June 2020 radiation group
Comments
-
ldowns99. I'm sorry you have that happening. I haven't experienced anything like that. I do hope it is better now.
Ohthatcat. I haven't had anything like that yet. Have you mentioned it to your RO? Could you take some Tylenol for relief?
toria1212.. I hope you feel better soon!
I finished my 9th treatment today. Tomorrow I have another CT scan and mapping for the boosts. My breast is a bit harder and more tender today. Skin seems okay. Fatigue comes and goes but is okay today. It is cleaning day but I have no motivation to do it, so I am not. I read and watched tv with my daughter instead. Though I did do laundry.
Wasn't it super nice to have 2 days of no radiation?! Heavenly.
0 -
Hi all! Today I finished my 16 treatments of 3D rads (photon). Tomorrow I start my “boosts” that use electron rads. They drew a “pickle” around my scar to indicate the area that will get the treatment. LOL
The techs removed some of my circle stickers used for the photon rads. Ouch! By the way, when they put on a few new stickers around the pickle, I saw that they were using a brand called PointGuards Original
My skin is doing remarkably well. Even the tech mentioned this today. It is red, sunburn sore, and a little swollen under my arm, but I have no blisters, no open seeping areas, or anything that would cause concern. I don’t know whether to attribute this to the CamWell lotion or just to good skin genes. 😀
I am still able to wear a bra when I go out of the house, but I generally take it off when I get home. (My foobs arrived in the mail over the weekend. Woohoo! I was so excited to try them out today. I don’t think anyone can tell they are fake and I feel like my outward self is showing the true “me” again.)
The main annoying side effect is the fatigue. I am worn out. I feel like I’m running a 10k and I’m at the point where my “second wind” has not kicked in yet. 😕. One thing that *seems* to help is that I feel better on the days when I eat more protein, so I’ve been starting my day with a chocolate “shake” from Premier Protein. Each container has 30g of protein and only 160 calories. The only flavor I can drink is chocolate because the other flavors seem overly sweet to me.
I noticed that the radiation machine that they are using on me is made by Varian. It looks a bit old to me, but I’m sure they monitor it to make sure it is doing a good job. This is a requirement for ACRO accreditation
Has anyone else noticed the brand name on your treatment machine? I’m curious.
0 -
Thanks very much @grdngrl505 and @cm2020. What I was feeling on Sat. did go away and was better yesterday. Must've just been something weird from being in that position with the simulation. Whatever!
. Onward...0 -
Ohthatcat, I had two days last week where I felt like I was burning from the inside, on my breast and back. It wasn't a cold burning, but as if I were radiating heat from within, just under my skin. It was very uncomfortable. It started the day that the radiation therapist forgot to ask me to hold my breath. I'm also starting to tan and see some redness around the trapezius area even though I moisturize there.
toria1212, hope you feel better are able to make your appointment tomorrow.
Unrelated to any appointments, my RO provided my radiation plan to me last week. He included some scans of me holding my breath and I could see where the radiation would be directed in relation to my heart. The plan itself is mostly unintelligible to me. It looks like there are 4 different beams. It also includes the dosing calculations, a plan summary for setting up the beams, details about setting up each beam, and region of interest dose information. I would typically spend a lot of time trying to decipher the plan, but I'm tired of researching BC. Too bad, there isn't a handy guide like there is for reading a pathology report.
Best wishes to everyone for a good week!
0 -
Hello all! I finished my 28 rads on Friday and I’m mostly doing well. I really just wanted to chime in on the acid reflux/throat issues. I have been having them as well. I was losing weight due to fatigue and just not wanting to swallow, so my RO gave me a prescription for Magic Mouthwash. It numbs my throat a tad and has made eating much easier. He also gave me a prescription of Prevacid at 30 mg, which is double the dose you get otc. He said my body was annoyed with the radiation and the stress of everything so the acid reflux had kicked in. I also have redness/tanning on the side of my throat so I know I’m getting zapped there. The constant lump in my throat is unnerving! It should resolve itself in a few weeks, though. Fingers crossed!
Has anyone here had like really dark red, almost black marks to show up under your arms? My skin was tanned and freckled by the radiation in my cleavage area, but the armpits are crazy looking! No pain, but so weird. I hope it goes away because no one wants black underarms. Any suggestions? Good luck to everyone!
0 -
Lajonesin, congrats on finishing 28 rads!!! You're a real trooper. I have had some minor acid reflux and sore throat as well; luckily it has not gotten worse during the treatment, but my doc insists its not from the rads.
