MARCH 2010 Rads Group

Sugar77

Hi everyone - I you are all doing well.  I've peeled and am on the mend.  Am still tired but I guess that's to be expected.  Does anybody know how soon after treatment we can resume with an underwire bra?

Sherri 

grama5

I sell appliances for Sears so am in front of the public and never stopped wearing mine

Flo

Tex17

Sherri, my under-wire bra is more comfortable then some of the others I have bought. As soon as it doesn't hurt to wear it should be fine, at least for part of the day.

 For those of us who are done at the end of the week let the countdown begin! I've been in a lot of pain this weekend and have no idea what my LB will look like by the end of the week. I'm just glad the top area can now begin to heal. 

My husband said your all putting on the pressure with talk of lunches in your favorite restaurants. I'll be done on Friday by 4:30, so dinner would be nice. 

Good luck to everyone this week, those in the countdown and those of you who are healing. 

GoldenEyes

I have a question ladies.. I finished my rads in March...I was pain free for over month.. The pain is starting to come back.. not as severe...scale of 1-10  its now   2-3... Cervical Spine...How long does radiation treatment last.for pain management?  Is this normal.. for pain to come back again?

joanneasiata

HI ALL

Sorry golden eyes im on my boosts so i dont know if it all normal for some pain to come back but i guess it would take a while for the tissues to heal properly i get funny shooting pain across my breast i would imagine it  to continue a little while after, id give it another month and if it hasnt settled down by then talk to someone about it .

4 more boosts to go, least i didnt cry at rads today even my Slam dunks arnt that hard any more . CONGRADS to every one who has finished, enjoy your dinner out, the girls at work said they will take me out for dinner so yeh i guess my D/H has gotten of lightly he thinks he is one of the lucky ones  lol

Sugar77

Jojo - your DH may have gotten off lightly about taking you for dinner but don't forget the wonderful jewellery you'll be getting!!

MariannaLaFrance

Sugar's right. You get varied levels of jewelry based on what treatments you've received. Lumpectomy= Big jewel. Radiation= Stunning smaller jewels!

Having a good attitude while you feel like your world is breaking apart =  A lifetime of pampering!!!

3monstmama

yagh!  Can't even imagine wearing a bra right now--haven't had one on since the Zaps started. 

Today I am set to start boosts and wouldn't you know, something seems to have come up.

When I woke up this morning, I had blood stains on my t-shirt.  They seem to have come from the stupid blister on the top that rose and popped last week.  Its not like a ton of blod but at the same time, it was not something I could miss.  Has anyone else ever had this happen before? 

Per okay of the ZapNurse, I had put a bit of antibiotic ointment on the spot Friday and Saturday nights and I had thought it was lots better.  Guess I was wrong.....my real question is will this interfere with my starting boosts today? 

I will show/tell the Zap Techs before we start but I wanted to go in with some idea as I am so gung ho about ending on Friday, I need to mentally prepare myself if there will be a delay.

Mommaof2

Jo Jo - 4 more boosts for me too!  I still can't believe I'll be done this Friday!  It sure went by fast!  My skin is holding up pretty good, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed I won't get any blisters.  Enjoy your dinner out with your friends, I plan on spending Friday afternoon with my husband and kids and then out to a nice dinner with just my husband.

Fatigue has hit me pretty hard the last couple of days.  I'm exhausted by 10:00 in the morning and ready to crawl back into bed.  For those of you that have finished, does the fatigue go away pretty quick? I can't remember how long it took to get my energy back after my chemo treatments, but I hope it doesn't take as long.   I think I'm going to have to take a nap this afternoon if I'm going to make it until 9:00 tonight

Sherri - My onc said I could wear whatever kind of bra was comfortable for me, I would imagine you can go back to underwire by now, unless you are too sore.

Have a good afternoon everyone!

Mommaof2

3momstmama - I hope you were able to get your treatment done today so you can finish up on Friday too! 

3monstmama

Hi all,

Happily enough I was able to start boosts today as scheduled.  They looked really closely before they went ahead but the blister area is outside the field for the boosts which made it okay to go forward.  They told me it should get better over the next week or so as it won't be exposed to any more radiation. I got the impression that had it been in the boost area, I might have been delayed.

