Radiation October 2018
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WasntMeSB, we do have a lot in common! I am sorry we are meeting like this but glad to have a sister to share with here. My oncotype score was 10 so I too am feeling very blessed to skip chemo as well. I am right there with you about feeling overwhelmed with it all. However, today my outlook has been much better. Each day we survive is one step closer to being done. So we will take this one day at a time and do whatever works best for our bodies. I am going to get on Amazon to order myself some cortisone cream now because I can feel the itch coming. Two more days and we get a nice weekend break.
Keep slathering the girls.
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Me2018, I find Zoladex knocks me out and makes me extra achy. I have been taking it since April and have to take until next year sometime when I finish with treatment. Try epsom soaks, helped me a lot and my electric blanket.
Linda, I wish more people were using Mepitel. Till now my skin looks okay, looks bit dark. The aereola that is not covered with Mepitel, thats the only part which is super sensitive and super dry and flaky ( sorry TMI). I wish that was covered as well. Mepitel seems to be the standard of care in NZ. Today was day 11/20 rads. Take care everyone
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Hi Ladies, I finished 12/33 today and so far so good. Very slight pinkness on the skin but nothing dramatic. Really hoping for the best possible scenario here, especially with regards to my implants and extracapsular contracture. I am feeling a bit fatigued by the end of the day but as others have mentioned, walking helps a lot! Hang in there warrior women!!
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Hi, I suspect the outcome with implants we will only get a few months down the line. I also have silicone implants and my PS put me on Singulair for 3 months to try and prevent capsular contracture. So far everything feels normal (23/25 rads) but I suspect if anything changes it will be in a few months. Or not! Hugs
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KimR-I have the same as you, nausea almost every day. It’s so overwhelming. RO said it’s not from radiation but I find that hard to believe!
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My RO said it's not from radiation either. I do have nausea from my other conditions, so I have access to RX anti-nausea meds. That being said, I didn't have to take my meds this often prior to radiation, so IMO, the increase in nausea, for me, is definitely due to RADs. I don't undrestand why everyone's RO says it's not related, yet many of us have been experiencing it. Bizarre. Perhaps most others dont' speak up about it to thei doctors? I just find that hard to believe too. Hang in there ladies. Essential Peppermint oil is one of my tricks I use - a little dab under my nose helps with the nausea. Learned that when dealing with migraines for years. And there's always ginger tea and gingerale.
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I had an unexpected day off from my treatments- the machine was down! I got the phone call before I left my house, so it was a treat to have my “regular" morning routine for a change. My skin is turning tan and I'm a bit tired, but that's it. I'm looking forward to treatment # 20 at the end of the month. Sending you each a gentle hug!
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Well....11 treatments in and it's official according to my PT...I have the "rectangle of angry red" going on. It's like I laid in a tanning booth for a few hours with just the beams on my L breast - from the middle of my cleavage up to just below my clavicle, over to my armpit, down my ribs, and 2 inches below my breast back to my cleavage....all solid red, red, red. Like brick red and hot and swollen. I think my L breast is AT LEAST 1 1/2 times bigger than my R now. Ugggh. Not that any of this is new to me, it's pretty much been this way since the start of week two, but the color has definitely revved up this past week. Sorry, just ranting. Feeling awfully grumpy about it all. I had a ton of symptoms & chronic pain before all of this came along, and adding it to the party has just not been fun.
Le Sigh.
Anyway, putting away the violin and back to the update...my physical therapist was pretty emphatic at my visit today saying "yep, that sure is an angry, swollen breast. no doubt about it.". I was like, yeah, no kidding. Since Day 1. I wish it was tan instead of angry, sore red but I'm more than halfway done now. I can do it. She gave me a few new stretches to do to help manage the swelling and maintain range of motion. I'll post them below in case anyone else thinks they may be helpful to them. According to PT, my pectoral muscles are tightening, noticeably, and we need to put a stop to that asap. Going to start with the "easy" one and work up to the "challenging" pec stretches.
I also have to continue living in my compression sports bras and the like until a few weeks after RADs is completed. PT stated that if I hadn't have kept them compressed since starting treatment my situation would be much worse than it is. She was very happy at how proactive I'd been and how much I'd listened to what my body was telling me. I got an A for the day. LOL.
