Fall 2015 Rads
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Another "little box on my chest" rads patient here. A camera followed the little black box's path, and I had to have it between X and Y points for the radiation machine to fire. For anyone upcoming: the rads technicians would check how high "nice deep breath" raised my box from the level of the table, then jacked the table up to within that range below the camera. A couple of times (out of maybe 7 zaps per 18 treatments) did they ever say "A little deeper please."
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Congrats to sweetmamaj & others who have just finished. I only have a few more days.
Started my boosts on Friday. Now on my back so I can see what's going on. More uncomfortable than being "in the hole" (prone position). It was a loooong first boost. Oh the pain of circulation lost! But it passes, and I'm a litter closer to DONE. They drew all over my chest this time; lovely primitive art
Fatigue is huge now, but counting my blessings that my skin is doing pretty good. Have bumps like mosquito bites & itching. Can't wait to get these tapes off my skin! But would trade all that for either enough sleep or enough coffee to rise above the fatigue. Soon.....
Happy weekend everyone!
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Wow,all the technology to help with holding your breath. Makes my facility look paleolithic. I was patient numero uno to ever use the breath hold technique there. The RO and the physicist had used it on people before,but the techs never had. All I did was take a giant breath and hold it for 20 seconds. Seems pretty inexact after hearing about all this other stuff! Dang. Cave men with a linear accelerator...
Has anyone else experienced major pain and swelling in the side fat pockets left (if you are unfortunate enough to have such) ? 4 days out from my final rad and I'm still in a lot of pain and experiencing swelling there. If so, what did you do for it?
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I had some pain and swelling. Did MLD on principle, kept my arms elevated when possible, and didn't sleep on my sides.
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someone posted a bracelet pic - love it where to buy?
Congrats Karen on being finished!
I'm 1/3 done and have bit rosy skin , bit of swelling and nipple sensitivity. Bought cooling towel and love it!
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the f*uck cancer one? Not sure where but you could try google
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Littleblue we ended rads the same day and I'm still in a lot of pain too. I feel like a ¼ of my torso has been hit by a truck. Big deal today is that I was able to roll over onto my left side this morning a fall back to sleep. Of course I had to put a pillow for support. Sleeping on my back with my right arm up was getting uncomfortable. The raw patches are the source of most of my pain.
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I was the one who posted the bracelet. I ordered it on Etsy. More than one seller sells FC bracelets so there are different designs to choose from and a wide range of prices depending on material. There are also charms, necklaces, etc. There's lots of cancer awareness jewelry there. Mine should be here next week, I can't wait.
I have two more bracelets to wear with it, one says "she thought she could, so she did" and the other says "scars are like tattoos with better stories".
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Meezer, good for you! My back is so messed up from walking around tense with my arm out lol. Can't wait until I'm healed enough to walk normally. That dog ear I have is really bugging me!
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Iittleblue I can't wait until I can move around with out pain and breathe normally. Hope we get back to normal soon!! We're on our way!!
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Littleblueflowers, before I forget, I wanted to say that I love your Tank Girl avatar! I liked both the comic and the movie (though I'm probably in the minority for the latter, I suspect).
If I want some good energizing "kick cancer's butt" music, I like to fire up this song by Stomp, from the Tank Girl soundtrack (all instrumental, no lyrics):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ric_N_AGD8Stomp is fun to see in person too, if anyone manages to catch them on stage.
Take care,
--Sherri, aka EnigmaticFox, rambling on...
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Catching up on a few days...
Sweetmamaj, congratulations on finishing up and ringing the bell!
Brutersmom, welcome and congrats on passing the halfway point, woohoo!
I think someone finished up their zaps on Friday at the place I'm going to, as there was a big tray of yummy cookies on the counter near the coffee machine. It made me smile!
Take care,
--Sherri, aka EnigmaticFox
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Congratulations to all of you who are done! And thank you to everyone who has posted photos and video; it really helps those of us just starting.
Please add me to the group. I started on October 7th and am having 16 sessions total (no boosts as I had BMx w/o reconstruction) over 15 days. One of my days (Wed the 14th) I will have 2 treatments so that I can finish on the 28th in time to make it home for dress rehearsal for a musical that my daughter and I are in. So far my first 3 treatments have gone well; pretty fast and uneventful. I have 3 pinpoint tattoos and no stickers or sharpie marker spots. The techs are super fast at lining me up each time; less than a minute. I did notice a small area of red pinpoints and an increased temperature a few hours after my treatments. This morning everything looks and feels normal. I'm using just a regular unscented water based lotion that was recommended by my RO techs 3 times a day. I'm getting a total dosage of 40 grays; 250 cGy per treatment.
The cancer center in Victoria, BC is over 4 hours away from my home so I have to stay closer during the week. My husband and daughter came with me on Wednesday and we've all been staying with my m-i-l who lives half an hour away for a visit. Monday (tomorrow) is our Thanksgiving in Canada. We'll have the big dinner today and my husband and daughter will head back up north tomorrow. On Tuesday I'll start staying at the cancer lodge which is only a 5-10 minute walk from the treatment centre. Friday I'll take either a shuttle or small private plane home and Monday in a week I'll come back down here again via shuttle or plane.
I will have to pay a little closer attention, but I realized yesterday that it appears I'm being treated in the "women's wing" of my facility. We have some shelves with paper bags to keep our gowns for the duration of treatment. I have not seen any men's names on any of the paper bags (about 50), I haven't seen any men awaiting treatment in the waiting area, and so far all the techs I've seen have been women. There are 6 radiation machines total at the centre and 2 that appear to be part of this "wing". I'll have to do some snooping closer to the other machines to see if I can see another waiting area with men's names on the paper bags.