So I'm on track to finish up on Friday with Mommaof2 and I think Raili and anyone else?

Mommaof2, about the fatigue.  My ZapTechs told me to give in and sleep when my body feels really wiped out.  Interestingly enough, if I give in for a day or two--go home early, take naps--then I feel much more energetic for the next few days.  Last week I was truly wiped out.  I went home early, took naps, cut myself some slack and was able to truly charge through my weekend.  Today when I woke up, I didn't feel that fatigue and right now I'm still feeling good, after my zap and my 3/4 mile walk.  So my advise to you is surrender for a day or two.  Go back to bed at 10am [funny thats when it was hitting me too].  Bring a book and a hot cup of herbal tea and nap the day away.  If you are like me, the next day you will be set to go.

Four More!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fan2544

Hello ladies~its been almost 5 weeks for me post rads. I have a question. Over the last week I have neck swelling over my collarbone on radiated side which is now noticeable. I had no lymph nodes taken out but they did radiate my underarm. Also tightness and a little swelling on affected side arm. Could this be an early sign of lymphedoma? Did not think with no nodes that I could get this as a side effect. Any insight would be welcome.Thanks much....................:)

MNLinda

Golden Eyes, it's hard to say what's "normal".  I'm not getting rads for pain management, so I have no personal experience to fall back on, but it seems to me that a lot of things could cause pain if you have tumor in bone.  If you have radiation and the tumor shrinks or even disappears, you could still have pain because there's damage to the bone where the tumor used to be.  Or sometimes pain can be caused by radiation itself.  The best answers would have to come from the doctors who have been treating you - they may recommend bisphosphonates or chemotherapy if the radiation has not done the job.  (Sorry - more tests, more therapy isn't what we look forward to, but if you're having pain, just trying to live with it is not a good option either.)  I wish you well.

fan2544 - lymphedema is a possibility, although swelling is a very general symptom and could be caused by a lot of other things too.  You can have all your lymph nodes intact, but still have scar tissue or fibrosis affecting the movement of fluid in the dermal tissue leading to the nodes.  Radiation can cause fibrosis.  Have it checked out as soon as you can. Hopefully there's another explanation, but if it is lymphedema, quick therapy is key to getting it under control. Here's a link for further reading : http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-radiation-fibrosis.htm.  Good luck.

fan2544

Thanks MNLInda~I have a scheduled Onc Rad appt next Tues so will address asap.Thanks for the link to info and all the best to you and all posting here. Much appreciated.................:)

YramAL

Hi-

I'm 4 weeks out from radiation now, and 5 months out from diagnosis. I have my first appointment after starting Tamoxifen with my medical oncologist this Wed., and my first follow up with my rads oncologist on Friday. I'm a little nervous-not too much-but it reminds me that I had cancer and I've been trying not to think about that too much.

My radiated breast is shrinking a bit. My skin is going back to its normal color, but still feels a bit tight. I still don't have any hair in the lower half of my armpit-seared off by the rads, I think.  

I've been having minor hot flashes from the Tamoxifen, but they're not too bad.

Mary 

YramAL

3monstmama-

I also had small blisters that bled They would start out looking like big whiteheads, then burst and bleed. They started after my full breast treatment was over-during my boosts. I guess it took a bit of time for the heat to reach the surface of my breast.

I did my rads at Northwest Hospital here in Seattle-it sounds like you are at Swedish? Some of the same techs staff both places-they rotate through. What was the name of your favorite tech? Mine was Jean. She was so kind and made me feel very comfortable.

Mary 

3monstmama

hey all

After today I will only have 3 more treatments.  One would expect a person to be feeling cheery and glad about that but I must confess to being rather down.  This morning we learned that a dear friend of my husband's [and mine too] has just been diagnoised with lung cancer.  We don't know anymore details [stage or type] but when I looked on the NCI website, it was pretty scary [flashbacks to December when my prospective surgeon was saying there was "something" on my liver that needed to be checked out]. Our friend is a relatively young guy, not yet 50, with a darling 1 year old grandson but alas, he has always been a smoker.  No comment on the smoking but makes me glad that my husband quit ten years ago this year.

