Starting Radiation January 2020
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I am also in the prone position during tx. Cancer on the left so I'm pretty sure it's to protect the heart. Only 3/16 more tx to go! My skin is red and just started itching. Nurse prescribed 2.5% cortisone but frankly it wasn't helping much. I got Benadryl cream today and that seems to be helping. Nurse also said because my tx is hypofractionated my skin might continue to change over the next 3 wks. Hmmm Don't know what that means--another topic to research. Dreamer1 CONGRADULATIONS! on finishing. Your husband sounds like mine. LOL
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Just finished 19/28. I’m super red and itching. I’ve been putting on aloe vera & aquafor multiple times a day from the start. Started using eucerin yesterday. Hoping it doesn’t get too much worse
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completed 10 out of 33 today. Othe than the nerve zaps the first two day, my breast shape is different and feels like a hard lump. I need to miss radiation on Friday. I don’t think it will affect anything.
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Finished 21/33 today - also went to the hospital for a CT scan so they can plan the boosts.
Not a lot of side effects - getting a lot of color on my breast and a slight rash on my chest (I am getting my clavicle nodes radiated). Not sure if fatigue is due to radiation or just winter blahs. Haven't gotten long walks lately due to winter weather.
The worst so far is driving even if its not that far - we've been getting one winter storm after another and I hate driving in the snow. My neighbor who snowblows my driveway is out of town this week! Actually had to shovel! I appreciate him more than ever!
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Finished radiation tx 2/5. Yea. Breast red, itchy and a cup size larger than the other. Had a CT few wks ago which showed seroma back but RO says it should resorb but may take months.
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I have 8 rads left. My breast is red, but there is a part under my arm that is very red where the compression sleeve rubs against the skin. I put on gauze with medical tape- that was a mistake. The tape was not a good idea, but after a warm shower I was able to remove it and hopefully didn’t irritate the area any worse. I have not had any itchiness yet and am grateful. Feeling more fatigued in the afternoon. Still using mostly aloe Vera gel.
On a side note, I am 6 weeks out from my last chemo. My eyebrows are getting so scarce, and my lower lashes you can barely see. The hair on my head is growing and is dark and patchy in some areas and very thin and gray/white on top. I know I need to be patient but I will feel more like myself when I get my hair back.
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13 out of 33 completed. Still doing ok but hoping the radiologist will “feel” how hard my breast is and not just “look” next week. Don’t understand why it’s so hard. Using Aquaphor and aloe gel.
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24 of 33 on Friday. I am red and sore and itchy, but not too tight. I have been stretching daily.
I actually stayed in a hotel Thursday night because we were having an ice + snow storm, and I didn't want to miss either rads or my herceptin. I am getting tired of this all.
Mouse: No one has said anything to me about another CT before the boosts. Is that standard? My first boost should be this coming Friday.
Kidi: Congratulations on being done!
Kkukowski: My hair didn't really start growing back at all until more than 6 weeks out (well, except for my leg hair, which is completely unfair!) My last chemo was Oct 25 and my hair is now maybe 1/3 of an inch long. I do have eyebrows again, and my eyelashes are short but no longer just eyelash-stubble. Hang in there!
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YeslamaDragon - I have no idea how standard a 2nd CT is - I haven't heard it mentioned by others. I don't know if its just my RO's practice or other factors I have (e.g., large breasts, whole breast radiation plus axial plus clavical nodes due to micromets and slight LVI). I do know the RO put in the complete treatment plan to the insurance co in advance so its covered. This CT seemed more cursory than the first - at least the report was. Still all clear on enlarged lymph nodes but they noted breast scarring and thickening - which was already there due to hematoma/seroma after surgery and does not seem to be getting worse from radiation.
Getting a rash on my chest where my clavical nodes are being radiated plus my breast gets slightly redder each time and getting more sensitive. The RO said for some reason the chest area reacts more with rash. Using miaderm lotion that the RO gave me (plus aquaphor at night and aloe vera right after). May look for calendula cream - there is a pharmacy in town that carries more of the "natural" stuff.
Contacted my MO through the patient portal and she wrote my prescription for AI - she wrote the prescription for Armimidex but my insurance wants me to take the generic so I'll ask her about that. She also said to start 30 days after radiation - from reading here other people even start during radiation. Not that I'm anxious to start but I'll ask her about that. We also scheduled a followup in May - she's in Seattle so I'll have to travel but I want to be sure to get a complete followup plan and there are no breast cancer specialists in my home town. Plus I like visiting Seattle.
