Radiation recovery
Comments
-
Fran I'm so sorry about your friend. I guess it was a blessing she didn't suffer.
I think it's hard to just find out and even before you can say goodbye they are gone.
Brookside, thanks I'm trying to spend as much time with my father in law as I can. He means so much to us. He came to my husbands Suprise 50th today but he feels pretty gotten. They re hospitalized him Thursday because he was slurring his words and twitching and unable to hold a fork. He actually may have taken a double dose of his pain mess. He fell in the bathroom the other night and has a small brain bleed and his multiple myeloma has gone to the brain also but all his Ct and mei were negative s he was released
0 -
Fran I'm so sorry about your friend. I guess it was a blessing she didn't suffer.
I think it's hard to just find out and even before you can say goodbye they are gone.
Brookside, thanks I'm trying to spend as much time with my father in law as I can. He means so much to us. He came to my husbands Suprise 50th today but he feels pretty gotten. They re hospitalized him Thursday because he was slurring his words and twitching and unable to hold a fork. He actually may have taken a double dose of his pain mess. He fell in the bathroom the other night and has a small brain bleed and his multiple myeloma has gone to the brain also but all his Ct and mei were negative s he was released
0 -
OMG that is so horrible Josie. Bless his heart he is suffering so. My friend’s husband started slurring his words and couldn’t hold his fork. The next day he collapsed and was taken to the hospital. The doctors discovered a huge brain tumor. He never recovered. He was a great guy who actually had a premonition about his death a few months before.
My friend wanted him to spend his final days at home. The doctors said she couldn’t handle it so he went to a hospice facility. It was a beautiful place but still not home.
At least you can spend more time with him. She was able to do that too. He is blessed to have such a loving family.
Diane
0 -
hugs Josie
0 -
Found this site tonight as I am just so confused and annoyed at the problems I have been having since radiation for breast cancer (after the surgery.) Radiation was several weeks after the surgery, and that's when the problems began.
It has been 5 years, my tests all come back fine and all my doctors are pleased with my results. Since radiation, and for the past 5 years, I feel nauseous just about every day. It's like being pregnant again, but in reverse. I wake up fine, and then it goes downhill. This is really every darn day. It seems like eating anything starts the issue.
My Radiologist told me there might be some nausea for a few weeks, but it will gradually go away. It has never gone away. Now he just looks at me like I'm making it up, but I know I'm not. Yes, I am so grateful that the cancer is gone. Yes, I feel lucky. But I'm so tired of not feeling well. I try to go places like I used to, but my energy is a thing of the past, too.
Every 6 months I have all the testing. My blood tests are fine. Mammograms are fine. I don't take any medications. I just don't feel well and the energy I had has been greatly reduced. Has anyone else experienced this?
I wound never recommend not having radiation. I just need a solution.
0 -
- Sunflower12, I am sorry to hear of the long term effects of radiation. I would say no to it, but I feel like that would ge a foolish choice, as that is where I think it would find stray cancer cells without killing healthy cells in the whole body. I am going to do some research on this. God luck in your continuing journey to recovery.
0 -
70charger, I am so sorry for your loss. I read some of your friend's posts, and it sounds to me that she was as upbeat as possible. I have you in my prayers.
0 -
Sunflower, it is unlikely that your continuing nausea is related to your radiation or your cancer. There are so many, many other possible causes. Have you asked your primary doc to please help you get to the bottom of this? I suspect a visit to a gastroenterologist might be in order.
0 -
Good advice Brookside. I had something similar for a bit - it was acid reflux.
Diane
0 -
Hi all, checking in....
Welcome to the new ladies here. I truly hope your recovery will go smoothly.
About the nausea - I found that the aromitase inhibitor caused some nausea. I felt like I had PMS and menopause going on at the same time for awhile. I eventually adjusted. It deserves some research.