Anyrate, I am feeling very glad that all I have is this stupidnon-invasivenon-lifeendingbreastcancer but I am feeling so sad for our friend and his wife.   And I confess that I am feeling a bit scared because when they did the CAT scan on my liver, they found a "spot" on my lung that will need to be checked in a few more months and so of course, with one cancer diagnois under my belt, my brain is going straight to lung cancer and visualizing my monsters as motherless.  And while my logical brain knows darn well the odds of THAT are pretty darned low and if anyone had the slightest reason to think the lung spot was anything, someone would have stuck another needle into me and biopsied the spot just like they biopsied everything else, still:  the emotional brain is scarred and scared right now thanks to One stupidbreastcancer diagnosis.

Hmmm, I'm thinking today may end up being a short day for work.

Hugs to the universe.

jenn

MariannaLaFrance

3monstmama-

Sorry to hear about your friend. I think somehow that being diagnosed with a cancer has made us hyper-aware of just how valued health is, as well as how easily the scales can be tipped in a direction we never thought possible.  I used to never give a thought to illness, and though I felt bad for those who got diagnosed with serious illness, I probably was not as affected before now.

I also fear another diagnosis. I am getting checked out for colon cancer right now (diagnosed with IBS, and visited a GI specialist in hopes for gastro help)... we are just running labs right now, with a colonoscopy planned. I wake up at night, fearful that I will re-live the moment of being told about a cancer.  I fear mainly for my children, now that I know how easily that diagnosis can be made.  The other thing I fear is how most people seem to die from treatment rather than the cancer itself....

So, you're not alone in thinking about the possibilities in the universe. Keep up the hope, pray (if you do) that it's not cancerous, and think positively. I've read over and over that the "survivors" are the ones who seem to think the most positively about their diagnoses.....

AND, eat some chocolate today, get some sun (if it's sunny where you are), and hug those children. It's going to be all right.

3monstmama

Thanks MariannaHB, for all the kind words.  Yargh, I confess, I also need to go get a colonoscophy when my sessions in the frying pan are done.  The colonoscopy doesn't scare me but the answer to it scares the piss out of me.  And for all the same reasons as you--my kids and feeling so very aware of the fragility of life and that all changes and all ends [thats the Buddhist part of my life].  I have always been very adament about giving my kids a hug and telling them I love then as they leave each day, and I hate parting from my husband without a resolution because just in case, I want each of us to have warm good memories of our last time together and no guilt.  Stil there is the abstract feeling that all is impermanent, that we lack control and that everything changes and there is that feeling post cancer diagnois, right?

It  is sunny out and I think this is as good a day as any to fold on my work and go to engage in some cooking therapy--I volunteered to make 5 or so gallons of granola for our retreat this weekend and I haven't even started.

I hope that your test results go well--you will keep us posted, right.   And have you planned out a reward for yourself when the testing is done?  I think you will need something in addition to your reward for stupidbreastcancer.  On my end, my Parisian reward for making it thorugh my stupidbreastcancer treatment may turn into a trip further north as our friend is Swedish [but living in Switzerland] and I told my husband if he wanted to go visit his friend, we could do that instead.  With 5 tickets to buy, we can't really do both in one year.

joanneasiata

TWO MORE SLEEPS FOR JOJO THEN ALL DONE  im still not excited about finishing yep and still crying stupid me

June2268

Joanneeasiata  I was wondering what I would feel like at the end and to my surprise it was the happiest day of 2010 for me.  So maybe it will be a good experienced for you, however I think with your stage you are probably more worried than I was as you won't know until you get blood work and then when you do get GOOD news from that will you then feel excited about what lies ahead!  I am thinking of you and we are all here to listen whenever you need to talk, your feeling are totally natural...........If I recall Sherri felt the same way......stay strong!............June

Raili

I'm feeling really, really impatient for the end of radiation.  I only have 3 treatments left!  (One is in 90 mins).  But it feels so hard to keep going, sort of the way it feels after you've completed the majority of a 4-hour road trip and suddenly you're only 20 mins from home so you should feel SO CLOSE to being done, but really those 20 mins seem to drag on forever and you're hoping you don't fall asleep at the wheel.  That's me right now.

