October 2010 rads

QCA

Hello all.  I had my third rad today and noticed when I was changing back into my clothes that my breast is already peeling a little.  The rad onc's nurse came and looked at it, said to just slather it with aquaphor when I got home and reapply it 3 more times today.  The odd thing is that now one of the places where the dye was injected for the sentinal node biopsy is almost like a scab, coming up around the edges.  I wouldn't be surprised if it detaches completely before morning, with new tender skin underneath.  Has anybody else experienced anything similar? 

Other than this, and the fact that one of the young male rad techs went to high school with my son, everything's  coming right along!

Kathy

CT124

Cindykaw:

wow, you are just 3 weeks post chemo and already have 6 rads done. I am 4 weeks and will start in 2. Had to delay a couple of weeks as expansion wasn't complete due to low wbc and infected port which took forever to heal. I am just getting rid of the heavy leg feeling and feel like my energy is coming back, appetite back and that funny taste is finally gone.

Having the port removed was really pretty quick and not bad. A little IV sedation and a little numbing of the area. A little sore after but that went away very quickly.

AICa

Cindykaw - Rambling is good - this is the place for it. I, too, find myself upset by things that I would shrug off if they weren't in this cancer environment. For example, last week a male employee walked right in to the women's dressing room without knocking; said he wanted to get some water from the cooler. The week before a woman walked in on me while I was changing; there are no locks on the individual dressing room doors. In this environment, I found them both upsetting.

I have had 13 treatments. My breast is getting pink and I have an itchy rash. The bumps are getting bigger; reminds me of measles. Someone in Sept. rads printed a recipe for salt compresses; I'm going to give it a try.

Beanius

Wow! So much going on! My 2nd rad planning session is in two weeks. Thanks to all for sharing your experience. I am wishing you all the best and to get through this quickly!!!! I'll be going to RadiantCare in Aberdeen, WA. ~Beans

Cindykaw

CT124 - thanks for the port removal info - guess it was just one of those days - and the word "surgery" just threw me .....I do not have to deal with reconstruction as I had a lumpectomy so you had so much more in the way of surgery etc.  I had surgery June 4 - started chemo 7/16 - only 4 cycles of TC and my onc scheduled me for my sim the week after my last chemo on 9/15. I am glad to have 7 done - should be done week before Thanksgiving - but the fatigue is a factor.  They told me that the lasting fatigue from chemo will roll into the fatigue from rads.  I really cant imagine getting the fatigue from the 5 minute zaps but I still have the heavy leg thing going from chemo - My duaghter tells me that doing 2 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 3 mile walks in 2 weeks may have been a bit much.

Anyone know when hair grows back?  I never lost all my eyebrows - my lashes were always sparse - I was actually hoping they would fall out and grow back thicker like they tell you your hair will but no luck with that one.  But hair on my head is NOT there yet - nothing under my arms or on my legs - geting tired of the wig - wear it to work and out but when get home - wear a turban thing that is soft and comfie!  I think back to after I started chemo - every morning I would wake up and look at the pillow - for hair to have fallen out - now every morning I wake up and ask my honey - did any hair grow? I have an odd sense of humor.

Well , It is Friday so no rads til Monday - yeah - just having to leave for work earlier to go there first is making me tired - LOL

Next week I hit the big 50 - get to go for a lymphedema consult on my B-day- my rad onc sends everyone even if having no problems - get my port removed the next morning - yeah to that - and on Fridaynight - get to go out to a nice dinner/staff appreciation event (very small staff) at a local winery - so big week for me - then I may sleep for a day or so.

Have a great weekend all!

hmh23

Just found out I will have 33 radiation sessions (Is that what we call them?)  I start on Monday!!

Can't wait to get it started!  Have a great weekend everyone.

Heather

Beanius

Cindykaw - HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

JFV

Hi

Just came back from rads simulation.  It took about an hour.  I had two female techs.  The hard part was laying still and not even talking the entire time.  The techs didn't want any sort of movement on my part to change their measurements.  Talked to rads nurse after.  She doesn't want me to return to work yet.  I work in an elementary school as an assistant.  I am feeling the financial pressure and my husband is not happy that I am not working.  He would like me to sneak back to work.  I am just tired of making all these decisions. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

chiefswife

Hi Ladies, can I join along, I start rads this coming Monday and will finish up the day before Thanksgiving. I am scared to death of doing this, the chemo was a walk in the park and I didn't have one problem whatsoever. I am still somewhat swollen from my lumpectomy, does the fun ever end?

1marmalade1

Two weeks down...3 to go!  Three day weekend, too - Canadian thanksgiving is on Monday!  The last 2 weeks have flown by VERY quickly.  I'm just feeling a little tenderness in the chest area, however, today I feel a little more tired than normal.  Everything is going smoothly, so far.  Have a nice weekend, everybody!

DesignerMom

Beanius-  Okay,  "RadiantCare"  for a rads facility?  I must say that is a bit of a contradiction of terms!  Kind of like the hair salon here which is called "Curl up and Dye".  Well, I know you will be radiant as you always are!  I'm still waiting for my start date, ready to get this rads show on the road! 