I see a BC rehabilitation doctor in 2 weeks and then back to physical therapy to see what we've to work on after RADs is a couple weeks in the books.
So I guess that's the update for me. I'm looking forward to this weekend and a break from treatment, and from the driving. My RADs center is 35 mins on a good traffic day from me and an hour on a bad one, one way. So yeah, having my 3 hours back a day after this is all done will be nice!
Hope the rest of you lovely ladies are having a decent week and get plenty of rest over the weekend. Sending hugs and healing...
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I am also nauseated for the past couple of days. Treatment #9 is tomorrow. Sking is holding up ok so far, still in therapy for cording, though.
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Spoonie, I’ve been thinking about you. I’m so sorry to hear about your side effects. Thank you for sharing your exercises. I have a little tightness in my armpit so will definitely check these out. InnaB, I hope the nausea and cording resolve soon. I think we’re all looking forward to a weekend off from treatments! Wishing us all a relaxing and peaceful weekend. Gentle hugs to each of you
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Spoonie, thanks so much for posting the exercise pictures.
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Hi Girls, we're at the end of another week! So ready for a weekend break from this daily grind. After today I am 15/25, two more weeks.
SEs have been barely noticeable until just the last couple of days. It isn't too bad yet, but I've gone from kind of tired to completely exhausted. I'm noticing a little bit of a sore throat/difficulty swallowing, I've got a little chest congestion/asthma thing going on when I first get up in the morning and yesterday in the shower I noticed the spot in my armpit right above my Mepitel Film is peeling and stings on and off.
The discomfort in my throat is completely freaking me out, nobody told me that would happen. Does this mean the radiation is hitting my neck? I'm so worried that my thyroid will get fried! I will mention it to my doctor today at my weekly appointment and hopefully she can give me some reassurance.
I hope everyone enjoys the weekend.
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Sidalee - let us know what your RO says... I asked about the thyroid and my RO said that she has my head and neck turned away so the thyroid is not in the beam range. She's been at this 30 yrs so I do have faith. I have also had a bit of a cough (almost like a chemo cough) this last week. 25 of 32 down...just the 7 boosts to go and then 5 yrs of AI meds. Maybe I'll have hair by January! Hang in there everyone!
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Happy almost weekend ladies! I hope we are all doing something fun and practicing a bit (or a lot) of self-care this weekend. We deserve it. Today I completed 9/20 and I'm almost halfway there. I had another round of CT imaging done today so they can keep up with any changes that have occurred since my original scan - and I also have a lot of swelling, so I'm really glad they had this on the calendar.
My husband is growing a solidarity beard while I'm in RT. I was in tears when he told me that's why he hasn't shaved... I can't believe I didn't put two and two together!! DUH.
Sidalee, I have had a sore throat and minor congestion all week, but my husband has been battling a cold so I assume that's why. I wouldn't be surprised if we are maybe a bit immune suppressed at the moment, even though that isn't an officially recognized SE. It's cold season so there are sick people all around us - and don't forget we are in a hospital every day. I have also been struggling with allergy-like sneezing fits off and on, even though I NEVER have any reaction to my furry allergens at home (cats). Don't freak yourself out! Hang in there until you can talk to your RO and just relax over the weekend. Meditate, do yoga, get a massage or pedicure... whatever works for you.
Enjoy your days off and get lots of rest! This too shall pass.
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Sidalee, a friend of mine had exactly the same side effect on her throat. The technicians and the RO asked her to turn more effectively her head to the left (cancer in the right breast) and everything came back to normal in one week. Hope it helps.
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mwlimelite,
How were you able to write something below the line at the bottom of your post?
Thanks for your help!0 -
Hi ladies - Question...has anyone started experiencing flaking skin or itchiness? If so, what has your RO or team suggested using?
I hadn't noticed any of this until this morning when I was washing my chest and drying it. It's most noticeable around my nipple area, where it has been tender for a bit, now it's flaking. It doesn't hurt, the skin that is flaking, but I am worried that it will at some point if it continues.