Jenn, I'm sorry to hear about your friend's lung cancer dx.   And about your anxiety over the lung spot.  I agree with you that if anyone thought it was really serious, they would be insisting on doing a biopsy sooner!

This is so true - 

Stil there is the abstract feeling that all is impermanent, that we lack control and that everything changes and there is that feeling post cancer diagnois, right? 

Really, the only constant in life is change.  And this is so hard for us humans to understand and accept!  All we can do is keep trying! 

I like Verse 29 of the Tao te Ching -

Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.

The world is sacred.
It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.

There is a time for being ahead,
a time for being behind;
a time for being in motion,
a time for being at rest;
a time for being vigorous,
a time for being exhausted;
a time for being safe,
a time for being in danger.

The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle.

irish47

Hi all, 

Finished my rads today!! Have been doing a lot of thinking lately, and have talked today  to a cousin of mine who had a terrible prognosis from cancer some years ago.  He said to me, '' welcome to part two of your life''. And he is right. So now, on to the exercise and the eating well and not fretting that this awful thing will return.. am going to SO wake up and smell the roses :-)

Raili

Congratulations,  Irish!!!

Mommaof2

YEAH for you Irish47!  How exciting to be through with your rads!  I hope you are doing something extra nice to celebrate.

Only 2 more boosts to go for me.  The last five weeks flew by, but this week sure is dragging.  I sure can't wait to be done and get back to a normal routine and hopefully put all this behind me.

Jenn - so sorry to hear about your friend, I hope he does well with his treatment.  A friend of my husband was diagnosed with leukemia a few months ago and had to stay in the hospital for a month, getting chemo every day. His treatment made mine look like a walk in the park. He had a remarkable recovery and is in remission now.  I hope the best for your friend.  I know what you meant about always fearing a recurrence or a different type of cancer somewhere else in our body.  I am going in for a bone scan next week to rule out mets to the bone.  I can't even begin to think of that being the case, to me it's too horrifying to even contemplate.  I just hope my achy body is a leftover se from chemo.  Good luck with your tests and like Ralli said, I'm sure if the spots on your lung were suspicious, they would have been biopsied right away. 

JoJo - Good luck on Friday, I hope you find peace with your last treamtent.

Irishmom

Congrats Irish47 for finishing and for anyone else that has finished this week too.  I'm a full week into healing since finishing RADS and I must say the breast is healing really nicely and fast.  I go back on the 12th for a full discharge from the center.  I'm having blood work and a bone density scan done on Monday and then its the love affair with Tamoxifen for the next 5 years.  I saw my regular doctor and she kinda told me - there is no choice when your estrogen positive, take the pill be aware of the side effects if any  not everyone gets it, but she described the pill as a life insurance.  So I will begin Tuesday morning.  I have been feeling great - my full energy hasn't returned but its getting there little by little.  Good luck to everyone that is still finishing rads.  Chat again soon.  Kathy

cabmom

Congratulations Irish.....YEAH!

kathylev

Done!!  Last boost today!!  We celebrated with an afternoon outing to Yankee Stadium.   So happy to be finished.  Good luck to us all!

Kathy

Tex17

Glad to hear your done Kathy and congratulations Irish47. I also will be done on Friday and it has been the longest week ever, two more treatments. My skin cracked under the breast in the boost area this morning. If anyone has had this area crack what treatment to the skin has worked for you? Did it get worse after the treatment was over?

I'm sorry to hear about others still having to have additional tests. Our life has truly been changed by this experience. We now know how it feels to be told we have cancer and how long the treatment takes. When others in our life get the same news we can feel their pain in our souls. I for one will enjoy every single day in my life, especially those that don't include doctors appointments. 

Sugar77

Wow...it's hard to believe that rads is almost over for most. I'm going to miss reading how everybody's treatments are going. Some of us are connected on Facebook.  I would love to connect with others, too.  If anybody wants to connect, please send me a PM with your name and I'll provide mine as well. 

Sherri