I'm glad your RO acknowledges it and I hope it resolves quickly for you. I haven't had any black spots personally but I remember hearing about those before around here or another BC board. I imagine those should resolve as the skin regenerates.I have my final "regular" treatment today, #16, then I have 5 boosts through next Tues. My seroma, which I previously had drained appears to have filled right back up, most likely from rads inflammation. I am having the boosts directly over the area of the seroma.
I am hoping this does not suck horribly. I have my weekly RO visit today and am going to discuss it with her.0 -
cyathea. You are SO close to being done!!! I'm glad your skin is doing well. The fatigue is no joke. Hopefully it will pass fairly quickly once you are finished. I looked today and I can't see a name on the radiation machine. But I did look for you.
Lajonesin. Happy Dance Time!!!! You are incredibly lucky to be done! It must be such a great feeling. Magic Mouthwash is wonderful and should help you a lot. It's really good that your RO is listening to you and helping you. No, I haven't had those skin issues. I hope it goes away soon as you heal and are further out from radiation.
BCat40. You are also so close to being done! Gosh I hope the seroma doesn't get worse with the boosts. I'm sorry it came back.
I am officially half way done now. My breast is definitely heavier and more tender. It feels like I have a knot in part of it....my RO said he felt a small seroma a couple weeks ago and that is the area that feels like a knot. It doesn't seem bigger, but just that knot. The fatigue wasn't as bad today. 5 more regular treatments and then 5 boosts to go (not that i am counting down or anything....heehee).
0 -
How are you guys doing?
toria1212....are you feeling better and back to your treatments?
My breast is significantly more tender/painful today. The fatigue is also much worse. Yet, I can't sleep, can't concentrate, no energy for anything...so I just laid around like 3rd base doing nothing. Tomorrow I will see my RO after radiation. Can I just say I detest having to get weighed weekly! As if radiation isn't stressful enough, they insist on making me weigh in weekly too when I see my RO.
0 -
I just had rads 8 of 33 done. No side effects yet that I can tell, but I’m also still doing HP infusions so those SEs might just be more obvious to me or overlap rad SEs. My RO said he’d expect my skin to start getting more tender, sore, or red in the coming week. I just keep slathering on that Radiaplex they gave me.
cm2020- I also hate getting weighed weekly! Ugh. I know I’ve got bigger fish to fry with this cancer mess, but I could do without the weekly weigh in
0 -
cm2020, glad I don't have to weigh in before I see my RO. One less thing to worry about. I saw the RO today and he asked about fatigue. He suggested more exercise, but sometimes it takes everything out of me to make it through the work day. I was speaking to one of my coworkers and she said she never had fatigue when she had radiation. How lucky.
Very long day, had radiation, PT and six conference calls. Eek! I feel fortunate to be working from home and not having to commute 50 miles to the office. I mentioned that sometimes it felt painfully hot on my breast and back and the RO gave me some lidocaine samples to mix with my moisturizer. He said to mix 1 part lidocaine to 1 part moisturizer. I could mix it up ahead of time and keep it in the fridge or I could just keep the lidocaine in the fridge. Just an FYI, in case anyone is having the same issue. I haven't tried it yet.
0 -
hi all, sorry for the delay. I am so tired. I thought of you all the other day when I decided to fire a nurse! I’m also now involved in a situation where my PhD school didn’t make accommodations for me as a cancer patient, so....oh man
The sunburn feeling went away when I started moisturizing, but my RO said it was completely normal. Aloe and Eucerin work great!
tomorrow is my 14th treatment. Halfway there!Sorry this is brief but I read all of your posts and I wish you all the best!
0 -
I'm on the fence about radiation, leaning toward doing it. My breast cancer is left-sided and I already have heart issues that I fear will worsen. Since my husband died suddenly I try to control my 'the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-will-happen' thinking. But it's full on right now. I have a great radiation oncologist who is being patient, generous with his time, answering lots of questions. My oncologist says it's important treatment but entirely up to me. Anyone done the breath-holding? Any other heart-sparing suggestions/techniques? Love this site. Thank you.
0 -
I'm so disappointed to hear that doctors are denying the possibilities of side effects such as acid reflux. Both my radiologist and naturopath explained that the radiation goes to places other than those targeted. Naturopath worried about radiation causing further damage to my heart and thyroid. But radiation is such an important part of the breast cancer protocol. Tough stuff.
0 -
One more boost to go!
I caved today and took a 20-minute nap at 4:30. I Just.. Could. Not. Work.
My sleep is more restless the last few days with discomfort under my arm.
The weekend can’t come soon enough.