Fran, I am so sorry to hear of your friend's passing. There are far too many who are lost too young. Shocking, however. May you find good memories \
Josie, how sad to hear your FiL is so ill. It is heartbreaking for you and your family. I hope your DH and you will take comfort in the good memories you've had. Wishing him comfort and peace at this timeBrookside, welcome back to the civilized world! I hope you had a great trip....any photos to share? I hope you will rest up and recover....sounds like a great trip!
Diane, thanks for being here every day.
Joan0 -
Glad you dropped by Joan. This website is a great place to talk and catch up with you guys.
I am really stressed over several ladies in my group dealing with a recurrence and a possible recurrence. One was hoping the cancer was in remission. It’s not and they are changing her meds. She is out of town but coming back next month. The other one just had a surgical biopsy. She has already had 2 needle ones but the Pathologist was still concerned. Idk the results yet. She just had it done Tuesday. She is multiple years out from her DX. Scary. Is there no end to this?
On the much lighter side posting pics of my son and the twins. My DH had a company picnic and DS brought the boys. Of course they were a big hit!
Diane
0 -
0 -
BTW I bought those Paw Patrol beds and bedding from Wayfair. Too cute and they love their beds!
0 -
Friend who had the surgical biopsy got the call. Benign. Yea! So happy for her.
Diane
0 -
hello all...just joined 😁...just wondered if anyone could tell me if I'm normal ?!?! Haha....I finished my radiotherapy on June 8 this year...5 months ago...still in chronic pain , which keeps me awake & limits my every day life ....how long does this go on for ? 😳...Or is there something else wrong do u think 😖 ?uk GPs don't seem to know 😳....good luck to all X
0 -
Welcome, Chimpetos! So happy you're done with rads, but so sorry you're having this problem. Do you think it could be scar tissue pressing on a nerve? Or maybe a localized infection?
I wouldn't expect a GP to do anything except send you back to your RO or surgeon for a really expert breast exam and maybe an early mammo or ultrasound. Have you been back to your RO? Mine was very clear that she was available as long as I felt I needed her, and hopefully the UK RO's have the same practice requirements. Moreover, she had a "survivorship" nurse practitioner who also was available, and whom I saw a few times. (I was a very wimpy patient.) She might order a mammo or ultrasound, or might send you to your surgeon to see if there is something he can do to clear scar tissue or whatever to make you comfortable.
0 -
I was wondering if anyone developed some tenderness 8 weeks after radiation in their armpit near there sentinel node biopsy. I finished radiation August 25, 2017. I started to have a slight tenderness under my arm on Wednesday, October 25, 2017. I didn't have any soreness before that.
0 -
Yes, Norsken, I did. They tell me it’s due to scar tissue changes. Some lymphatic massage helps keep it loose and therefore less painful. It should even out for you pretty quickly if you do the massage
Chimpetos....goo advice from Brookside. I did have nerve involvement but it was never constant, just sharp pains that lessened as time went on., certainly not like you’re having now.
Sunflower....5 year’s with nausea isn’t right. I like Brookside idea of a visit to a gastroenterologist. Perhaps celiac disease? I just don’t think it’s BC related.
Hi everyone. I’ve been reading but haven’t kept up. The fires here had us living with the cars packed for a week. It’s now almost 3 week’s later and 3 of these fires aren’t yet contained, but they expect to do so in the next few days. Almost 7000 structures have burned, including whole housing developments. 1000 in one nice little suburban area alone. It’s all just so sad, depressing and unimaginable. People have no housing, others have found housing but have no jobs because business burned down. I can’t even look at the hills because I still feel all the terror of the people trying to escape. It will get better but it’s going to take a lot for Santa Rosa to rebuild. My small town 5 miles away didn’t burn, but we still feel it. the air quality is good here now, but I still can’t go near Santa Rosa due to the ashes etc. my lungs are too compromised from that rare lung disease I got. But we are very blessed here, and busily trying to clear some half dead Cyprus trees on the neighbors property that are on the property line and right up against my oak trees. Fortunately it’s fine with the neighbors...it’s just empty acreage anyway but a fire hazard none the less.
