Fall 2015 Rads
Comments
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Rock the bald look onebadboob! Sosphrosyne, then there are those of us who have very light, tender skin who while getting really, really red and sore did not have any skin breakdowns whatsoever and I had a very compassionate rads team who took the time to change things up and despite seeing thousands of patients still look at each one with kindness and sympathy. I had a mx and still needed rads. I would choose this path over again without a doubt.
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As for scatter, my RO said that indeed there can be scatter. Not generally to the extent of turning your entire axilla red. I would guess that is either in the rads field of the angle is going right through to that area like my back. I had a couple of episodes of scatter and it was just a couple red spots in non radiated areas.
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zinny and molly - Congratulations on finishing rads. Yay!!!!
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Hi Everyone - thank you for being so helpful with my nausea issue. Just FYI my RO's nurse (who insisted initially that nausea was NOT normal) called my super smart Oncologist who said it has been a complaint of her patients so I felt validated!
I finished yesterday. I know I should be excited but I'm nervous for the future which I know is very normal.
After perfect skin it just started to get super red, and very very dark in axilla area. Yuk. I was given Silvadene. Does anyone know when it should get better or the trajectory?
And finally - my ribs on my radiated side are tender? Anyone else have this?
Thank you in advance for being such a lovely group. It's invaluable.
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Molly, congratulations!
It's been a week to the day since I finished. The skin on my left breast on the outside and my chest is covered with large red bumps. The skin was red and itchy. Now the skin is better but the bumps are much darker and larger. Large red bumps are coming out on my armpit. One issue I had immediately, and it's embarrassing.
I used to sell vintage clothes for a living. From cleaning vintage blouses, I found that sometimes on one side the armpit stains would be nearly impossible to get out. I think I'm on of those people. My left armpit has always been markedly more aromatic than my right. Besides the radiation, I haven't been able to wear deodorant. The smell has been maddening. I'm changing my bra, cottons tanks I'm wearing under them, clothes, etc. I've been gently washing the pit but can't completely get rid of the smell. I'm putting a tiny bit of scented powder after my shower.
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A lot of us had what seemed like a rash after rads. Our RO's said it wasn't the rads, but it sure was a lot of us. I had the red bumps above my irradiated area, and they got itchy after a few days. I put cortisone cream on it (from CVS) and took 1/2 a benadryl. It cleared it up. Don't wait and let it get itchy!
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Jane, congratulations on finishing. I would say based on my own experience about two weeks for things to start looking better. Nurse said a month before I can swim.
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Some other people got folliculitis in the armpit. Call your RO. I took a picture and sent it to the nurse.
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4 days of rads left to go and my skin has held up really well. Just this week it is looking tan and speckled but not itchy or irritated. I can't wait to be done mostly just so I can leave work and go straight home and not the daily radiation grind. I am lucky that I work close to my radiation center. Still, I come home exhausted and it certainly has put a damper on my holiday shopping as I can't do anything in the afternoon. By the time I get done with radiation, I just want to go home and put my slippers on!!
Oh well - this too shall pass...in 4 more days.
My next things on my BC chopping block is tissue expander swap out and Tamoxifin.
Jane and Molly ....congrats on finishing!!
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Suzanne; definitely "I don't have to take time out to have radiation." is a huge relief.
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Congrats on finishing Jane! My RO told me today it should take 2 to 3 weeks for healing after treatments are complete.
I found out today that I miscalculated and will finish next Thursday instead of Friday :-). Starting this Friday its just boosts. I'll take it! I have been going to the gym at 5 (most days), Radiation at 7:10 and work from 8 to 5pm through this, so I have been incredibly tired.....on top of that the hot flashes are killing me from the Zoladex, so I don't sleep well. Will be good to have a least the Rads done.
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Suzanne, you are nearly there! Sophrosyne, the boosts are so easy compared to WBR. You are in the home stretch!
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Hello - I have been posting on the Winter Rads group. I found out yesterday in meeting with MO that I will meet with the RO on Dec. 23. Hoping to start rads soon after that.
I have a question for all you experienced people - I saw the nurse coordinator before my appointment yesterday and she said that the staff at the radiation facility (at another hospital in Jerusalem - the only facility for rads in this region) is adamant that patients DO NOT use any creams or ointments whatsoever! I asked if that was just before treatment, and she said no, NOT AT ALL! They are of the opinion that it hinders the absorption of the radiation even if used between treatments. However, she said that most of the patients do it anyway, they just don't tell the staff at the center
Do any of you have experience with not doing any creams or moisturizers, or have heard of someone that did that?