Really not getting in the exercise I need due to too much ice and snow.
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My clavicle is also getting quite red and sore, as is my armpit. And boob. But the clavicle is the worst. I am using Jean's Cream that they give me along with hydrocortisone that they recommended for the itching. I also have some aloe stuff that was developed specifically for radiation but it is up in the bathroom and I can't remember the name. My mom got it for me and I think it was expensive.
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Also, I wanted to ask if anyone has a sore throat?
I thought I might get esophageal pain but this is way up high around my tonsils and behind, and it really hurts to swallow. I try gargling with the BMX ("Magic Mouthwash") but it is so high it really doesn't get back there. It is out of the radiation field, so I have figured that my drippy herceptin nose has started giving me bad post-nasal drip, but then wondered if it related to heartburn from the radiation? I am getting some of that.
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I start my 5 boosts tomorrow. They showed me the steel 4x4 template of the outline of my tumor. I asked if I could have that and they all said no, and they said no one has ever asked that before. My skin is so itchy now.
Yeslamadragon: thanks for the hair growth encouragement!! We are expecting blizzard conditions tomorrow but I hope driving in town will be okay. I don’t have far to go. I am usually gone and back in 50 minutes. No sore throat for me.
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I am glad you don't have far to go -- be careful!
I get my first boost Friday. The therapist this morning said those will be easier -- please let us know if it is!
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I had my first boost today. It was a long day because they went over the alignment again with x-rays and gave me new markers with stickers to cover them. I started getting much more sore during the last week and now am applying the aloe vera multiple times per day - it seems to be the most soothing. Yesterday I notice small blisters around my nipple - luckily I think that is outside the boost area because the tumor was higher up on my chest so I don't think it gets radiated anymore.
The redness extended to my back behind my arm - I guess it overlaps there when they do the angle to get the lymph nodes. Luckily I've been moisturizing as far as I can reach.
Picked up my prescription for anastrozole today although the MO in Seattle had phoned it in to my pharmacy she said not to start it til 4 weeks after radiation. I asked the RO about it and he said there are lots of different practices (of when to start).
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Hi!
Has anyone tried Biafine? It seems like this cream is widely used in Europe.
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Good morning! I have had two boost so far. They draw an outline in purple on my chest where my tumor was. Even though my tumor was very small, this outline is about 2in x 1.5 in. Then they usually do some quick measurements, radiate me, and I am out of there pretty quickly. The purple marker stays on for the most part but also rubs onto my clothing too. Only 3 more to go!!
I have not heard of Biafine. I am still using aloe Vera. Can’t wait to be done using the Tom’s of Maine deodorant. Just doesn’t work for me.0 -
Have my last boost today! I am supposed to start Femara in 2 weeks, but I'm going to call MO to see if I can wait a little longer to start. At first I wasn't going to "ring the bell", but I changed my mind. If the techs who took care of me are ok with it, I'm also going to see if they will let me take a picture with them.
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Susi-Q,
Congrats!! Hope you treatment went smoothly without major SEs.
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Finished my 4th boost today - I have 4 more next week. Its only the past week or two that that it really started getting red. I was glad I bought the large bottle of aloe vera! Yesterday they gave me another tube of miaderm lotion - this one with lidocaine in it and it is helping the more painful spots.
My MO said to start the AI m4 weeks after radiation. I also have a colonoscopy consult March 3 because the same week I got my mammogram (after skipping it for a few years) I also had my first colonoscopy - and had 6 polyps all of which were pre-cancerous. By the time I got that pathology report they'd scheduled me for the breast biopsy because I was BIRADS 5, so my reaction was "pre-cancerous - that's good!" They wanted me to schedule another within 6 months. so I can just fit it in between end of radiation and start of AI.
MikaMIka - if you use the Search feature on the menu to the left and search the radiation forum for biofine you can find posts about it - it seems to be prescription in the US at least.
Meanwhile its going to be 3 day weekend (the rad center is closed for Presidents Day) and the winter storm held off til I got home so I can stay in and just watch the snow.
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Susi-Q
The first time I went to the radiation center the receptionist was away from the desk - I saw the bell but didn't know what it was for (then) and was wondering if I was supposed to ring it to call someone - glad I did not! She came back before too long.
