Starting Radiation January 2020
Comments
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Anyone else feel like RT is making them super thirsty?
I am drinking constantly (and peeing constantly too!) If I weren't still getting labs every 3 weeks with infusions I would be convinced I was suddenly diabetic.
I don't see thirst on the list of common side effects, but nothing else is different.
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Hi yeslamadragon, radiation not making me thirsty but Ive been drinking 65ounces of water a day for years. If you’re concerned, You may want to ask your oncologist what they check when they do labs. Mine never checked for diabetes and I never had to fast prior to oncology labs. 😊
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They give me my lab report each time, and my glucose has always been low-normal.
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I don’t know why my posts don’t make it here. If this is a double post I apologize.
I didn’t explain very well before. Most Oncologists just do “random” glucose testing with the results being based on that time of day. My regular doctor does “fasting” labs to check for diabetes. 😊
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Kendrasue
Finished 15 treatments before Christmas for bone metastasis to my left acetabulum (the hip socket where the thigh bone fits into the pelvis.)
Burned badly on first and last day. None on all days in between. It was weird because first/last were the only days I wore pants. Every other day I wore a long skirt made of soft fabric with an elastic waistband which I just pulled down to expose area to be radiated. Last day was the only time I wore socks and shoes. Even the top of my feet burned. Every other day I wore flip flops and took them off to lie on the table.
I bought men’s soft fabric boxer underwear because I wanted to keep my inner thighs dry where I burned so badly the first day. First day hurt so much I used strong prescription painkiller for several days. Used 100% aloe vera gel often. Worst thing I wanted to avoid was a moist wound.
Side effects were few. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, but I have those often anyway. Fatigue increased tremendously after treatments ended but went away after three or four weeks.
Hope all went well for you at your appointment on January 21. Best wishes
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YesIamaDragon - I also feel thirsty. I'm not sure if I'm just more conscious of hydration or what. I do try to drink water while commuting to and from my appointments and also while I'm waiting and immediately after. And then I try to drink more water before I go to bed. My fasting blood sugar level has been a little elevated, even before my dx, as is my A1C, so I am monitoring.
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hi, im stage 1a, post lumpectomy and i start radiation tomorrow. im hoping its not that bad, i have 23 treatments. are there any super best creams to use? they recommended aquaphor and calendula.
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Hi All, I have my CT planning tomorrow then will find out when I start rads. 25 for me.
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hi mouse57, I too had a seroma after lumpectomy in Sept 2019. I am about to finish chemo and then start radiation. Did your RO recommend the surgery for your seroma? I am concerned and wondering if mine will be an issue on whether to do RADS or not.... my axillary area still swells at times and I had some cellulitis along with the seroma 10 days post op.
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Hi Margo, I had a seroma drained after my Sept. surgery. Within the last week I have had swelling above incision line which RO says is a return of seroma (or it never all went away). He said this am that I don't need it drained again but that it will take months for it to go away. I am half way thru my rad tx. In March I will see surgeons PA and the ON so will see what they say.
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I had serena as well, they wanted to drain it, I said give me a week! I massaged it all day long for that week and it went away, it did not delay my RADS. Keep massaging your incisions and helping your body reabsorb the extra fluids ... I still massage my armpit and the side of breast with aquaphor most of the day and my RO said it is helping with keeping the Rads rash and it burns away. We will see, today is #10/19 but I get Echo before RADS today, fun times! So tired, ugh. Have a great day everyone!
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Hi Margo53
I didn't see the RO right after surgery. I had seen a different one at Virginia Mason in Seattle before surgery just to go over the options but was going to get the actual radiation closer to home and hadn't seen that RO yet.
After the lumpectomy (Oct 24) I had extensive bruising - that faded but then new redness started around the incision so I went to my principle care person and they first prescribed an antibiotic but when it didn't go away but spread more and bloodwork showed I didn't have elevated white cell count they sent me to the local hospital for an ultrasound.