Hoping for suggestions.
I figure I'll give some Benadryl a shot for the itchiness. Fingers crossed it does the trick.
Thanks in advance.
@sidalee --> Will be keeping you in my thoughts and hoping your RO can reassure you come Monday about the throat/thyroid worry. My RO drew a pict for me to help me understand the areas for me that would be at risk and so on. Since I had 0/3 nodes, I didn't have to have clavicle rads treatment on top of my current program. My RO stated that that would put my thyroid in a greater area of risk, if needed, but thankfully I didn't have to cross that bridge. My understanding of my RADS treatment was that if we aren't receiving rads to our upper clavicle, on top of the breast/chest wall/etc, there shouldn't be high risk (not 0 risk), but I'm no dr, do check with your RO. Try to set it aside for the weekend if you can, at least you know you aren't getting more treatment till Monday. Here's hoping your thyroid is protected and out of the fields of treatment, may it be only a passing bug! Hang in there.
@cc738nj I bet you are excited to finally be getting to the final countdown! Good luck with your boosts! Sending luxurious hair vibes your way dear!
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@egregious ---> look at the top left hand side of the page. you'll see a list of "blue" menu options. like search, help, member list....click on settings. scroll down and look for "signature". add what you'd like. be sure to change the privacy from the "eye" to the "globe" for private to public setting.
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hi Spoonie,
I developed a rash (hives) under my treated breast and in my cleavage. RN thinks its from sweating. Although its cooler these days in NY, Im still getting hiot flashes.
My RO prescribed MOMETASONE FURATE cream. It has helped with the itch.
j
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Hello sisters! I just finished reading all of the previous posts and am sad to read about all of the painful side effects many of you are experiencing. Hang in there!
Sure seems there are lots of different ways to deal with skin side effects. I was told to moisturize twice a day and to cover the upper left quadrant of my body, including the side and to use my preferred OTC moisturizer. I had been using Eucerin on the recommendation of my PT (for cording after surgery; she said the ph of Eucerin matches the ph of the skin). I have continued with Eucerin. I've completed 9 of 15 treatments and have little pinking, except my sentinal node incision, which is slightly irritated. I'm about out of Eucerin so may switch to Aquafor which I have on hand. But why mess with success? My cording which had almost totally resolved is now back, but I have some exercises to deal with that, plus the nurse practioner advised taking some advil to deal with the inflammmation. My chest, which has had sunburns over the years, is likely to develop a rash, per the radiation nurse practioner. I've got OTC hydrocortisone cream on standby.
No nausea or fatigue so far. I am getting whole breast and the "boost" together, for a total of 40 gray over the 15 treatments. My MO said I could have started AI with radiation, but I decided to wait until radiation was done. I think I will be taking Femara and will find out for sure on 11/2.
My drive to the breast center is 1 1/4 hr to 1 1/2 hrs so am grateful to have the weekend off. Bet you are too!
Mary
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My RO has been in practice for 47 years and is a fill in Dr for 6 months at my cancer center since he is retired from his practice. I was trying to do the math on that to see how old he is. haha. Anyway, he told me the creams to use are zinc oxide for healing, hydrocortisone for itching and any cream that has lidocaine in it for pain relief. I haven't used any of them yet since yesterday I had treatment #7 and I am only a little pink around my incision. They also gave me some aquaphor and another kind of gel lotion. I am using the Alra cream twice daily for now. My friend said she had a crusty couple layers of skin peel off around her nipple toward the end of her treatments. There was new skin underneath so it wasn't a big deal she said. We all just need to take this treatment plan one day at a time and take it easy on ourselves. Sometimes the hardest thing is to say no but at a time like this we need to take care of ourselves first whenever possible.
Enjoy the weekend break everyone!
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I haven't seen anyone mention this but on top of the creams, my RO recommends dusting with cornstarch - she refers to it as "grease & flour the pan"! The cornstarch really helps with sweating and the skin sticking and getting irritated (also works as a deoderant). So far 25/32, I haven't had any major issues. I know everyone is different but she swears by this: prescription steroid cream, top with Aquaphor, then dust with cornstarch 3X day. Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend - put the worries aside for a bit and pamper yourself!
