Fall 2015 Rads
Comments
-
Espanola- I had to take a deep breath during each beam of rads. They watch to make sure your marks line up. I did not have a tube. They do this so your lungs push your heart out of the radiation field.
Ankle dolphin - the itching I had during rads was the most intense itching I have ever felt! I kept saying it was like being attacked by a million mosquitoes at once. My RO gave me a cortisone prescription, but you can only use it three times a day. She said more than that and it can cause your skin to break down. She also said to take Benedryl at night and that did help to relieve the itching enough so I could get to sleep.
0 -
Espanola: welcome to the group and to the next step closer to finishing your treatment.
Breathing rads: has your RO told you you're going to be using the "scuba gear" technique? There are a couple of different ways of doing that--I just did the very low-tech version of taking a very deep breath ahd holding it until the technicians told me I could breath out.
Molly50: I saw The Marriage of Figaro at Chicago's mainstream opera company/house.
0 -
Queen: I am with you. I have never been a big drinker anyway. (maybe 1 glass a week on average). I am not going to cut out all alcohol.
0 -
Karen, Can you tell me what kind of towel to order?
0 -
Qmc, nice! I work at a major performing arts center. I am not a huge opera fan but have grown to love some of the productions . Marriages of Figaro is a good one. I prefer plays and musical theater.
0 -
Suzanne50; my apologies! I seem to have missed adding you to the list--I wasn't near my computer for most of yesterday.
0 -
Geepers -- I do quite like my wine, and odd G&T too, and don't intend to stop completely... but I do drink less now -- mostly because I have cut back on [not completely off] all types of sugar -- so wonder if it is tied to the fact alcohol converts to sugar.... and any sugars convert to fat to estrogen etc. I have heard being of normal weight is helpful -- less of a fat storage area -esp belly fat- for estrogen to develop in.... so I think they all interplay, and would suspect it's not alcohol specifically. Trying to be even more healthy overall -- better diet, more exercise.... even though I was pretty good.... think my issue was lots of hormones over the years - early period, birth control, bio-idential HRT. Guess I won't get a heart attack either!!
I see my new rad onc this Friday -- previous one off to deliver baby -- to discuss my 'on the fence' case. Leaning more towards doing rads now, formerly balking due to lymphedema fears, so will see.
0 -
10 of 30 treatments done...
...and I've contracted shingles.
Not exactly what I expected to be getting, at 43...but then again, I didn't expect to be diagnosed with breast cancer at 39 either. *sigh*
I suppose the only small blessing is that the rash showed up on the OTHER side of me. I'm thanking all my lucky stars and fishes that it didn't decide to pop up on the radiation side. Apparently shingles isn't uncommon in cancer patients undergoing treatment, where your immune system is suppressed and you're having all kinds of nasty things done to you...
Trying to think positive (and not to scratch),
--Sherri, aka EnigmaticFox
0 -
EF....WTF? Well I guess radiation will be a breeze compared to shingles. What other crap are they not telling us? So sorry you're getting hit with all of this.
0 -
I got shingles at 43 - hope you are on the med - quick!
0 -
EF! I hope they got you on antiviral therapy right away! That will mitigate nerve damage. I have heard of some oncs recommending the Shingles vaccine prior to chemo.
0 -
I got my shingles vax 3 yrs ago, and Prevnar 13 and Fluzone Hi-Dose the week before surgery. Keeping fingers crossed.
As to how we women with non-functioning ovaries (or no ovaries) still make estrogen, it's not true that the adrenal glands convert fat to estrogen--it's a bit more complex, and there are actually two different mechanisms for estrogen synthesis. The adrenals make a hormone called androstenedione, which is then converted to estrogen by the enzyme aromatase. And fat cells (NOT dietary fat!) also make androstenedione (and sometimes, estrogen directly w/o being converted from androstenedione). Again aromatase is the culprit. Dietary sugar's role in this (as well as starch converted to sugar) is mediated by both the pancreas and liver. The pancreas secretes insulin, which in normal levels in people w/o metabolic syndrome mops up excess glucose in the blood and sends it to the liver to be turned into glycogen for muscles to burn. But as we age, especially if we have the other two components of metabolic syndrome (hypertension and high LDL/triglycerides), we become more resistant to the beneficial effects of insulin (developing prediabetes and eventually Type 2--the third member of the metabolic-syndrome triad)--and instead of mopping up the blood glucose, insulin is secreted in ever-larger amounts and sends glucose to the liver where it is converted to fat for storage rather than glycogen for ready energy. The fat thus produced is stored in our fat cells (which one never loses unless surgically removed!), which are little hormone factories as mentioned earlier. Dietary fat, in the absence of dietary sugars & starches and if excess calories aren't consumed, gets burned rather than stored. (In full-blown Type 2, the pancreas can eventually give up and stop secreting insulin altogether--which is why so many Type 2 diabetics must supplement meds with insulin shots. At that point, elevated body fat from insulin--while still unhealthy--is less dangerous than the effects of excess blood sugar).