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18 out of 33 today. So far so good. Three more weeks.
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Mouse57,
That's so nice of your hospital to give you Miaderm! It seems like mine doesn't do such things.
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I finished up Thursday. No boosts, however RO discontinued using the bolus this week due to breakdown of my skin. I got super red & I’m peeling a lot know. It’s pretty gross & a little painful. Using silvadine for peeling areas & tons of aquafor.
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Happy weekend everyone!
I had my first boost on Friday. I am so looking forward to being done, but the RO said my skin may continue to get worse for a couple of weeks after. I already have some skin breakdown on my back, and she went ahead and prescribed silvadene in case I get moist desquamation, which makes me think she thinks it is likely. They also switched me from Jean's Cream to Aquaphor. Which I hate to put on after rads and then go to work because it is so greasy! Have to choose my clothes carefully for this week.
I am scheduled to see a covering RO this week, who I saw once before when my RO was out and he is, to put it mildly, a jerk. I am trying to cancel my appointment with him but if they won't cancel it I will just leave after my session -- there is no way I will see him (he really is that bad). I am just so sick of this all, and I have to start 10 months of Kadcyla in two weeks (not to mention hormonal therapy for probably 10 years). Hopefully at least once I no longer have the daily zapping I can at least start to feel somewhat normal again.
Oh -- the RO does think the sore throat is from scatter, and she thinks it also might last for another couple weeks after treatment ends. I guess the good news is that it is so hard to swallow that I have lost more than 10 pounds of my chemo weight-gain! Perhaps by the time I can swallow again I will be back to my baseline weight!
I guess there is a silver lining after all. 0 -
I am alternating between itching and sunburn. Have figured out that the itchiness due to rash on my chest responds best to over the counter hydrocortisone ointment but the more sunburned patches respond to the miderm lotion with lidocaine ointment they gave me.
I'm in the boost phase so it ends next week.
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with 2 boosts I am trying to stay upbeat, but my chest is so sore, terribly itchy, tight. Just plaiN miserable. I go from aloe Vera gel, to aquaphor to Benedryl cream to calendula cream. I had trouble sleeping last night. I would move and things would open up. I see the RO today. Last week she didn’t offer anything new to help. She just said the itching usually just stops itching suddenly on its own.
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I finished 20 total treatments (including 4 boosts) on Feb 3rd. I had a bad, itchy rash on my chest as well; breast was red and sore (but the rash was the worst). My RO prescribed Triamcinolon (.5% cortisone) and that finally stopped the itching. I used Miaderm cream on my breast and applied this over the Triamcinolon also. 2 weeks post final radiation and the rash is still hanging on, but is getting fainter every day. I’ve actually reduced the # of applications of both medicines from 3x/day to 2x/day and am doing fine (will probably reduce this again later this week). Maybe your RO could prescribe a stronger cortisone to help relieve your itching. The Triamcinolon certainly helped me! Hang in there Kkukowski... we’ve been traveling the same path - same surgery; chemo; and whole breast radiation.
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I just finished the 24th of 25 treatments (which included 12 boluses, basically every other treatment), and I don't need to tell you what that feels like. I'm just gritting my teeth and getting through it at this point. My right underarm is raw and weepy. Just beyond ready for this to end. I've been using aloe with Lidocaine after treatment, Aquaphor at night, and a cream my RO gave me after showering in the a.m. Also, I'm dabbing Neosporin on the raw area.
Here's to better days for all of us.
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britgirls: will u finish tomorrow too, like me?? I get emotional just thinking about finally getting thru the chemo and radiation....
thanks Sarahsmilesatme: my RO wrote me a RX for Silvadine to help with the now open sores under my breast and arms.0 -
has anyone had "zap" feeling in you radiated breast?
I finished my 20 rounds, 15 normal and 5 boots, on Feb 7th.. this week is the worst, I was warned the 2 weeks after would be more intense, but come on already We all have been through so much already
... RO gave me 2 scripts, Silverdine 3x/day for open sores under my breast and Lidex 3x/day for the itchy, painful rash, then I spray on a layer of Aquaphor and cover with saran wrap at night. My under breast hurts the most, hard to move my left arm because then my breast moves then hurts and burns ...
Rant over, I can't complain or whine at home, no one listens...
Here's To Us, Better Days to Come!
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