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Thanks for the explanation of how to do a 'signature' - much appreciated.
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Egregious - glad you got your answer, I was off the grid yesterday.
As for cream, I highly recommend My Girls. It is formulated specifically for radiation skin care and is all natural. I have been using it for prevention since before I started rads and so far, so good. they are running an October special on combo packages 10% off with code MY GIRLS. I can't recommend the deodorant (it smells nice but doesn't hold up) but the cream itself is amazing! Amazon has it too but they sell out.
Thanks for the cornstarch tip, cc. I also got some petroleum dressing from my nurse last week, that I use along with aquaphor to cover my sore nipple throughout the day. It's not dry or peeling, just sore from fluid pushing up on it from inside.
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Hi ladies - hope all your weekends went well. I feel like I need a few more days yet to recover. I'm dreading going back tomorrow. 7 treatments remain of my 23. I couldn't do much this weekend, the fatigue and nausea really kicked my a**. My parents came over and brought me some groceries and took my dog for a nice walk. She was grateful. LOL. Anyway, I'm glad I'm 2/3 of the way done but my breast tissue is so swollen and hurts so very much that I just don't know how I'm going to get through the last sessions.
I've added Aquafor in the morning and night, which seems to be stopping the peeling I was beginning to see. I apply it 30 mins or so after letting my Miaderm/Calendula soak in. Later in the afternoon I reapply some Calendula and take some Benadryl for the itchiness as well. Yet, the pain, swelling, and heat is unrelieved.
Don't think that's going away until I'm finished with RADs and have two weeks under my belt. Thankfully I see my RO tomorrow after my RADs. Maybe she will have some good news for me or something I can do/try/add to my therapy to lessen the pain and swelling to get me over the last hurdle. Fingers crossed.
Here's hoping this week goes smoothly for us all. Hang in there. Hugs and healing.
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Finished radiation today. 25/25. Yay!
Spoonie77- sorry to hear you are struggling. Hoping these last few sessions go by quickly for you. Hope you RO has other suggestions for relief.
Wishing you ladies all the best for the journey still ahead with rads. Hugs and thank you for the support we have on this forum!
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Congratulations, Palesa, on finishing your rads!! Spoonie, I’m sending you a (very) gentle hug and wishes for relief. I have my last 2 regular treatments today and tomorrow, and then begin my 5 boosts on Wednesday. I’ve got some swelling and tan skin, and a little bit of a rash towards my armpit. Will ask my RO on Wed. when I see him next. I have a little physical fatigue. The emotion fatigue is worse. I’m tired of treatments, tired of driving to the hospital before work, tired of being reminded 5 mornings a week that I have breast cancer.... Chatting with all of you has helped so much; I’m immensely grateful to each of you. Wishing us each an easy week!
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Spoonie, so sorry for your discomfort! Have you tried Mometazone cream? My doctor prescribed it for me to put on at night, I think it works well on swelling and irritation.
Palesa, congrats on finishing rads
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Good Morning,
I spoke with my RO on Friday after my tx and she said the lump/sore throat feeling is caused by the rads. She said they are utilizing IMRT mapping to cover my entire chest wall, breast and nodes with a smooth layer of radiation beams that come from all different directions so that damage to healthy tissue (and my heart and lungs) is minimal. Unfortunately, that leads to some "scatter" hitting the back of my throat and aggravating my esophagus. She recommended soft, slippery foods and magic mouthwash to help as it will probably get a little worse before it gets better. She said my thyroid is one of the structures they calibrated the machine to avoid.
Spoonie~sorry you are having so much pain. I'm sore all over the left side of my chest now and visibly swollen after each tx. Still praying for expander to survive this! I take ibuprofen about an hour before tx most days now and it seems to help some with the swelling and pain.
I think I'm going to work from home as much as possible this week. I am so tired and my work environment is stressing me out.
Congratulations Palesa! Please keep us posted on how your recovery goes!
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Congratulations, Palesa! Hope the next couple of weeks goes smoothly for you.
Gentle hug for Spoonie - keep us posted.
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