Fall 2015 Rads
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Hello all,
Just got the referral sent over to the RO today. Just finished up chemo last week. I will probably hear from RO next week, then I will have more info on my actual start date.
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Little-k: that's what I understood about the short protocol-it had started in the UK.
Family side story: my mother's favorite cake, the one she requested (insisted upon) having for her birthday EVERYSINGLEYEARTHANKYOU was called "David's Chocolate Cake" because she got it from someone called David, way back in the misty depths of time. She vaguely recalled that he'd called it something else, after whomever had given it to him. I'm sure there were several people out there who called it "[Mom's Name] Chocolate Cake.
But now I'm envisioning a radiation protocol with a similar name-change trail.
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Not sure if this is the way to do my first post. Just finished day 3 of radiation, am using Miaderm. Wondering if it's a good thing to mix creams. I also bought aquafor and aloe vera. My breast feels a little warm only day 3. I'm very fair, was a redhead when I had hair, so I have redhead skin. Was thinking after Miaderm, wait an hour or so and then use some aquafor ointment at night? Any help would be appreciated.
I've seen lots of good reviews on Miaderm, but wasn't thrilled about the company's dun and bradstreet report, but that may be meaningless. Anyway, my real question is on mixing creams/lotions.
Thanks. btw I'm 69, from a chronological perspective, and I guess my skin is also.
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Courtieboo: welcome to the group. I'll add you to the list, and update with a start day when you settle that with your RO.
NM: don't worry, you did just fine for your first post. I'm not sure there's really a wrong way to post, save perhaps for using inflammatory language.
Now for your actual question. I can't imagine that mixing creams/lotions/ointments is a problem--my RO has me using something called AVO cream topical emulsion" right after rads, as it's absorbed quickly (faster than plain-vanilla drugstore moisturizer) so I don't feel like I'm sliding out of my bra on the way home, and Aquaphor morning and night. But I think that Aquaphor is as much a barrier as a moisturizer, so using that after the Miaderm makes sense.
I don't know how much 'redhead skin' matters--i'm only a few shades darker than my "Cullen clan" husband--but Kbeee mentioned an "early days" reaction. Skysquirrel and I both pinkened up within forty-eight hours, but I settled down for the rest of that week. (Sky: did you have a period of calm, or did you stay pink?) Keep us posted on that though. It's no joke or stock line that we all do react differently.
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Good morning from PA! I'm officially staring on 9/21 due for 33. Had the simulation with mapping yesterday, cancer sucks! Will do a trial run next Friday, really. I just want to get it done. I guess a whole week doesn't matter in the grand scheme but for me and my life, I want to be done.
The skin care instructions I received are to use lindy, eucerin or aveeno cream. Apply 2-3x/day, apply nothing 4 hrs before treatment and use a mild soap such as dove. I was told to try not to mix lotions as if there is a reaction they will know what cream. RO said some people have a reaction with aquaphor. Someone on this site recommended emu oil and vit e cream. I have aquaphor ready to go and the emu oil. I was told by the nursing staff to stop taking vit a,c and e, so I'm not sure about using vit e cream. I need to find out more info about vitamin interaction.
There is a good video online that shows the radiation procedure www.rtanswers.org
And I love the photo from Connecticut so beautiful what a wonderful hike.
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I use Aquafor 6 in the morning, aloe soon after rads (11:15), miaderm mid afternoon and emu oil before bed. I doubt any really help beyond preventing dryness, since the damage comes from within, but my skin is at least nice and moist...for now. I have been keeping day be day notes, and will get around to typing them up and posting them soon, and will try to update them weekly so people starting behind me have an idea what to expect. I have 11 done so far.
Welcome NM and Cortleboo
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In the post-radiation period, I've found emu oil very effective. My wife, who didn't know I'd added it, commented on how quickly the peeling and chapping were healing all of a sudden.
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Thanks - re mixing lotions. I did go ahead and put on aquafor last night some time after miaderm, no problems. I started using miaderm a few days before radiation. It's hard to tell whether or not I'm having any radiation reaction yet (other than warmth) as my breast is still pink from surgery, which was about 7 weeks ago. Dr. said it's pink as there's still some edema there. I'm on this discussion group to be as proactive as possible. Seems like a great bunch of people here.
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Meme117: start date corrected. It does make sense to be careful, especially if you've had reactions to moisturizers in the past; some people do react to the lanolin in Aquaphor, so it wouldn't surprise me if others caused a reaction.
NM117: ....but don't worry unduly! The vast majority of people seem to NOT have reactions.
So...read labels? and when in doubt, ask your RO/nurses/rad techs.
