Fall 2015 Rads
Comments
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Well, ladies I'm five down and 10 to go....I guess from reading all these entries that my having 15 treatments (age 68) is really a blessing? So far nothing much has happened but looking at that amazing photo of post radiation redness - I guess that's coming down the road. I'm in the UK and getting radiation via LINAC - chest wall post mastectomy and lymph nodes - I'll keep an eye out and wish everyone safe outcomes...that's the most important piece to keep in mind.
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OxfordLady: Well, a blessing in that you don't have to come into the treatment center for nearly as long, yes. The shorter protocol is finally catching on in the United States, huzzah! (I'm of the impression that it's the norm, or at least far more common in the UK?) I've put you on the list, if that's OK?
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well, I don't put it on my bad side..... I don't sweat after lymph node removal. But I imagine it might be gritty and increase chafing? Hmmmm
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True 'nuff--baking soda is grittier than cornstarch.
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Just checking in, hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend! Back at it tomorrow.
Anyone have a good suggestion on how to get aquaphor off of your hands after applying? And damn that shit gets everywhere! I am considering grabbing some rubber gloves. Today i used baggies so I didn't have to scrub like a surgeon afte
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Latex gloves, the first aid kind, would make sense; just buy a big box. My skin's generally dry enough that I can just swipe my hands over my arms or legs or whatever, and that takes care of it. Well, that and writing off the bras I'll be wearing through the month I'm getting rads. And a couple of nightgowns. But the Aquaphor smutz gets everywhere but everywhere. It's like the Oobleck. Or bacon grease.
Back to rads tomorrow for the majority of us in the United States, alas.
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Oobleck, indeed. Though homemade oobleck comes off more easily.
Here it is in Hebrew, where oobleck is called "miystok":
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(shudders) At least Aquaphor isn't green. Though it doesn't taste nearly as good as bacon grease. I think. I haven't done an official taste test of Aquaphor, and I don't plan to.
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Hi,
How can I join this group?
Thanks, Petula
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You just did. (waves hello) Do you know when/if you're starting rads? Or are you just interested in finding out more?
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Aquaphor tastes like burning. Don't ask how I know that 🙊
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Never fear. I'll take your word for it.
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In the spirit of empiricism, I just tasted some. I wouldn't say it's much of anything.
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I'm glad there are such intrepid board members out there.
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Great, now I am considering the merits of using straight up bacon grease instead of aquaphor.... but I really don't want to attract my husbands attention to that area at this time!! jkjk
I have my weekly follow up with the RO today. Plan on asking about my early persistent pink skin and general soreness. Its not horrible and I am not complaining, I am just very concerned about changes this early on? Plus I am not exactly sure how many treatments I am having, early in the planning they threw out the number 30 but I need to verify that. Is there anything else? Oh I was going to ask how much radiation I was getting. It seems like everyone else knows their stats, I feel like I just have been going along with whatever they say as far as radiation goes...
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Starting rads next week. Doing the short protocol. Waiting to hear if it will be prone or on my back. Already had reactions to adhesive tapes covering the Sharpee marks and a few blisters. Fortunately not on the side getting radiation. Told to remove tapes where there is a reaction and reinforce Shapee mark after each shower. A good job for my engineer hubby - Doing his part!
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hi
Hi,
I'm definitely having RT as I chose the Lumpectomy/RT route. Surgery is sch. for 9/25/15. Won't know if I'll need CT until after surgery. If no CT then I'll start RT 10/19/15. Been doing a lot of research on RT and am now questioning if I should go the mastectomy route. I'm embarrassed to admit I smoke and both BS & RO told me I have to quit and I'm really struggling. Clinical data on smokers with breast cancer and RT is alarming. For the first time since my dx I am scared to death that I will die early as I have a higher risk of recurrence / lung cancer / mets due to RT.
looking for support and encouragement! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I pray for us all
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Welcome to the fall gang of HOT women getting hotter every day with rads.....or something like that! Sorry you have to join us, but we'll plod through this crazy time together, learning and supporting each other as we go.
#8 is in the books. I didn't ask how high my BP was today, but it is quite high each week when she checks and she remarked on it yet again today. I check mine daily at home and it thankfully is not as high there...a little higher than my norm, but not as high as they get! When I even think of going there, I can feel myself tense up. It's odd because it does not bother me going and everyone there is so nice. I think it's the unknown of what's to come. So far, just a little pink.
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Horsegirl/Petula: I've added you to the list--did I get the right dates?
And Petula: all the support we can give! I can well imagine that the struggle to quit smoking would start to make a mastectomy look good. (not on my own behalf but on that of several friends) Let us know how you manage that? I honestly don't think there's always a right choice with breast cancer, or any cancer. Not even a better or best one. Just one we can live with, whatever that means for us.
But glad you found the forum(s) on help with quitting smoking. As others have mentioned, anxiety over your diagnosis and treatment isn't helping!