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OK, I'll put you on the list. Thanks for joining!
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Hi Ladies,
I am almost a month out from lumpectomy and will meet with onco and rads doctors this week for next step(s). Not sure if chemo is in the picture yet since haven't heard results of Oncotype testing (guess I will find this out at appointments). Will have to have around 33 treatments of radiation, and I have a couple of questions for those of you who have gone through this. I wonder about the side effects mostly. I have heard about the tenderness at site and am not as concerned about this as I am about fatigue. Is the fatigue overwhelming, and if so, at what point did it hit? I have my own cleaning business and have had to rely on family for help while recovering from surgery, and am hoping I won't have to rely on them due to fatigue from rads. I am almost considering checking into proton therapy since there is a facility where I live, but not sure that would produce lesser side effects or not. Any info is appreciated! Thanks.
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Welcome to the group, Elisheba; I'll put you on the official list if you wish, but otherwise, no.
The maddening thing about side effects is "It varies!" Others will chime in (wonderful ladies (and a few men) all). But the fatigue and other side effects are cumulative.
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Hi Elishebajoy! First, welcome and your user name is beautiful! For me I had 30 total rads and the fatigue wasn't bad. I work a very physical job and I am tired by about 3, but I can push through. Lots of protein and water help a lot.
Thanks for the song! I'm thinking of getting a tank girl tattoo on my cancer side. She's the crash toughness I need to get through this..
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'nuf said
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Hello everyone. I love the picture Keys-Plez! I had a lumpectomy back on August 24th and due to waiting on test results for a treatment plan, I am just going to the first radiation consultation on the 19th of October. I am really kind of terrified and glad to find a group of awesome people going through this too. It gives me hope :-)
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This is about 7 weeks after finishing radiation.
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Hi Elisheba. I can't directly address fatigue from rads yet since I just started on Wednesday and have only had 3 treatments, but I thought I'd chime in since I have my own house cleaning business as well. So far I've been able to keep working my regular schedule (averaging about 25 hours per week) throughout my treatments; surgeries and dose dense chemo. I kept really well hydrated (100oz or more of non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beverages), ate plenty of protein and lots of fruit and veggies. I believe that staying active has helped keep my side effects to a minimum. I did have fatigue and took regular naps while on chemo, but the fatigue was manageable. Most people who have completed chemo and rads say that chemo was worse for fatigue than rads. My rads is out of town so I've had to take a few weeks off work, but I plan to keep active and work out by exercising and riding my bike throughout rads. I've just joined the exercise during treatment thread and plan to keep myself accountable by posing my daily activity there. You may want to check out that thread. Quite a few of the regular posters kept very physically active during radiation treatments.
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I know we discussed this somewhere but I can't find it- what to do about deep moist desquamation at 7:40 on Sunday night? Is neosporin a good thing? Let it air or bandage? Aughhhhh!
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Littlblue I wish I could find out more information on that too! My nurse gave me saline solution to help keep away infection. I soak gauze pads with the saline, apply for 10-20 minutes and then let the skin air dry for another 20 mins. Then I mix lidocaine gel into aquaphor apply it really thick. I wear a cotton tank top. The only time I use a bandage is to prevent any rubbing. My nurse gave me some bandages with a plastic coating so it doesn't stick and rip off more skin etc. I soak 2-3 times a day. It seems to be a good balance to let it get some air for awhile and then cover it with the aquaphor.
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Thanks meezers! Of course this happens tonight...
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Last weekend was really bad for me when my skin broke open. RO told me on Tuesday that I could have called someone over the weekend because someone is on call 24/7. Wish I had known that from the beginning.
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im pretty sure my hospitals weekend switchboard operator is drunk. Every time I call she just sends me to the ER Dr who says they can't help me unless I come in. Ummm....can't afford another er visit if I'm not dying...
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Pamela, I googled the bracelet, and am going to get one when in Vancouver next, as they are sold there. She is a Canadian designer:) and part of the proceeds go to a great charity here - Inspire Health.
Great pics, Keys Plez -- too funny, and ksusan -- nice to see an example of a fading 'tan'
Eaglemom, I am originally a Victoria girl who loves the Gulf Islands, but now live in the central interior. Sounds like you have good plans in place. I am still sitting on the fence about doing rads [did chemo and Diep surgery first], and have not made up my mind....am in grey zone -- but find this thread very very helpful.
Littleblueflowers and Meezers -- geez, you guys are going through a lot right now. Gentle hugs.
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add me to the list. starting rads 10/20
Had my sim last week. I'll be face up. 3 weeks whole breat and then a one week boost to tumor area
I'll try to read back so I don't ask questions answered already.
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That Hey Cancer sticker is actually on my car.
I guess I was lucky. I worked all the way through 28 sessions of rads. There were times when I was very uncomfortable, but overall I think I did very well. Just listen to your body and do what it says. If it's hot...cool it, if your bra is rubbing an area...change your bra style/size, if the skin is dry...moisturize it, if your skin is pink...put aloe on it, if the skin is tender...use lidocaine. Skin to skin contact is a breeding ground for pain and misery. There were times I would wear a rolled up bath cloth in my bra under my breast to minimize the skin to skin contact. Actually I put one under the other side too just to keep the look even. Just listen to your body and take care of what it is telling you. When you hear it speak, take action right away. Don't let it get worse. Don't go crazy and over use stuff. Sometimes more is not better.
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Outrunning: you're on the list [inserts standard welcome-wagon greeting here]. Reading back issues of the list is a grand idea (previous lists as well) but as list doyenne, I'd think most questions would be acceptable--we'd just point you back to the post where it was answered, if it was. Fatigue? Skin reactions? what does the machine look like? lotions? are things that were covered IIRC.
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