Keep well everyon
0 -
Sew how horrible. I’m sorry I forgot you lived in that neck of the woods. My heart goes out to all of the people who lost everything. I can only imagine what their lives are like with no housing and no jobs. I’m relieved you are okay.
This has been an especially horrific year with those fires and the hurricanes. I have contributed to the causes as much as I can. My DH has an X BIL in Houston and my brother and SIL have a house in Tampa. Fortunately for them the hurricane made a U turn and their house was spared. All their neighbors had evacuated. Haven’t heard from BIL but didn’t really expect to. At least have heard from family members he is k but his apartment was under water.
Be safe. I know it’s a difficult situation at best. Praying they can contain the remaining fires.
Doam
0 -
Hi Diane,
Thanks for the kind words. The destruction this year from nature have been horrendous. I am afraid these kind of episodes will just get worse. Puerto Rico is just devastated and so many people have had to flee to Florida. It pains me to think of it all. I'm glad your brother in Tampa was OK, and know first hand the work your xBIL in Houston will need to go thru to clean up after the flood. My Mom's home has flooded twice. Anyway the whole thing is just scary. Around here I think there are lots of people walking around with ptsd. We have a large charity orginazation which is doing a great job of collecting donations of $ and are distributing it. They intend to handle long and mid-term needs. The city has arranged a massive hazmat clean up of all the properties which the gov't is handling with land owner approval (and I say land owner because that is all they have left believe me). They hope to have it cleaned up by the end of the year. So, everyone's trying to expidite the work and clean up, but how quickly can they rebuild 6800 homes? And housing was tight around here before all this. I decided to donate to my 2 local yarn shops and my local fabric shop. They are all small businesses and were having trouble surviving without all this. I gave several gift certificates to each, and they will give to people who have lost their homes. Anyway, thanks for the thoughts...we need them out here.
0 -
Thanks to all that have posted in reply to my issue with nausea, ongoing, long after having radiation for breast cancer. What I did state, but maybe not clear enough, is that I have consulted ALL my doctors, and had all testing related to my digestive track. Primary care doctor, cancer doctors, etc. have done their testing, everything appears fine.
After receiving the same replies on this board as I have been getting from my doctors, dismissing it as not related to the radiation treatments, I had renewed vigor in searching for an answer. I found on (of all places) the American Cancer Society website, what I think is the answer. They explained that radiation kills cells, both healthy and cancerous. As for the cells that are killed/radiated, new cells grow back and replace the damaged ones. The damaged cells are then absorbed in the digestive system for removal from the body. The younger you are, the quicker this process happens. The older, the longer it takes. It can take weeks, months, years. This is dependent on how quickly the body heals, and we all know how quickly the young heal. I am older, so I fit into the "takes a long time" category. These radiated cells are foreign to the body, causing nausea, kinda like morning sickness when we're expecting a baby (been there.)
Is this the answer to my question? I don't know but believe so. I thank everyone for giving me that boost to search further until I came up with an answer I accept. Knowing what may be causing the problem makes it so much easier to accept. And if anyone else is facing this same issue, maybe I helped.. I hope so.
0 -
Chilmpetos, I experienced similar problems after radiation. Several months later, when talking to the surgeon who performed my bc surgery, he told me to stop "holding it in." No more surgical or tight fitting bras and eliminate any kind of restriction around my arm and armpit where they took out lymph nodes.
He said to walk around in pajamas or loose fitting garments (no bra) whenever possible. At first I thought it was terrible advice. Then within a short period of time, things healed. It didn't take long and he was right. It's worth a try, it worked for me.
0 -
Welcome new ladies. Hope you continue to heal. I didn’t have any after effects from radiation. At least so far. Btw I’m 6 years out last August.