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queenmomcat - Thanks for your concern. I'm not really anxious about rads, just another unknown. We get more & more used to that as our BC journey winds on
I just wanted to start early since I know the last week will be the toughest, and because of the delay, it will be when my husband is away. Funny the things we try to control in our minds. It's only natural to think "when will I be done?!"
Fortunately the allergy to the adhesive on the stickers has not worsened. Certain stickers work better than others for me.
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Hi,
I read and worried endlessly about every detail of radiation treatment. I finished the three week Canadian protocol a week ago in the Seattle area and it went smoothly.
I found the enormous equipment and what it does very scary and helpful at the same time. I used aloe Vera and AquaFor as suggested and have a slight itchy rash around my breast. It's all been easily tolerable. I soaked with domeboro for the itchiness and used some cortisone creme. I read about taking Ibuprophen just before treatment so I did that and think it helped. At least I had little to no pain and wore my usual bras (underwire) the whole time...just lined the cup with a piece of old cotton t shirt for protection. A size 34 B so one old t shirt made many cup liners. If you can live without an underwire I can see that being much comfortable. I needed more shape for work. I experienced little fatigue and what I did experience was due to getting up early before work for treatment not so much the radiation. I worked more than my full schedule for those three weeks.
The worst of it was what my mind was doing so I can see where yoga and meditation would be powerful medicine as well.
I wish you all well!
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Horsegirl: from what I understand, the radiation treatments far less physically invasive than chemo, and emotionally than the period between suggestion of a possible issue and establishment of an official treatment plan. (I can attest to the latter!) You'll do fine, at least from the psychological standpoint.
GoodConstitution: thank you ever so much for coming by to reassure those of us going through this after you. Definitely good to know about simply lining the appropriate cup of your bra with soft cotton cloth. Beat-up t-shirts I have by the bushel--I'm rather an...er...enthusiastic eater, and an even more avidly enthusiastic gardener. Between the tomato sauce and salad dressing, and the compost pile/transplanting, I've plenty for my own bras and anyone locally who isn't squeamish about used clothing adjacent to their irradiated body parts.
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Here we go ladies..... Another week of zaps! 5 steps closer to the finish at the end of the week. How is everyone holding up? How's the skin? Other symptoms? How far along is everyone???
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Queenmomcat, thanks for adding me to the list - we have some public holidays coming up next week so, all being well with my health insurance, I'll start radiation on the 27th - I'll have 25 sessions and the RO will use the deep inspiration breath holding technique. I will know more when I go for my CT simulation next week.
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I'll be 3 weeks post-radiation tomorrow and will post a photo soon. Still a little flaky but my skin normalized dramatically between 2-3 weeks out.
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dimccleland: duly updated
kbeee: it'll be halfway today for me, and (thank dog) nothing more than really annoying effects so far...but then this was the easy half, or so I've been led to believe. Sigh.
Ksusan: makes sense that it'd take (almost) as long to recover as it did to do the damage.
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OK, Today is 8/33 for me. I still have the pinkness and sensitivity on my inner side of my breast that the RO says is NOT from rads. I am not sure if I should call my MO or my GP or just take a break from Aquaphor? I am going to ask the nurse tomorrow and I see the RO Wednesday. I ordered some miaderm and some non alcohol aloe off Amazon and its coming in today so maybe I will switch it up a little
Other than that, I am not seeing any other changes yet!
Are nausea and insomnia ever radiation side effects? I am thinking more Tamoxifen. I wish I wouldn't have started both at the same time! Neither have reached a level beyond just annoying so I am keeping quiet.
ksusan- I have been reading the summer rads thread and reached the part where you made up a song! Fricken hilarious girl!!!!
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Is this week 4 of rads for me??? Yeesh. I can't even remember when I started. I'm thinking a few of us are about half done now? Like , hopefully, me??? Well, can definitely tell where the bolus goes. I'm tan/pink in a big square, and my scare is trying to peel a tiny bit. Most of the pain is in the muscles of my armpit and side of rib cage when stretching like breathing. RO says that;s normal. Crackling when breathing would not be normal and a sign of radiation pneumonitis. Wouldn't that be fun? My armpit is a little sore and starting to turn almost black in the part where the bolus crosses it. I think its dying hair follicles lol. The most annyoying side effect is the crackly/inflamed ear, even though they arent irradiating very far above my collar bone. I think the irritation is turning into inflation of the Eustachian tubes. Good times! I still use the steroid cream right after, and then Phytoplex throughout the day. At night, emu oil, then a few hours later, a thick layer of ctephil from the jar. We shall see....What's everyone elses routine?
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Skysquirrel: are you having pinkness/sensitivity elsewhere in the area that's being zapped? definitely mention it to the nurse. Could be Aquaphor, could be rubbing bra, could be (gasp) radiation despite what the RO says. IDK.