The ultrasound people said it was a very large complex hematoma/seroma and it actually started leaking a bit of watery brown fluid through the stiches/surgical glue during the ultrasound. It was complex enough the local doctor didn't want to drain it as an office procedure and he said the local surgeons wouldn't want to work on something someone else had started so I went back to Seattle where I had a second surgery (Nov 14) and they removed 800cc of blood/serum and clots. So it was a lot. After the surgery it started to heal up nicely and the swelling went away. I still have some edema (large skin pores and lumpiness) on the lower inner quadrant (not near the lumpectomy but I guess the lymph in that region was blocked by the seroma and scar tissue - its still not going away but is not getting any worse after 3 weeks of radiation. Eventually I might ask to see a lymphadema therapist to learn about massage or whatever to get rid of it but I am waiting til after radiation is finished).
While I was in Seattle I got the Oncotype results so no chemo so shortly after I got back home I went to see the local RO who got the records from Virginia Mason and examined me then had me wait a few weeks to heal up more. By the time I went back the swelling was gone and the skin around the scar was much better. So the radiation was delayed a few weeks.
The radiation is tanning my skin but hasn't really had any other side effects yet. I use Aquaphor and aloe vera and wear a cotton bra (even at night - I wear an old stretchy one over a t-shirt over the aquaphor) plus use extra cotton gauze between my breasts to avoid skin-skin contact.
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wow! Thanks for all the info.
Mouse....Yours sounds really painful, I’m sure it was ...800 cc. Is a lot! My surgeon mentioned going back to the ORto drain mine even tho it was decreasing in size. I refused. Glad to know they will go ahead with the RADS...Should I go ahead and start usingAquaphor? I’m probably 5 wks from starting radiation.
I have one more chemo treatment.... it’s really puzzling how oncologists do things differently... Mouse, you andI have almost same diagnosis, and I assume based on my Mammaprint test being high risk, chemo was recommended...hmmmm.
Thanks again y’all
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Today was day 5 of 20. I felt fine until today. Now I feel quite fatigued. Am trying to eat healthy and drink lots of water. So far, I have not seen any redness, but the nurse said to use Miaderm so I am.
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Hi, danabanana9, good luck with starting RT tomorrow. I have finished 18/21 treatments (finished 16/16 regular treatments and 2/5 boosts) and am doing really well, much better than I expected. Look at the beginning of this string for some suggestions from DorothyB, I thought they were very helpful.
I have used calendula and petroleum jelly (sometimes the one with Vit E and aloe in it) 3-4x/day, and started a week before treatment. My skin looks tanned, mostly under my L arm and side, but no other SEs. I occasionally used hydrocortisone 1% with aloe from (Kirkland brand, very inexpensive, can buy from Costco or Amazon) if I noticed some reddening. I haven't had any rashes or broken skin. If you look above for one of my earlier posts, there are some links to articles about recommended creams (petroleum jelly based, which Aquaphor and several others are) and timing of application.
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Hi Margo
My hematome/seroma wasn't painful - it was more like carrying a big warm wet water balloon on my chest! Breast size (48DDD) was very large to begin with.
The fact you are PR- probably makes a difference in needing chemo - I was 98% PR+ - someone else posted the oncotype formula and PR was actually more significant than ER.
One side benefit of gooping on the Aquaphor at night is my hands are getting softer!
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I did 5/21 yesterday. My RO says I am showing mild symptoms. I am just feeling a raw sensation on the right side of my body nearer to the back where I am not sure if that is being radiated. I am going to add an extra aquaphor or aloe Vera application. I think all my bras are too tight now. The skin skin shows the banding way too long. I think I am going to look for soft cami’s to wear. I bought some cotton tank tops. Those are fine at home.
I am going to try and workout every morning as long as I can.
This morning I finally noticed my hair starting to come back. Small victory!! Of course it is very gray and there are some darker patches of dark brown that look like a shadow.
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I’m way behind everyone and won’t actually start til Feb but it’s been a big help to follow along. I just had my planning CT yesterday, including sore arms overhead, breath hold practice using a snorkel mouthpiece and nose plugs. Ugh. Also some unclear directions from the tech to make it last even longer. Glad it’s over.
