Radiation recovery
Comments
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Thank you Elizabeth, I missed you too! Glad to be home. Now I have to get back to work and do all I can to maximize chances of good health. Weight loss is tops on my list, and exercise. Life can never been quite as carefree, can it? We always have to keep our eye on the banana.
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Kate, glad to see you were home and able to post! Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
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Thank you so much Irw,Ceeztheday,Stephn,Gigil,Truebff,Elizabeth1889,Shelly2011. I am in a lot of pain today, and my surgeon said it will take a couple of days to subside. Having all your support makes me feel better.
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Hang in there Kate. Try to sleep and let your body do its magic!
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Kate, you are one tough cookie. I surely hope you like this size much better, and can be comfortable from now on. Sleep and relax and float on a cloud of healing.
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Hi Everyone! I've missed you all. So much has happened, blah blah blah, and now I'm living in a motor home near San Diego with my sweetheart of 19 years, Kenny. Anyway, I see various of us are having all kinds of challenges, and my heart just goes out to each of you. I do end up with lymphedema in the breast but not the arm. Sometimes it produces pain all over the area, front and back. The bursitis caused by the horrible positioning visits continues and is so painful. And I've had a cough since radiation ended in mid October. Anybody else having this? I'm not in touch with my oncs as they are in Denver and I ended up feuding with the radonc at the end. Is this cough something that just lasts forever? Anybody know? I'll try to check in more often, and the truth is I'm mostly fine!!! Truly - just these issues to deal with. Love to you all. We'll get through this! Jeana
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Thank you Sab and Gigil. Gigil I have missed you. Thank goodness I am happy with the size now. I just wish rhe pain would go away. I have been sleeping most of the day, and I have been thinking about how sweet you all are to give me so much support.
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Kate, sorry about your pain but really, take the meds and just REST. This is what you need more than anything right now. Hope you are feeling better very soon.
Gigil....Good to see you back here. I am glad you are doing well.
Beana, it has been ages, good to see you. I suspect I have the same type of lymphedema you have. In the breast and armpit but not the arm. I will find out for sure Tuesday. I am being treated for cellulitis now and see my onc Tuesday to see if there is improvement. The nurse I saw said she was fairly sure I do have lymphedema. I hope your therapy gets easier!
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Hi there Janis! Good to be talking with you again. I got into a big moving furniture and getting ready for painters deal about a month ago, and the next morning my armpit was killing me, as well as my chest muscle. It scared me a bit. I forgot that we need to take it easy. That is what comes from feeling pretty good. I forgot momentarily that I have a bc history now and have to be careful with the arm. I did some self massage and also raised my arm frequently in a resting position. It seemed to take care of it. Now I have to be more careful. My doctor gave me a referral awhile back to go in for some therapy. It might not be a bad idea, right? Even though they only took a few nodes, it must be the radiation that damages the lymph flow.
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Is it common to have pain after rad treatment? RO said nothing about it so am not sure. Achy pain and some sharp pain under arm. I had no nodes removed, did have SNB in November. Tried to begin weight training again and found it hard to do upper body moves. Hope this doesn't last to long
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Hi all,
Beana, before I read your post, I was thinking the same thing......hey, this is the recovery thread, and so many are going through serious stuff. My skin is doing really well, but my shoulder is worse. If I lift above 90 degrees, it really locks and hurts. I never thought to call it bursitis....who knows? All I know is that I did not have pain before Arimidex, then it started, and rads made it awful.
bgail84 - I don't really have pain, but I am amazed at how weak my upper body is. When I park and go into work carrying a pocketbook and a laptop bag, my shoulders cannot support the weight. I keep shifting as I walk. I am really careful when I lift. I hope it gets better for you, b
Kate, I hope you are getting sleep and that soon you will feel omfortable with your new svelt look! You have been through so much....and it never gets easier. Rest up and make these surgeries a distant memory.
I spent the day at the hospital getting pre-tested for cardiac cath next week.. It didn't feel good to be right back to the hospital just 9 days after rads. It's all BC related, as the Arimidex exacerbated a hormonally induced angina. Estrogen helps stabilize the "angina" type spasms; but suppressing it seems to be bringing it on frequently. (normally I had an episode once a year - have had 4 in the past month)....so I get to be nervous and anxious all over again.
Am hearing about new BC diagnoses among acquantances every week. It doesn't let up.
On the good side, I feel well, I am grateful, and I wish everyone good thoughts and prayers for the trials you are facing this week.Best wishes and hugs,
Joan
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Thank you Joan811. I am sorry you have to go through this, but glad that you are feeling well. I feel better this evening then I did this morning. I slept most of the day. Thank you again everyone for your support. It means so much to me.
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Best wishes, Kate. Sleep and recover.
And to all, a good night and good sweet dreams.
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bgail84, I finished rads mid July. Still have pain from rads. I am not sure how long it lasts, but I have heard some say up to a year. It feels like someone punched me in the rad site. Seemed to go away for two nights, then came back...frustrating. The doctors don't seem to want to talk about it.
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Jeana and Gigil so nice to have you back. I always enjoy your post. I missed you!!!
Hi Kate, Sounds like everything went well. I am so happy for you. Try to rest and let your body heal.
Joan sorry you have something else to deal with. Hugs and Prayers
Bgai84 I still have the shooting pains once in a while. My underarm where they did the snb is still numb. I finished Rads in Sept. It does get better I promise..
Janis the sleep lab was annoying. They were in my room every hour to check something. One nurse woke me up and asked me if I was asleep??? LOL At this point anything medical bugs the h*** out of me.