Littleblue: close--having counted on my fingers, today's #13, assuming you got time off for Labor Day. But what is it with ROs? this is kinda like the insurance companies insisting they don't cover something for some totally nitpicky reason. Normal as may be, mention the stuff anyway.
I'm getting crackly ears and pain across my pectoral area into my armpit, though not enough of the latter to stop me from swimming. As yet no more than pink. The lobsters in Maine would mock me if I complained about that just now, but I'm going to mention all that to my RO tomorrow. He probably won't do anything about it, but I just want it in the record.
Still pestering the techs with questions: today's was "What will the machine do if I breathe out while it's doing that zappy radiation thing?" II'm doing the breath hold sub-practice.) Answer: it shuts off. Well, specifically I've got a little black box taped to my stomach, and a camera which follows its motion. The box has to be between point x and point y in order to permit the lamprey to zappy me.
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I'm jumping over here to say hello! I still have 2 chemo's left, another lumpectomy, and THEN rads so I won't be starting until some time in November but that's still fall, right?
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Dunno how much control the doyenne of a thread has....but I'll count it. Certainly there are more than a few others who've overlapped seasons and participated in multiple threads. And even if you do get bumped into "winter" (your choice of definitions), hang around here and ask questions, see what we're going through to give you a better idea of what to expect, that sort of thing.
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Thanks, Skysquirrel! We should write an emu oil song.
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Ksusan: something schmaltzy. (runs away, giggling)
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Hi Fellow Rad Ladies!
This is my first post here, I started treatment on 9/2 and I'm on the 33 treatment program. Can I join ya'll?
I had a lumpectomy, but he took more tissue than normal. Of course he had a name for it but I don't remember. All I remember is he said it was about the size of a tangerine. I've had a lot of fluid in the area since surgery and still have it.
So far, so good on the treatments. A little pink. This weekend I developed a slight rash across the top couple inches of the field, basically above my scar where the fluid is. The rash almost looks like little pimples and itches. Thankfully cortizone cream is handling the itch. My RO saw it today and wasn't concerned. So now I have a hard, pink, pimply looking goose egg on my breast. Am I attractive or what??
Now on to my weirdness, I am CRAVING greens, veggies, and oranges. I mean it hit me this weekend and I can't stop thinking about, looking at, cooking, and consuming them. I cooked a humongous pot of vegetable soup yesterday and have eaten bowls of it. In between I'm eating oranges like crazy. At least it's something healthy. I told DH it must be my body asking for what it needs. Has anyone else been hit by cravings? Or is it just me? I've never had cravings like this before.
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Pamela: you're on the list! and welcome to the group. I just noticed those weird pimply things on my breast today, and....I wouldn't call it swelling exactly, but stiffness. One normal floppy wobbly breast and one glob of Silly Putty that's just come out of the refrigerator.
Lucky you, that you're craving vegetables and oranges! I'm just craving a weird mix of gyros (local takeaway restaurant) and Cheerios with banana. But it wouldn't surprise me if your body was asking for something.
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Hi: I am on day 22/33 of Rads. Only issue is the itching! Otherwise the whole experience has been totally tolerable so far. I did notice today that my labs are way off esp. My lymphocytes.. Does anyone know if @ any point this becomes an issue? I will of course ask at my daily visit tomorrow, but wondered if anyone knew. Google wasn't helpful.
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"Schmaltzy," hah!
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Thanks for the welcome. I don't usually have cravings, especially for healthy things.
Gyros sounds good!0 -
GirlonFire: welcome to the "getting radiation treatment" cadre. I don't myself know the answer about lymphocytes, though someone else on this thread might--asking over on the older-but-still-active radiation threads might produce an answer as well. Summer Rads, or perhaps Spring,and the Radiation Recovery thread.
Pamela: they're good gyros at that, though I don't claim authenticity. I'm in Nowheresville, MI and we're lucky to have a reasonably successful (though small) restaurant that serves this kind of thing. Having talked to the owner, I suspect that part of his success is staying open late (as in well past midnight) to cater to the bar crowd after hours. But the food's decent.
Ksusan: I couldn't resist.
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Cornstarch question.... Do you guys use the baby powder that is cornstarch or do you buy the grocery kind that is by the flour?
9 of 33 in an hour, almost to the double digits! I am feeling great today, still pink but yesterday I switched from aquaphor to aloe to see if maybe that makes a difference.
My cravings have all been for MEAT! Burger, steak, chicken. But then when I do go to eat it, it doesn't taste as good as it did in my mind. I am down 20 pounds from what I weighed the week before my lumpectomy. Partially because I am trying to eat more veggies, partly because I am so nauseous lately. Either way I will take it! I should probably drop another 40-50 to be in healthy range.
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