0 -
Shgolden, My bc was on the left too, and this was the method used at my rads center. It's called Active Breathing Coordinator. There was a bit of a learning curve but it's very doable. Worth it to me for protecting my heart and lungs. I know there are other methods used too. Good luck to you!
0 -
Shgolden, another option for treating the left side is prone positioning.
0 -
grdngrl505...Luck you not having to get weighed every week! I had my weekly appointment with my RO and the nurse mentioned making sure I exercise too....WTH? I am lucky to crawl through each day at this point. There will be time and energy for exercise once I am done with radiation. Did the lidocaine help?
Ohthatcat..Gosh I am really sorry about your school messing up. Will you be able to get it straightened out? I'm also sorry you had to fire a nurse but I admire you for standing up for yourself and not tolerating whatever it was she was doing. Being half way done is such a good feeling!
shgolden....I don't have any suggestions, I'm sorry, my cancer is on the right side. Whatever you decide to do I hope you are peace with your decision.
cyathea...No shame in taking a nap! I got one today too and it felt heavenly. Congratulations!!! You are SOOOO close to being done!
My gosh this week has seemed to drag on forever. I am really ready for the weekend and 2 days of no radiation. My fatigue is worse today, as is the pain and tenderness in my breast. My breast is slightly swollen but my RO isn't concerned about it. 8 more treatments to go.
0 -
shcarter, my cancer is on the left side. My RO has me do deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH). The radiation therapist tapes a small plastic box (4 x 4 in) to me before treatment that helps them gauge how I'm breathing. If I take in too much breath they tell me to release some breath on occasion. They will also ask people to take in more breath if necessary, but that's never happened to me. My RO provided scans to me of where my heart is when I'm doing the breath hold and where the radiation is directed. The therapists allow me to pull down my mask when I'm doing the breath holds, but it's not the norm. Good luck with your decision. There are so many decisions to make.
Ohthatcat, hope your school issue is resolved.
cyathea, I take so many naps. Much longer than 20 minutes.
cm2020, I haven't felt overheated in the treatment area the last couple of days so I haven't used the lidocaine yet.
Treatment 15 done. 10 more to go.
0 -
Hi friends,
I am happy to read that everyone is ok, and moving forward with treatments, one step closer to the end, hm?
My tummy issues slowed enough yesterday(Wednesday) for me to return to treatment #9. My stomach was quite wonky, and I also had a 3pm orthopedic dr appointment for now diagnosed bursitis in both hips(I'm an avid tennis player) So I received a shot in left hip yesterday and it's already helping! Hoping to continue to feel better and resume a long-awaited exercise regime that I have been very lax on for over two years due to great pain and physical distress.
I received #10 today-half way there! I'm grateful for the weekend 'break' as I was not fatigued yesterday or today. In fact, I struggle with insomnia a lot.
I received lab info that is making me nervous-a dimer test for clots was high, cholesterol high(which I knew it would be) and one cancer marker high range of normal. So, do you wait til next appointment with MO to discuss? Or do you call with concerns. My MO is NOT NICE so I hesitate but would like more information.
I hope everyone has an easy Friday and hope y'all can rest and recoup a bit over the weekend. I missed y'all....xx
0 -
I finally saw the whole machine today and it is TrueBeam by Varian medical systems. I can't remember who asked about this so I hope they see this. As to why 13 treatments in I just saw the whole machine.....they always have the table ready for me and I hurry up and scoot to it before I even look around the room. Today they didn't have the table quite ready so I got to stand there for a minute and look around.
The fatigue is absolutely overwhelming today. I almost fell asleep during radiation. My head is all cloudy and foggy and holding my eyes open is an olympic even (as is typing this).
toria1212......is changing MO's an option? It is really awful to not like your dr, but your MO is someone you REALLY need to be able to talk to and trust. My advice would be to call your MO, but since he isn't nice what about calling your PCP?
13 down.............7 to go.
0 -
I'm doing ABC the same way as Rosie24. No big deal for me (54, pretty healthy). The techs are nice, 2 male, 1 female, and I'm not bothered by the exposure thing. I really feel for those who are, ugh!
Today is #12 of 16. So far so good! Finally saw some tan color this morning. Nice square corners, exactly as marked. Breast is swollen and sometimes warm, and getting a little pink underneath. I haven't felt fatigue that doesn't have another explanation. I'm using Miaderm and aloe vera. Either they're fantastic or I'm just lucky.
My RO is young and bubbly. I've seen her in person once (plus once back in Dec. when this all began); others are on-site video visits. Weird. She keeps promising I'll see effects at the end of each week. Now I have something to report, yay!
Good luck to everybody as we get through this slog. Hang in there!
