for finishing and taking steps to really recover!
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Merilee: I hope your skin gets better soon. The treatments sound soothing at least.
I celebrated a small victory today. I can wear my regular bras again. So far, I can only wear the older, more stretched out non underwire ones, but it is a step back to normalcy, whatever that is now.
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Elizabeth we have to celebrate the small victories too! How long have you been having problems? I go for treatment 13 today and bras are just now getting uncomfortable.
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Kate.............yes it is sold over the counter...........
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Merilee, I am also using something to cover the peeling area. It really helps with the tenderness. Today I am going out for lunch. No dressing and I am also going to wear a regular underwire bra. I wore one last week for 2 hours. It went ok. Today I try the whole day. I am 2 weeks out of rads. Elizabeth when did you finish? Is it about the same timeframe as myself? I would like to be in a regular bra when I start work again on Monday.
You are right, we need to celebrate the small victories. God it feels great getting back to normal or the new normal now. Started tamoxifen this morning. Hope the SE are doable for me.
Have a great weekend. Keep the 9/11 survivors in your prayers. It is going to be a difficult weekend for anyone that lost a love one in the attack.
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I am doing treatment 12 today and then I will have 3 regular and 5 boosts to go. I have been wearing an underwire bra the whole time with no problemsn so far
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I finished rads 16 days ago. I started wearing only lightweight sports bras during the last two weeks of rads. They were comfortable, but I wanted my pre-rads bras back. My skin has recovered nicely. I still feel a little sore, but now it just looks like a tan.
Happy and safe weekend everyone. What a time to pause and give thanks for being alive.
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Kate you are so bad...(Of course that was meant in a nice way! ) I am so jealous. Hey keep it up. It is wonderful hearing some people make it through with little or no SEs.
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bb226, I hope you are doing well tonight, and yes I knew you meant that in a nice way. I am still doing great after treatment # 12 today. Have a great weekend.
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Everyone have a great weekend. Two days off from rads for some of us. Yippee!
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Recovered enough to take a little trip to the Smokeys and the plan is an all day picnic at a waterfall in the national forest for one of the days. Maybe some yoga there too if I can.
See ya all on Tues. Take care and heal!
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Merilee that sounds so beautiful...I wish I could come.
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Kate - I wore my underwire bra for a couple of weeks of rads too, then one day I realized I was sore at the fold, and stopped wearing them. Bought cheap all cotton sports bras a size larger than normal at walmart that just pull over and the band is below the fold. They are working fine, come in packs of 3 so I got two packs. When I am home I go braless with just a cotton tank on.
Still a little red and sore, but the sun finally came out, and hubby and I got to have our celebration lunch outside - it was great!
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To Gigil,
I too felt the worst part of the cancer treatment (rads) was loss of control over my life. However, because I had such intense pain all the way through the rads, I started having massage therapy every week. I went to the raditation onc yesterday for follow-up and she said I have very little scar tissue. That is directly related to the massage therapy. My radiation ended on June 15. It took about 4-5 weeks to get my energy back, but am working and feeling good now. Good luck ladies!
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Pat, I am a little red now, but not sore. I am glad that you are doing well and got to celebrate outside with your hubby. Last night I got a little bit itchy, but it is better this morning. I thought I had 3 regular treatments and 5 boosts to go, but yesterday the radiation therapist told me my doctor changed it to 4 more regular treatments and only 4 boosts. This is fine with me, because it looks like the boosts are much rougher on your skin. They did a boost simulation yesterday, and I was surprised at how close the radiation machine was to my breast. For the simulation they marked my breast with a dark blue marker. I am glad to have 2 days off.
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Kate, I found the boosts easier on my skin than the regular treatments were. I have olive skin, and I hoped my skin wouldn't react. No such luck! I am 9 days out of boosts, and 16 days out of regular rads. The side that reacted to the regular rads treatment is almost done peeling. There are a couple of small red spots. The tumor bed area that got the boosts is itchy, but only a little red. My energy level is mostly good, although a daily nap really puts me right. Merilee your plans sound heavenly. I leave on Wednesday with my husband for a short trip to Orlando. He has a conference, but there will be time for EPCOT!
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