If “androstenedione" sounds familiar, it's the same substance---a steroid analogue--that can be purchased OTC and which Mark McGwyre and Sammy Sosa admitted to having used during their home-run-king years in MLB. In young, lean & healthy men, it gets converted to testosterone. In older & obese men, it gets converted to estrogen--hence gynecomastia as a side effect.
Alcohol's role in this is that it makes the liver less able to clear estrogen from the bloodstream and then help us excrete it harmlessly. There's some evidence that after being on AIs for awhile, because there's less estrogen to clear. alcohol consumption can gradually be increased to a near-heart-healthy level (5 5-oz. glasses of wine/wk, certainly no more than 1/day). A friend of mine in her late 60s who manages a wine-centric restaurant was told that by her MO--she's been on Arimidex for 5 yrs and he wants her on it for a 6th. But for those of us just starting AIs (or who haven't yet), 2-3 glasses should be the weekly limit. And those who've never drunk alcohol shouldn't use heart health as a reason to start. There are other ways to stay heart-healthy.
0 -
Ok, so if belly fat contributes to estrogen and therefore cancer, did I risk getting BC by having my belly fat made into breasts?
0 -
Chisandy thank you for taking the time to clarify estrogen/fat metabolism etc. Saved for future reference!
0 -
Another "Thank you, ChiSandy".
0 -
Thank you all for the well-wishes! I'm still itchy and uncomfortable, but now I'm on an anti-viral medication. It's within 72 hours of the onset of symptoms, so it should (hopefully) be effective. Two pills taken 5 times a day for 10 days.
Anyone happen to know how long it takes to see a positive effect, with this sort of drug?
And I noticed tonight that the original incision site for my port has a long bruise running along the tubing now. Ay-ay-ay! Another thing to ask about at tomorrow's zapping visit...
Feeling a bit beat-up, but still rolling with the punches,
--Sherri, aka EnigmaticFox
0 -
As I recall a day or two like antibiotics.
0 -
Let me get this straight. Fat makes estrogen. Fat can only be removed surgically. Estrogen feeds cancer. Kinda sounds like I'm screwed no matter what I do. Gee. I feel so much better.
0 -
HI Keys, nice post by Chisandy. Sugar feeds cancer too in a roundabout way. And oxygen or no oxygen, I can never remember
0 -
"Ok, so if belly fat contributes to estrogen and therefore cancer, did I risk getting BC by having my belly fat made into breasts?“
Allison, probably not. You already had mastectomy AND chemo and will likely go on hormone-suppression therapy, so you will likely not have high circulating estrogen levels. It is not precisely understood why fat cells produce estrogen or androstenedione, nor even which ones do, It could also be a self-perpetuating cycle in which certain women may be likelier than others to have their fat cells produce estrogen or its precursor. If fat cells were the main culprit in estrogen-positive cancers, surgeons would be advising women to have tummy-tucks and liposuctions prophylactically. Obviously, they aren't.
There are even two different processes behind a person's % of body fat: hypertrophy and hyperplasty. Hypertrophic obesity is the most common kind (and the only kind men get): you have a set number of fat cells and whatever food becomes body fat goes into these fat cells, enlarging them. We women are unique in that we can also get hyperplastic obesity: we can actually make more fat cells when our existing ones fill up. Estrogen probably plays a role in that, as well as in women's higher levels of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase, whose role is to make sure we have enough body fat for ovulation even long after menopause. Lipoprotein lipase is the culprit in increasing hunger and slowing metabolism after we've lost weight (especially body fat)--its job is to get our body fat % up to what Nature (which is thousands of years behind the times) feels is optimal for fertility. It does that primarily by making us hungry for foods that have been proven in the past to add body fat or at least keep it from declining.