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Hi everyon
How do you tell the difference between lymphadema, nerve damage, fibro myalga, bursitis, side effects ....e-gads.e
I wanted to remind everyone to send your pink letter to Washington on
Monday.
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/110/topic/781216?page=1#idx_13
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Merilee from all I know of lymphedema, swelling is the main culprit and discomfort as well. I don't have serious pain but have limited mobility if I try to raise my arm above my head. The type they believe I have does not involve arm swelling. Most LE seems to start with the arm, so the Truncal, breast and chest lymphedema is harder to diagnose. My cancer breast is redder than it should be and larger than my good breast. I have pain under the underarm and swelling that has gotten worse, not better.That is one sign of LE...it simply does not improve over time. I am currently on antibiotics for cellulitis of the breast, but my MO still think I do have this other type of LE. I go back on Tuesday and should know for sure. If so, very specialized therapy is ahead. You have to be seen by a qualified LE specialist.
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Joan, I hope all will go well during your cardiac cath next week. Sending hugs to you.
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Thank you Truebff and Irw. I feel better today. Not well enough to go out of the house, but much better than I did yesterday.
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Hi all, thanks for so many mentions of the BREAST LE! I have to say not one of 6 docs I consulted ever mentioned we could get the LE in the breast, and it sounds like this is what most of us have, as well as several other friends of mine! The irradiated breast gets swollen, hard, sore and the pain goes across the chest and back and into the armpit and neck on that side. From what I've read, it's harder to treat that the ARM LE. And I don't notice the lymphatic massage helping at all. BEWARE the Lymphedema Specialists as they are really expensive! Mine charged $450-$600 an hour, and my insurance paid $50 per hour. They were interesting sessions, but I don't see it helping.
I have had some luck with the herbs Cleavers and Red Root in a tincture that I take orally.
So nice to be in touch with you all again - lrw, merilee, kate, janis and others from before as well as new names and faces. We did the radiation, for better or worse, and now we can help each other find ways to live with the side effects. I'm sorry for all the discomfort but happy for the friendships!
Nobody has a persistent cough? They did aim at my throat and also went right through my upper right lung, so I think this is what comes of that. I'll look it up.
Love to all! Jeana
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Kate, irw, Elizabeth & all,
Thanks for your thoughts. I find the cardiac thing to be more unnerving at the moment than BC because I do not know how it will turn out.
A beautiful 4" snowfall today - it was so nice to stay in and watch the beauty unfold.
I did get out to a movie - hardly anyone out.
Stay warm! and be well.
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Joan811 I am so jealous of your snow. Originally I am from Chicago, and now I live in Santa Monica Ca., and I miss the snow.
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Kate-let's do a house trade till spring LOL I am in Lanisng MI-cold
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I finished rads 10/31/11. On 12/18/11 i woke up in a lot of pain under my arm and on my right side. i called my medical oncologist to see if i should come in to see her. i was already scheduled to see her on 12/27/11. the nurse called back and said to just take aleve or ibuprofin and use ice packs. the doctor would see me on 12/27. when i went to see the oncologist she said it was side effects of the radiation treatment. she pretty much dismissed it - said she would do an ultrasound if i wanted. IF I WANTED!!!. She's the doctor here. Ultrasound came back normal. I never heard from the oncologist with the results. I got a letter in the mail from the radiologist. I think i may need to change doctors. I am still expreriencing pain on and off. sometimes i get shooting pains out of the blue. I hate taking pain pills all the time so sometimes i just try to get through it without medication.
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fhar451, Trust your gut. If you are unhappy with your oncologist, then it is time to change doctors. I hope someone can at least give you an answer about your pain. What does your radiation oncologist say?
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fhar...I have no idea why so many doctors dismiss these problems. I know when my breast/armpit was first bothering me they told me it was normal after radiation. Later what I read about this truncal/brest.chest LE is that it frequently goes undiagnosed because they look for the swelling in the arm. It just frustrates me to know that anyone gets the runaround when there is a problem.
Beana, I worry if I do have this LE finding a specialist to work with it. I am sirry the treatments aren't helping you. I know it just makes you want to pull your hair out. I hope you feel better soon.
Kate, I am happy to hear you are feeling much better. Just take it easy and don't push yourself. healing will happen. Just take care.
Love, hugs to all.
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Beena: My RO did tell me that a cough migh occur during the course of radiation from damage to the lungs. Call them and they can prescribe a medicine for it. It is most likely just a SE.
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Fhar451, re: the doc decision..... I agree with Elizabeth1889. If you don't feel that this MO is going to be a good match for you, try to find someone else....but give it a couple more contacts if this was your first time with her. I was initially put off by the intellectualism of my RO the first time I met her, and wondered if she would be someone I could really connect with about some of my very basic concerns upon entering radiation. Fortunately, since I saw her weekly, I got to know her better pretty quickly, and interestingly when DH was not also in the room, (taking notes!) she was so much more at ease and showed her concern for my overall well-being throughout the rads process She ended up being a wonderful "radiation mentor/partner", and even advocated for me in a logistical situation that came up during my rads.
If you do decide that another doc would be better, can you ask your PCP for a referral, if that doc knows you well? Or even the RO if you got to know/trust that doc? One of the things that has really carried me through this process has been my comfort with all of the docs who provided me with care, and your MO is going to be with you for a long time, so you need to feel a high level of comfort and trust with that person.Good luck with your decision!0 -
Hi Merilee, Sounds good to me. Do you have snow now?
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Janis thank you for your support. I am feeling better today. Fhar451 I am sorry that you are not feeling better, and that you have incompetent doctors.
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