In a way I could see that there could be a logic in that in avoiding skin loss while you can't produce any new to take its place - the less you mess with the skin the less skin cells will rub off. If you put creams on, then you have to shower them off every day, and even if you are very gentle some cells would be removed. On the other hand, without moisturizers the skin could more easily flake off by itself. Any thoughts? It is so confusing! I don't know whether to try their method or to cheat
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Hi Keepwalking,
I am in the camp of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I didn't apply anything until a couple of weeks into treatment when the dry itchy skin issues started. I think it's a delicate balance between getting the most out of treatment, not taking a chance on having to postpone treatments due to skin breakdown or infection and not being miserable. I never used anything two hours before or after. I have two small areas threatening to be an issue , but only two regular and 5 boosts left, so I feel like I'll make it without any postponements. Listen to your body. Best of luck with your treatment and recovery
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Keepwalking, I've been told not to use anything 4 hours ahead of radiation. But the center I go to recommends Eucerin, a common skin cream, and I'm participating in a clinical study that is investigating whether a common steroid cream or Eucerin helps skin hold up better. I'm also supposed to use an over-the-counter lotion, Sarna, in the places where it itches. And believe me, it itches! (16 down, 9 to go)
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I think the SOP is not to do anything 4 hours before. That seems to be what I have seen the most. That's what I was told.
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My skin was so painfully dry that the only relief was creams and eventually lidocaine. I also needed steroid cream for a rash.
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Thanks Sophrosyne, rainnyc, Trvler and Molly! I'll see what they actually tell me to do at the rads center, and then I can tweak it if necessary. It is great to read all the info and suggestions on this very experienced group! You are wonderful!
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Keepwalking: definitely ask at the radiation center! (something along the lines of "What do we do if I get itching that interferes with sleep/living?")
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This is the non radiated areas that my nurse said would be affected any to be sure to put cream on. I took this last night which should be the peak day after finishing.
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Congrats Jane!!!!
Well my skin has had enough and in what seems to be only 48 hours my skin breakdown has officially begun. My armpit is extremely red and irritated. I have only 3 more sessions before boosts and RO wants me to keep up skin care until then. Once boosts start my armpit will be out of the way and can start to heal. His only recommendation was to increase frequency of application and Aleve instead of Motrin. No silverdeen
. Not really in pain but the inconvenience of it is keeping me home from work today and tomorrow. I bought the Lindi skin care starter kit and wasn't impressed with the products but the cooling pad is amazing! I did my treatment at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and their shine store carries it. I'm so glad I impulsively picked one up. I was freaking out over "burns" but it's not as bad as I envisioned.
Rock on ladies!
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So yesterday I was watching Dr. Oz and there were like 8 women talking about how they had all these skin problems ranging from dry skin, hands, dry cuticles, chapped lips, cracked heals (pretty much all of which I have). They had a 'miracle' cure that all of them had tried and they talked about how great it was. Guess what it was???? As my daughter would say 'wait for it, wait for it….AQUAPHOR. It made my rads area itch but I used it on my cracked heals, hands, and lips and it DOES seem pretty good.
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Funny! I watched that too. Anything Dr. Oz has on, flies off the shelves. Told my husband to buy their stock today
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Aquaphor my love/hate relationship lol. I still use it at bedtime until I am no longer red.
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Jane, I have 2 treatments left and my ribs hurt on the radiated side so much that I can't sleep on my side. I worry about the bones getting brittle.
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18 down, 7 to go. Skin is starting to break down big time. I'm slathering on the cream (Eucerin or the steroid) and Sarna on the itching. They gave me salfadene dressings for the blisters, which I'm using so far only on the really big one on my shoulder (shoulder, why??). I tried it on the itchy area where there are no blisters, and it just made the itching worse. Taking ibuprofen and will brave the mall for a couple more camisoles.
Interesting the difference in tone between the RO and the MO's offices. The MO's staff is all about comfort. You got side effects/symptoms from chemo? They are as sympathetic as the day is long, so it's easy to feel that one is a poor little thing if that's how one feels. The RO's staff and rads techs are more about "Hey, you got this! It's not so bad!" So one comes away feeling "hey, it's not so bad! I can do this!" Huh. Have to think about this.
But in the meantime, no rads today or tomorrow. Hooray!
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Rainny: I know some do prefer the 'poor you' approach but I just cringe when I hear things like 'Bless your heart'. Give me the gruff yet not unsympathetic approach.
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Rainny - 18 down for me as well, 15 more to go. I think I read somewhere that the beam goes through the body and can impact the other side of radiated area. Maybe that's why the shoulder? I know my upper back feels a bit sunburned.
My skin is holding up well, but I have a constant feeling that my throat is swollen, and that my food is sitting just at the back of my throat. Gross! The doc told me it has to do with the supraclavicular field. Has anyone else experienced this?
The rad techs at my RO's office are almost completely silent - they really don't talk much about what they are doing unless I ask.
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Pennsygal, I've had a sore throat on and off, but not like you describe. They did say the esophagus could be within the field. My techs are usually pretty quiet when they're working. One of them told me that when patients talk on the table (beyond the odd muttered assent to something they say), they can shift their position involuntarily, which of course prolongs the session. So I just try to stay quiet and compliant, and save my questions for afterward. One of them said the shoulder could be in the field of the exit beam. Will you go through Xmas? Are they closed at all?
I do find I prefer the pull up your bootstraps approach. As long as they are giving me the good dressings/creams/drugs at the same time. And my free cup of java after the daily session.
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rainnyc, did you see the photo I posted of my shoulder? It was a couple days ago. My rads nurse told me it would happen and had me putting cream on it. My only tiny blister was on the shoulder completely outside the field of radiation which I figured was scatter.
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