Goofyfoot: you started today, right? how did things go?
Mira: you start tomorrow, right? Hoping for a good night's sleep for you tonight, and a smooth day tomorrow.
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As for me, I'm just hoping that I'm not stuck associating dental issues with cancer treatment; the cancer treatment may end, but my peculiar dentition will be with me forever. Had a wisdom tooth pulled the day I got my diagnosis, and today a merely routine cleaning with the realization, on my hygienists' part, that I'm missing a lower incisor. (Hygienist #2 said "Hey, you missed one!" when #1 counted off measurements around my lower jaw.)
Otherwise, just sore neck and shoulder and the baby hedgehog's moved back into my breast.
On the plus side, I got a more liquid lotion than the "oobleck" to use when I dress after my treatment. Good: that bleep Aquaphor left me with the uncomfortable suspicion that my bra was sliding off. Impossible, I know, but that's sure what it felt like. That lotion's going in my "rads" bag, along with the Antiperspirant Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken to apply after the treatment's over. (I did clear the 'with aluminum' kind with my oncology staff first, as long as my skin's OK; I'm not getting rads to my armpit directly. I don't recommend sneaking forbidden stuff behind their backs.)
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baby wipes are amazing at taking Aquafor off your hands. I use Aquafor for my daughters bum :-)
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Kbeee: HOT women getting HOTTER might work as a theme....
Tresjolie: thank you for mentioning that! I'm not shy about buying baby wipes, though I have no children young enough to need their bums wiped. (For anyone who is still shy even after reaching this point in cancer treatment: pretend grandchildren. Toss something else obviously child-oriented into your basket if you think you'll blush at the checkout. Then donate it to the local homeless shelter.)
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thank you queenmomcat, yes, I do start tomorrow. Yippee.
But....I do have something to celebrate today!!! I FINALLY got that drain out!!! Yay!! 10 weeks with that stupid thing! The funny thing was, its been in for so long I was afraid to let it go!! RN said she never heard that before. But its gone now and it does feel weird. I'm still right side shy!
So I went for the simulation today too. Got 4 tattoos, which I was mad about at first, but I can barely see them so OK. It was absolute torture keeping my arm up above my head for the 45 minutes or so. My hand went numb!! I'm going for 33 blasts so I'm not finishing up until the end if October. That sucks!!
So after my first rads tomorrow, I'm going to a company BBQ lunch. My boss really wanted me to come. That's going to be so strange! I haven't seen those people since the beginning of July after working there for 8 years without more than a week or so off at a time. I work for a pretty good size resort with a lot of employees. I didn't tell anyone but 3 people why I was taking leave. Oh boy, I'm not prepared for the questions! My daughter says to make up stuff like the lottery money finally ran out, or I was abducted by aliens, or I was in the witness protection program, I went to live among the penguins.....we were having a lot of fun making stuff up during the car ride to the city today!
Well happy baking to you all! I'm hoping for easy going for all of us!
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10 weeks? Dang, you're tough!
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They tell me I'm juicy!!
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Yay science! Maybe it wasn't aquaphor I ate, on reflection. Huh. Might have been jellied gasoline.
Between the hot flashes and the rads, we must be SMOKING! Like, hot as the surface of the sun. I always wanted to be hot lol..
Routine now- schmaltze, an hour later Burts bees after sun, Cetaphil befor bed. Directly after frying, perscription steroid cream (did anyone else get that?) And then phytoplex a few hrs later and a few more times at work. Slight stiffness and stinging pains, sunburn feeling on my collarbone, scar is red. This was TX 10 of 33. I get a bolus every.dang.time. x rays once or twice a week. They do seem to looooove to measure me! See RO every Monday. Get 4 shots at a time, about 20 seconds each. I hold my breath. I'm the first patient they have tried the breath hold technique with, and they seem pleased with how it's working.
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Mira: Yippiee indeed.Starting rads the day after you get your last drain out. (My husband moaned in sympathy from the other room.) That last bleep drain removed is indeed something to celebrate. (one of the reasons why I was so adamant about refusing a more involved surgery)
But rest assured the rads themselves won't last 45 minutes! Unless the machine breaks down, but even then they let you get up and stretch while they fix the thing. And i can barely find the tattoos either.
What to tell co-workers if they ask why you've been off so long? "I've had medical issues. How's the season gone?" is my best guess as to a neutral response that will probably divert the conversation to something less fraught, though i confess I like the idea of being abducted by alien penguins.
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Littleblue: you hold your breath for 20 seconds at a time? I'm impressed. i'm not sure what it was you tasted, though we respond differently, but I like the SMOKING hot theme before even hitting the hot flash stage. Melting Aquaphor off by the sheer power of my body heat? what's not to like?
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QueenMom of course it's okay to put me on the list! I'm already on it in my mind....
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