December 2010 Rads

starling

DebbieLynn - Happy Dance for you! Can;t wait until I am done too!

Barbcard2 - Glad things are moving along - love your poerm!

Sherryc- Sorry, but your husband's tassel comment made my day! LOL

Good Luck to all of you just starting/stared rads. Today I go for #10 and my half way mark! So far still pink but staying on top of it. Also itchy!!! Have a great day ladies!

starling

Oh - and Jo1955- so happy to see you staying on the board and that you are getting back to normal!

yellow78

Hi Everyone!

 I am going this afternoon form my dry run.  I will let everyone know how it goes.  Jenn

Sherryc

starling-I have to say my husband is a mess sometimes!

jo1955

starling - I am gonna stay around as long as everyone lets me.  I have gotten so much support from all the ladies here, want to pass that on to others.  This website has been my lifeline to sanity.

yellow78 - Good luck on your dry run.  You will do great. 

michelekb

Barbcard2- love the poem

I am thrilled for all of you who are finished. I can't wait to cross the finish line.

I had treatment #5 today. So far so good. I faithfully put on Miaderm three times a day. I do notice some tightening across my chest. I have tissue expanders so I am not sure if it related to radiation oe the TE. The TE have never been comfortable so it is hard to tell. I would think 5 treatments is too soon to cause skin tightening but I don't know.

Good luck to all of you who are just getting started. You will fall into a routine very quickly.

yellow78

Hi everyone!

Quick question what kind of creams is everyone using?  I am going to buy some but not sure what works.  Thanks, Jenn

Sherryc

yellow78-I use a prescription called Xclair and I use 100% Aloe Vera

Michelekb I am just 2 days ahead of you.  I go for #7 this afternoon.  I did wake up this morning with some redness under my breast and the skin feels a little different.  No itching but I am putting on extra cream in that area.

starling

Yellow78 - I use Recovercream - its given to me by my Rad Onc. If you google it you will see a site with that name. It was created by a breast cancer patient and so far its working great for me.

starling

yellow78- Sorry Thats spelled Recoverycream

Barbcard2

I use a prescription cream called Xclair.  Expensive, but that's what the nurse ordered. No problems so far, though I've only had my 2nd rad today.  Good Luck!

jo1955

yellow78 - I used Aquaphor.  I know it is greasy.  I was willingly to put up with it and am still using it post rads.  Still have a little red in the boost area.  You will have to decide what works best for you

michelekb

I am using Miaderm. You can order it online. My doctor recommended Jean's cream, but I was more impressed with what I read about Miaderm.

JulieH

Had my appt with the surgeon today and found out, contrary to what they were expecting, that it really is IDC after all, not DCIS, and given the size, >1cm and high grade, I will probably have to start with chemo and then radiation.  So, I won't be starting the rads this month after all. . .  Wish I were going to -- chemo scares me.  I meet with the med onco on Wednesday, so I guess I'll find out more then.

susantm

Two weeks down and 4 and a half to go. so far, so good. No redness or itching or anything yet. Using the Miaderm faithfully. And looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

jo1955

JulieH - Soo sorry to hear you have a different dx and have to do chemo.  I can't comment on chemo since I did not go through it.  Hang in there sweetie.  Lots of support here.

I am sending you a big hug

starling

JulieH- Sorry about your IDC diagnosis. I know its scary thinking about chemo. But I did chemo (ACT) and its hard, but doable. I noticed that you are ER and PR negative. Have you gotten your HER2 results yet? They are important because it determines whether you are triple negative (HER2 -) or if you have hormone positive receptors HER2+). If you are triple negative you may want to check out the TN boards, this is a special form of BC and is treated differently. If you want to discuss with me further, feel free to PM me.

jo1955

susantm - Sounds great.  I hope you don't have any problems.  Have a restful weekend and keep using the Miaderm

yellow78

Hi,

 Just got back from my dry run and it wasn't bad.  In and out in about 30 mins.  I also got blood work down to make sure my counts are good from Chemo. 

Julie H.  Feel free to pm me about chemo.  I just finished ACT on November 18th  I had my good days and bad days but it was doable.  Every person is different. 

Hope all is well.  Jenn

JulieH

@SusanTM - Good for you!  I'm so glad it's going so well for you. Here's to continued success!

@Jo1955 - Thanks for the well-wishes.  I just have to educate myself and these chatrooms are wonderful for that!

@Starling - They don't know about the HER2 yet.  I think they're running the test on that now.  Not sure, though.  What is the difference with triple negative BC?  I know that Tamoxifen and Herceptin aren't useful in treating it.  Is it just that there's not as much that they can do to stave off recurrence?