Because we don't know precisely which fat cells are and aren't involved in estrogen synthesis, doctors advise us to keep our weight (primarily body fat) down as much as possible--fat metabolism usually happens evenly all over the body. It could very well be that the belly fat used in DIEP flap reconstruction is endocrinologically inert, and perfectly safe to transfer from your belly to your chest. (It will always behave like belly fat, not mammary fat or buttock fat--all of which are of different composition and behave differently).
Marijen, technically you are correct about sugar---but remember, EVERYTHING we ingest (even protein and fat) gets converted to some degree into sugar in the form of glucose. In peri-and-postmenopausal women (we’re at the age when metabolic syndrome rears its three ugly heads), we are likelier to have more of that glucose converted to stored fat than to readily available glycogen for muscles to burn. (Both breast surgeons Elisa Port and Susan Love make the point that ALL cells depend on sugar to some degree, not just cancer cells). The wisest dietary advice is to know your own body, and limit or avoid those foods that you have found cause you to gain body fat. And nobody needs to eat sugar and starch--your body gets all it needs from the very complex carbs (fruits & vegetables) and proteins in your diet. Nobody ever died for lack of a slice of pizza, Supersize fries, or a Big Gulp Slurpee. (The only people who need simple sugars are diabetics who go into insulin shock, and in that case they need simple sugars VERY quickly and temporarily).
0 -
Hi ladies! I'm new to posting here, was reading the board to sooth my anxiety (my first rad treatment was today) and just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to share and post here, there are a lot of lurkers who read these boards and they gain a treasure of information from your posts.
0 -
it just hit me hard. It sent me to a dark place. For the sake of the newbies, I'll shut up now.0 -
What hit you hard? The estrogen thing? We all have fat and estrogen. Did you read my post about Femara, the endocrinologist said it works really good against estrogen, as the other AIs. You are doing good! Covered more ground than me since May...
0 -
Keys. I am one of 3 in the family with cancer. I am the only one with breast cancer. We were all hormone positive. None of us have much belly fat. We were all skinny until our 50's. My mother and many other relative who had lots of belly fat and were just plain over weight lived to their 90's with no breast cancer or any kind of cancer. It is not the only factor. It is just one of many. I have been told that not only is loosing weight beneficial but eating healthy and exercise to get oxygen flowing. My mother lived to 91 she was over weight. I have an Aunt who is now 100 and she had a belly. Sometimes life just ain't fair. It is what we do with our situation that matters. Before I was diagnosed I made a decision to stop eating sugar and breads. I lost 24 lbs in 4 months. I was on my way to more when the cancer diagnosis hit. I have still been eating well but not exercising as much due to fatigue. Two surgeries and radiation will do that. I am looking forward to the end of the week. I know the aromatase inhibitors can cause weight gain but I am going to work hard to minimize that.
0 -
Sides for Femara are weight gain or weight loss, nausea or diminished appetite will do it. I have stayed the same and I'm happy no gain.
Life happens while you're busy making plans
0 -
Chisandy I bet you know where microcalcifications come from and how they progress to cancer? I have to take calcium for my bones any connection
0 -
Had the first of 33 radiation treatments today. The PA recommends Miaderm lotion 3-4 times a day. We'll see how it goes.
0 -
Sloan you go girl!0
-
Did anyone get a heavy arm like a flu-shot after the first radiation treatment? I wore a lymphodema sleeve prophylacticly during the treatment, but now my arm is twinging like after my lumpectomy surgery. I'm thinking of NOT wearing it tomorrow! What do you think?
Oh, and my RO said radiation DOES make some people nauseated. Weren't there some people who had nausea and their RO's said "It's not the rads"? Here is a little validation for you!
0 -
Allison, I got s cooling towel from a sporting goods store. I am at work, so it is not with me, but it is a microfiber one. it was under $20.
For intense itching, they can prescribe a steroid cream.
I finished rads 11 days ago. Thankfully a lot of healing took place between days 7 and 11 post rads. I ran/walked the Des Moines half marathon yesterday (Sunday). It was my way of saying F U cancer. I may be slower, but I'll still get it done. Walking and running are my sanity savers
0