Oh Sew what a nice thing to do for those shops. I didn’t realize so many homes and businesses were affected. It’s inconceivable you can lose everything in one fail swoop. How helpless they must have felt watching their home and businesses destroyed. Mother Nature has certainly been especially cruel to us this year.
My brother was blessed. It’s their summer home but not the same for their neighbors. Insurance is sky high there as you would expect and insurance companies cancel you at the drop of a hat. It’s the price they pay though for living on the beach in Florida. They knew that going in but somehow you think it won’t happen to you. Their house is really nice and a fun vacation house. I don’t think they will ever live there permanently.
I wish I had the $ to help all of the people affected by these tragedies. I did donate to a few but not nearly enough.
I am however impressed by how people come together when these things happen.
Keep us posted and keep the faith.
Diane
0 -
Well, Sunflower, if it's not something to do with gastric reflux (you did have a recent upper endoscopy, yes?), then maybe it is a food sensitivity. You could see an allergist, or maybe the fodmap diet will help. That one is new, I think, and is specifically helpful for issues with the digestive system.
Here's hoping something clicks and you can get rid of this annoyance.
0 -
Good morning sisters, I’m brand new here, but feeling blessed to have some feedback from all of you that are either at the beginning, middle or end of treatment. I’m starting radiation on Nov 6 2017 and I have to admit I’m pretty scared. I see that SE can be anywhere from mild to more severe. If anyone has some helpful information for me before I get startedI would greatly appreciate your feedback. God bless you all!!
0 -
Thank you for the information Sew. I hope things can calm down for you and improve!
0 -
Snibar- I was nervous about radiation also, I am done with it now and it was not too bad for me. Keep the area moisturized - the office should have samples for you and you can ask for more if you want, I did a few times because I was going back to work and forgot to bring my own lotion. I used different things, I liked aquaphor (a little greasy), and bag balm (udder cream). I would really lay it on heavy at night and wear a t-shirt so it would not get all over the sheets. I did not have any problems, tell the doctor if you do.
0 -
Update! I saw the oncologist yesterday and ALL tests have come back negative for cancer, so I have chosen NOT to do chemo. I have decided to do the radiation, not because I really want to, but because it makes sense that if there is a possiblity of stray cells in the breast, to treat it without affect the whole body. Most people are not in agreement with my decision, and perhaps the radiation is also a compromise for them, but the oncologist will have a teleservice meeting with me in January and I return to see her in April. She asked me if I would leave the door open for chemo, and I said yes. I got a call today that I go to see the radiation team tomorrow, so things are moving along. I hope things are going better for all of you.
0 -
Update! I saw the oncologist yesterday and ALL tests have come back negative for cancer, so I have chosen NOT to do chemo. I have decided to do the radiation, not because I really want to, but because it makes sense that if there is a possiblity of stray cells in the breast, to treat it without affect the whole body. Most people are not in agreement with my decision, and perhaps the radiation is also a compromise for them, but the oncologist will have a teleservice meeting with me in January and I return to see her in April. She asked me if I would leave the door open for chemo, and I said yes. I hope things are going better for all of you.
0 -
Good news Nancy. What do you mean most people aren’t in agreement with you? The doctors? It’s your call. They dispense their medical opinions which is certainly necessary and helpful but it’s still your life not theirs. Don’t let anyone put pressure on you to do it if you don’t want to.
I can pretty much guarantee those of us who were able to dodge chemo are thankful and relieved. Had my Oncologist recommended it for me I would have run the numbers as in how much of a benefit would it be? Would the side effects be worth a few % points? Fortunately I didn’t have to decide because thescore from my Oncotype test was low.
Regardless of what people say stick to what’s best for you. You are the patient. Just make sure you don’t second guess yourself. I had radiation and it wasn’t bad at all. 33 treatments. Bit of burning and fatigue halfway through but that’s it.
Good luck!
Diane
0