JFV-  I hope you can find a way to take more time off of work.  I hear the fatigue from rads can really add up as things get rolling.  I can't imagine dealing with lots of elementary kids while being so tired.  Your body needs to rest and heal.  Believe me, I know all about finacial tension.  But I also know if I don't get healthy, I'm not going to be able to help at all.  

Beanius

DesignerMom - You are soooooo cute!!! curl up and dye!

To all - have a wonderful weekend and don't worry about nuthin!!!

LtotheK

Having my second zap tonight.  Two techs, two docs, and a guy floating around.  Not a problem, all super-nice.  I had a weird SE, though:  digestive distress.  Which is really unusual for me, so I can't help but attribute it to this!

 

LtotheK

By the way, Cindy--Happy Birthday!  I also am eagerly awaiting my hair.  It's only 3.5 weeks out for me, but I'm ready!!  Kinda sick of the Kojak thing...

DawnKY

Hiya JFV~~

I work in a school system at 3 different elementary schools; I am a school psychologist. I took 8 days off for surgery but am working full-time.  My BS and the rad onco both said that working a full schedule was dependent on how I felt, but they also said that there is really no medical basis for fatigue from just having radiation tx to the breast area only.  Chemo--yes, but not just rads.  The rad onco said in her experience, the fatigue was due mainly to women who were adding one more thing (radiation tx) into an already busy schedule, and from the emotional stress of simply having cancer and all that it entails.  

Having said that, I have noticed that I feel more tired this week than before (this was my first full week of tx, today was session #8), but now I am not sure how much of that is psychosomatic.  

JFV

Thanks Dawn and Dmom you both make excellent points.  IMy current compormise is ask again to go back to work after a week of rads.  That is kind of counter intuitive.  But, I think the stress of starting rads AND going back to work on the same week would do me in.  But, I am also just sitting around the house feeling sorry for myself.  The spurt of house cleaning is over eventhough the house is far from clean and I am getting really whiney without having chemo to blame. 

You ladies are the best for litening to my rants and giving me thoughtful answers !

AICa

We hear so many different things from doctors/nurses/techs. When I saw my Rad On today, I asked him why we were told not to use deodorant with aluminum. He said that anything on your skin prior to radiation may increase the radiation to that area; but it is an insignificant amount. So if I wanted to use a small amount of deodorant, it was alright. Good thing because I wore my regular deodorant to an outdoor wedding last Saturday.

bubbalu

Posting here as well as Sept. 2010 as I was in both and knew many of you. 

Ladies:  Here's the word from Philadelphia's University of PA's cancer center (#2 in the US) on my out of rad area burns.  If you remember I had 4 txs - neck burn, took break, 4 more txs - another neck burn.  My onc here said I should stop rads before I got a serious burn and infection.  He would do whatever I wanted but he did not recommend continuing. 

I went to Phila. for another opinion.  The rad onc in Phila's center has never seen this before either!  So I am something of a rarity with radiation.  He examined me very closely, had all my records and profoundly agreed with my rad onc here that I should NOT have radiation anymore.  His best guess is that I have something in my DNA or body chemistry genetically that is making me super sensitive to rads and I need to stop them now.  He is going to do some looking into this at Phila with genetics and get back to me.  His observation was that if I was burning this badly outside the area after so few txs, what could be happening that is NOT visible. 

His conclusion was that since I had a very successful chemo (97%) and a successful surgery with clear margins, that I have an excellent chance of a complete recovery without the radiation.

I am triple negative so my options are limited.  I did read something very interesting in his office to pass on.  If you WALK 3-5 hours a week you can lower your risk of BC by 50%.  That's HUGE!  I have mixed feelings about having to give up the rads but I feel in my heart that the burn on my neck was a sign somehow and may have saved my life down the road.

So get out there ladies and WALK.  I will be getting my port removed now and also my cataract. So we went from Phila. to our favorite beach on the upper east coast, Stone Harbor NJ for some R&R.  Thanking you for all your concerns and postiive thoughts.

On with life..................

LtotheK

Bubbalu, if I were in your spot, I would consider the exercise a "stand in" of sorts.  Get out there, walk, do light weights, get that heart rate up EVERY day.  The new recommendation is 60 minutes a day to counteract our sedentary lives.

 I'm wondering if anyone experienced this:  I came home after my second zap, and I have pain on the underside of my arm, and a weirdly stringy tendon/node/something under the treated arm.  I am upset, to say the least.  Is soreness/pain after just two sessions even normal?

1marmalade1

I felt some tenderness in the radiated area after about 4 tx.  After 10, the same tenderness exists, with only some light redness.