0 -
cm2020, thanks for the note on the Varian machine. I think you have a more recent model than I had.
callmeCookies I don’t have square corners on my tan/red areas so I guess my fields were a bit different.I saw an LE doc this morning. She said I have a seroma. I suspected it. She said it might resolve on its own and I’ll see her in about 6 weeks. If it is not better my surgeon can drain it. Ugh!
toria1212, so sorry you are dealing with high test results and a bad MO. My MO responds to emails with any concerns, which is fantastic. I can understand that many MOs don’t want to do that, but at the very least they should provide a nurse/PA line that you can call with concerns. I hope things improve for you.
Ohthatcat, are you able to contact your school ombudsman to try to get another review of your situation? Hope you can get some accommodations.Happy weekend everyone
0 -
toria1212, I got a referral to another MO because I'm reluctant to do the endocrine therapy that my MO wants do do: ovarian suppression and aromatase inhibitor. I still need to make an appointment with the other MO. She also had a couple of lab tests run on me for markers and from what I've read and what my BS confirmed is that the lab tests for markers have the most efficacy for metastatic BC and are typically not used as much for the treatment of other BCs. There's a great article on NPR about the over treatment of breast cancer. I also have high cholesterol. I'm trying to go plant-based, but it's been a struggle.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/10/...
I went to see the BS today for a follow-up visit and the nurse practitioner asked me if I was wearing a compression sleeve during radiation to prevent LE and I said no. Is anyone wearing one for their treatments? My PT had also asked me the same thing this week. The NP said I should wear when doing anything repetitive like gardening and when I'm flying. I was able to pick one up at the hospital pharmacy after my appointment and will start using it next week.
Have a great weekend everyone!
0 -
toria just wanted to let you know that I too switched MOs. I got some 2nd opinions outside my hospital but wanted a new MO at my same hospital where all my other doctors were. I did not get along well with the first MO and felt it was too stressful to talk to her on top of dealing with the stress of cancer treatment. I spoke to the admin in charge of the medical oncology dept and she switched me to much nicer doctor.
0 -
grdngrl505...No one has ever mentioned wearing a compression sleeve. I keep getting told my chances of developing LE are super low because only 2 lymph nodes were removed. However, if anyone had ever mentioned it, I would certainly be doing it.
I don't have square corners either so my fields must be different as well.
0 -
Ohthatcat, what did the nurse do??
I just found out I am having only 4 boosts instead of 5, so tomorrow is my last treatment!
My skin has held up totally fine under the mepitel film, with a bit of tan coloring under the skin fold but no itching burning or peeling. I have a little bit of an irritated rash at the edge of my armpit where I just could not get the film to stay on. Using aquaphor in that spot. Having pain still inside the breast most likely from seroma being irritated by the rads assault. I am thinking of going for a 2nd drainage now that I will be done and it won't mess up the radiation planning to have the size change. My RO showed me the seroma on my last CT and it extends basically all the way around the breast.
0 -
Hi everyone,
Thank you for the thoughts on new MO grdngrl505 and BCat40. I had treatment #12 today, and no problems with it. However, my diarrhea from last week recurred over the weekend and I told my RO and she said I needed a covid19 test(The one I had pre-surgery was fairly brutal-my head/nose felt awful for three days). I am sooo upset about it. I am not wanting to rant but really? Is EVERYTHING covid now? So I am going to a local drive-up at 6:45pm tonight for my test. My 14 year old daughter had slight pink eye last week, took her to Urgent Care, drops in her eyes, she's fine now. But apparently pink eye is also a covid19 symptom. We are being careful and no one has any symptoms. I just feel so beat up, by all of this bc stuff, and now another covid test? I really don't know what to believe anymore....Ugh.
I am praying for everyone and pray your treatments today went/go well! Love to everyone xx
0 -
Well yesterday was my last day of rads and it was pretty anti-climactic. No bell for me to ring. I got a discharge sheet from the nurse for skincare and they gave me a follow up appt with my RO in 6 weeks. Very happy to be done though.
Tomorrow I will go back to the breast center to have my persisting seroma drained again, this time under ultrasound guidance to help them get it all. Hoping I will feel normal after that and can resume normal activities.
0 -
BCat40...Congratulations on being done with radiation!!! There isn't a bell at my radiation office either, so it will be pretty anti-climatic for me too. I really hope this is the last time you have to have the seroma drained.
How are you doing toria1212? I'm sorry you had to have Covid testing again, that is awful!
I have 5 more treatments left. Whole breast is now completed and it is just the boosts. The area under my breast is getting pretty irritated so I am glad to be almost done. I am quite tender/sore and so darn fatigued.
0