Did everyone get skin lotion or recommendations from your RO? I see so many mentioned here I don’t know how to choose! My RO said I would be getting something for my skin, but I haven’t yet. Congrats to those finishing or close to it!0 -
hi dreamer1 thanks! it looks like we have very similar diagnoses. i started 3 days ago and have been doing calendula, aquaphor and i just got some expensive cream called ARC thats probably a rip off. im so glad youre having low SE and good results, i hope i have to same, keep it up! lol
can someone tell me how to add diagnosis to our posts? is tt like a signature?
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danabanana : To post your dx go into settings. You will see were you can enter the info.
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PS I think that's how you do it.
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i got it! thanks!
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8 out of 33 rads today
Breast still feels like abig lump from surgery and the shape is changing. TMI - the nipple also leans to the side now. Doesn’t really bother me. Still wearing my bras. Still using aloe and Aquaphor.
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finished 17/33 with no side effects other than getting tanner and a little pink. The hardest part today was driving there in the snow. Fortunately everyone was going slowly. Using the aquaphor and Aloe Vera and wearing cotton stretchy bras.
Next Tuesday I come in a slightly different time and get another CT scan so they can plan boosts.
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I was notified today by ro that I have some cording. Not happy today was 17 out of 30
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Hello Ladies ! Just checking in. I have 2 more treatments (16 whole breast - left - and 4 boosts total)! Woo hoo! Am I the only one having radiation in the prone position? Just curious....
SE’s not too bad but I’ve heard they are a bit worse post radiation. So far, I have one heck of a rash - itching like crazy - on my chest. I just switched from OTC cortisone to prescription Triamcinolone ointment. Also some breast swelling and both breast & underarm redness and soreness. Not too bad though. I’m using Miaderm lotion 3x a day.
I call radiation my “round 3.” First, surgery. ✅. 2nd, chemo ✅. 3rd, radiation and 4th, AI’s. Still on this journey. Sending good thoughts to me fellow radiation sisters!!
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Hi SarahSmiles, I also am having radiation in the prone position. I'm almost half way through 20 sessions. So far, I have some exhaustion and a bit of pain, mostly where my sentinel node biopsy scar is. I am not taking anything for the pain, but if it worsens I will. I use Miaderm once or twice a day. I also will take AI's when radiation is completed and have been looking at some other discussions to learn more about AI's.
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Hello, I am not in the prone position. #9/21 today. Slight redness. Using aloe and aquaphor. Still able to work out in sports bras in the morning. I work from home so I have been wearing a cotton tank top ( no bra). I seriously dislike the unscented Tom’s of Maine deodorant. After my radiation I have been putting on the coconut scented one
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Yay, I finished 21/21 treatments yesterday! The therapists gave me a colorful “Certficate ofCompletion” signed by RO, RN and all the RTs. Then they asked me if I wanted to “bang the gong” that a former patient had donated. It was in the middle of a large area and I was hesitant but looked around and didn’t see too many peeps. Then I banged it really hard!
The RTs asked what I was going to do to celebrate. I said, “Dunno, haven’t thought about it, what do others do?” They said, “Some people go out to dinner, some people have champagne, some people take a trip, some people do all three.” So I told hubs I want to do all three, and he just grunted. LOL
Good luck everyone, hope your RT is speedy and smooth.
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Yay, I finished 21/21 treatments yesterday! The therapists gave me a colorful “Certficate of Completion" signed by RO, RN and all the RTs. Then they asked me if I wanted to “bang the gong" that a former patient had donated. It was in the middle of a large area and I was hesitant but looked around and didn't see too many peeps. Then I banged it really hard!
The RTs asked what I was going to do to celebrate. I said, “Dunno, haven't thought about it, what do others do?" They said, “Some people go out to dinner, some people have champagne, some people take a trip, some people do all three." So I told hubs I want to do all three, and he just grunted. LOL
I will report back on any post-RT SEs I may experience in the next week or so; hyopefully, none.
Good luck everyone, hope your RT is speedy and smooth.
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