DesignerMom

DawnKy-  I have heard that several ROs say there is no physiological basis for people feeling fatigued.  However!  Just about every woman I know who has had rads says they definitely feel fatigue, especially after the 4th week.  My stoic friend worked through her rads, never missed a day of work.  Having said that, she scheduled her treatment for 5:00 p.m.  She said on some days she could barely get home she was so tired.  She sometimes didn't have the energy for dinner and was usually in bed by 7:30 sleeping.  She said scheduling it at the end of the day and then collapsing and sleeping allowed her to feel okay by morning.  I would like to think there is no physiological reason for fatigue, but don't really buy it.  We have HUGE amounts of radiation going into our bodies, killing cells after all.  It is logical our bodies would feel it.  For those of you working, scheduling it late in the day so you can collapse after (rather than proceeding on to work) might be helpful.  And YES walking helps everything! 

JFV

Hi Ladies-  Thanks for weighing in with your opinions about work!  I love to hear from everyone.  Right now I will stay out this next week and see how I feel.  It sort of boils down to which "crazy" I want.  Either the crazy from staying home all day and getting bored and self absorbed now that I finally feel better.  Or the "crazy" from early morning rads, work and home life and holidays combined.  

BC has made me make so many decsions by the seat of my pants.  I appreciate hearing from all of you and hearing about the wide range of personal experiences.

Beautiful day here.  Looking forward to watching my daughter perform in the kickline at school during half time at a local football game.

QCA

I don't think I've ever been so glad to see Friday come.  Woo hoo, 2 days off!!

DiamondGirl

Nancy91355 ~ we have very similar DX and I am going to have 33 tx of traditional rads.  I wonder if your doctor's office is conducting some sort of study or are they getting some kind of grants?  Also maybe you may want to call their billing office and see what is the billing code for this Brachy tx?  Then call your medical insurance and see how the rad's office will be paid (and if there's any difference in reimbursement to them).  That's what I'll do if it happens to me. I often wonder if it has to do with their bottom line.

cmksocal

bubbalu - I have seen research that talked about 3-5 miles per week, but not hours.  I'm not sure which would be more challenging.  Of course, I don't walk very fast so it might not make a difference!

Colleen

bubbalu

cmksocal:  Here's what else I found online about walking weekly in relation to lowering your BC risk. 

Andrew Weil, M.D.

As far as exercise is concerned, a study published in the May 25, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that it improved survival among women who have had breast cancer even if they walked as little as an hour a week. The authors noted that after a breast cancer diagnosis, women decrease their levels of physical activity by two hours a week and that even greater decreases have been seen among obese women.

The researchers found that the risk of death from breast cancer for women who have had breast cancer and walk at least an hour a week at a pace of two to 2.9 miles per hour was 20 percent lower than those who got less exercise or none at all. Those who walked three to five hours a week had a risk of death 50 percent lower than those who got little or no exercise. Those who got even more exercise also reduced their risk of death but, unaccountably, by somewhat less than 50 percent.

These findings make a lot of sense when you consider that physical activity affects circulating hormones. Lower estrogen levels among the physically active women might explain their improved survival, according to the study authors. (They noted that the benefit of physical activity was particularly apparent among women whose breast tumors were fed by estrogen.) Overall, the study makes a strong case for continuing to get regular exercise after a breast cancer diagnosis.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

cmksocal

Bubbala -Thanks for sending the article abstract. I just got back from "short" walks with my dogs.  I got about 50 minutes of those 3 -5 hours in.

 Colleen

DawnKY

DesignerMom--I agree with what you posted.  I have my treatments scheduled at 3:10, so I leave work about 60-90 minutes earlier than usual.  I'm not so much tired afterward yet, but I am feeling more sluggish already in the mornings though it's only been 8 sessions thus far. 

I posted earlier about having headaches all week after therapy, and I mentioned this to the techs Friday.  They wondered if it might not be due to allergies/sinus with the fall changeover.  I do suffer from those, but I did not have that same wicked headache yesterday that I've had every day after the session, so I am convinced they are somehow related.  Stress-induced possibly, but nonetheless therapy-related.  Am going to mention this again to the RO tomorrow.  I took more Tylenol last week than I've taken all year.   Not liking that.

ranafazal

MHP70- I also felt tenderness and a bit of pain in the underarm area on the second day, and have felt a bit of discomfort when raising my affected arm which wasn't the case before.

Cindykaw, hope you had a great b'day.....and welcome to all of ypoy who joined recently.

Hey Marm and all other Canadians, happy Thanksgiving, am so glad to have this long weekend and holiday from radiation!

Bubbalo,thanks for the info on walking,it's great motivation as I'm overweight and really need to get out there and exercise.

mamaof3bugs

I have updated the list in the original post...if I missed you or you would like your name removed please let me know.  As for the rads they have been going pretty well.  I have nine done, only 23 left to go   I have an infection in my radiated breast which I was told is fairly common.  No problems with my skin yet (using Radia Gel) but the swelling is wow!  My boob is about twice the size it normally is and I am a DD so watch out LOL.  I have to say the rads are easy it the drive into Seattle everyday (40 mins one way) that is killing me!!  It sounds like everyone is doing well, this is just another step ladies...we will survive!! 

xoxo, Angi