 @yellow78 - Glad your dry run went smoothly.  Let's hope your rads go as well!

Barbcard2

@Starling I, too, am triple neg.  The surgeon who did my lumpectomy gave me the impression that was good and recommended only radiation, but now I'm worried she was deceiving me.  Looked up TN on the net but info, mainly from the UK, made me even more concerned.  Surgeon very cold and hard  to reach. Thx and good luck.

starling

Barbcard2 - Well, I never heard anyone say that having TN was "good". I suggest you go the the website for the Triple Negative Foundation and read up on it. You have indicated that you are DCIS and that may be why your surgeon did not recommend any chemo, I am not sure. But you may want to check with a medical oncologist that is knowledgeable in TN because it is a very agressive form of BC and needs to be watched closely. Also check out the Triple Negative threads, the ladies there have lots of good information.

JulieH- Yes, TN is not treated with drugs like Heceptin or Tamoxifen because they don't work for us. We only have chemo, rads and surgery so we have to hit it hard. What I wrote to Barb applies to you too if you are indeed TN. I had to wait for my HER2 results for a while also, but my BS said that most BC's that are PR and ER negative are usually HER2 negative as well. Ask lots of questions so you can make an informed decision about your treatment.

Today I had rad #10, Feeling fatigue and keeping ahead of the pinkness. Have a good night ladies and sleep well! TGIF!!

AGeorgiaDeb

I am back-I am not so good at posting.  I am not going to start my rads until Jan 4th.  Not because of any problem but because I am going on a trip for Christmas.  I need to keep reading your posts so I will know what to expect! 

I am also glad to see all the feedback on the creams.  MY rad onc hasn't advised on that yet.  Also I was wondering about the no deodorant thing??  I sweat alot and have always battled body odor, I am very nervous about the whole thing!

Glad you ladies are making it through!

toni30

Hi Ladies:   I had my simulation yesterday.  They drew all over my chest - it looks like a ninth-grade geometry project there.  But they gave me only one tattoo - everything else is temporary.  It was pretty easy, but surreal - a very high-tech room with Nat King Cole singing Xmas carols in the background.  They were pretty dismissive of the need for creams, and when I pressed, they gave me samples of Keri lotion. They also said that Aquafor and aloe vera were good if I start to get dry - so that's what I'll start with, based on the recommendations on this board. They were not impressed with Miaderm, but I may try that if the other stuff doesn't work.  I could not get my preferred time, so I will start with 6:30AM - ugh - and hope to get a later time slot soon.  Julie H - I had chemo (AC-T) and it's a drag, but doable, and you'll get through it. Happy to answer questions.

jo1955

toni30 - 6:30am rads? Yuck!  But what is a girl supposed to do?  At least you only got one  tattoo.  I also looked like a kid's art project during rads.  But there is a bright side - I am one week post rads and all the marks are gone.  I really have to look for the 3 tattoos.  I had real good results with the Aquaphor once my rad onc let me use it.  I know it is greasy but worth it.  I am still using it as my boost area is still pink.  Doesn't look like it is fading any and will have to keep an eye on it.

When do you start rads and how many?  I used a calendar and marked the squares off each day.  Seemed to help. 

susantm

AGeorgiaDeb, My rad onc said natural deodorants are fine to use. They can't have aluminum in them. I have one I was already using. I think I bought it at Winco. I've kept using it as usual with no problems.

toni30

jo1955- I start tomorrow and have 20 sessions.  Thanks - Aquaphor seems to be a good product.

jo1955

toni30 -Good luck tomorrow.  When I started rads, I had a big calendar on my wall and would mark off the squares each day when I got home.  Made me feel like I was making progress - I had so many delays in getting started.  20 will be easy - I had 30.

MrsNice

So, I just got back from the pharmacy.  The XClair cream is not covered by my insurance, so it would be $80.  Not sure I can afford that and will talk to my rad onc about it when I see her.  Has anyone tried Emu oil??  I have used it for other things and it works great; just not sure how it will do on radiated skin.

Sherryc

I have been gone all weekend camping and boy have a missed alot here on this thread.

JulieH so sorry to hear of your diag and that you will need to do chemo.  Sending a Big hug your way.

Yellow78 glad your dry run went well, not your can get started so you can finish.

AGeorgiadeb my rad tech told me I could use Crystal deod.  It is natual and wont interfear with the rads.  I bought some on Saturday and so far so good.

Susantm glad your tx are going good and that you are not having any skin issues yet. Keep using the creams.