Any February 2012 radiation gals out there?

bak94

Chicago-Congrats!!!!! The hard area has gone down significantly. My ro is out of town this week, of course! I see my mo next Tuesday so I will talk to him about it, which I am sure he will send me back to my ro, but he should be back by then! I am worried about it, but man, I need a break. I really need a break! I have been in some type of treatment for a full year. I am sure the fatigue will last for a bit, but at least it will be getting better:) Not worse!

Congrats Druanne! I took donuts and everyone was pretty happy about that!

Druanne

Yay Chicago & Bak!!!!!! I am ALL DONE too! I starting crying before I even got into the building.......!! I brought in an orchid, chocolate covered pretzels and a card......I got a graduation certificate! LOL.........I am not really toasty......just ITCH LIKE ...H.E. double toothpicks!!!! I am refusing Tamoxifen so I am DONE! My percentages are 4.8% without taking it and 2.1% with taking it........I don't think it is worth the side effects.......and my RO agreed with me.......my MO begs to differ but it is my choice Hugs to everyone!!! I will still come in here to check in on you all ...........tonight I am celebrating with beer and a bonfire outside!!!!

dancetrancer

Ahhhhh Druanne!!!!  Celebrating with you with a virtual beer - wahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So happy for you! 

macatacmv

Yipeeeee!!!!  Druanne! 

Today a guy friend came over to visit. As we were sitting and talking I noticed the maxi pad that I had under my arm sitting on the table jeesh the things that have become so commonplace. I didn't say anything and wonder if he noticed, but I did have to chuckle.

  

gerrib

Congratulations to bak, chicago, druanne and anyone else I have missed. I finish tomorrow. Started tamoxifen 2 nights ago and feel OK - over to the March 2012 Tamoxifen thread after I finish rads. Very little SEs from rads - skin dry but no oozing. For me it was helpful to keep the area dry once I developed the pimply rash around week 2 - 3. I gave up on the moisturisers and used Kenacomb and cornflour and paw paw under the boob.

Thanks for all your support 

sherrybaby

Woooohoooo for druanne, bak, and Chicago and an early Yippee for gerrib.

Druanne

Thank you guys so much!!!!!! I made an error in my last post.............my with & without Tamoxifen are 4.1% & 2.8%!!!! Oh my goodness! I itch itch itch!!!!

bak94

Mac-too funny!!!

Druanne-I am pretty itchy too, and have some pain. I had bmx, and my skin is tight! Feels like I have a bra on when I don't! I want to wear my prothesis, but I am too sore. I have to wait about a year for reconstruction. I go back and forth about it. I don't want more surgery, but it I miss my boobs, it is much harder to find things to wear, but the prothesis do help.

misha99

Happy Graduation TO ME!   Done with rads  and did my onco checkup w/bloodwork immediately.  Now to get on with my life!!!  Best Wishes to all!

dancetrancer

Congratulations misha!!!  Oh happy day!

Druanne

Yay!!!! Awesome misha!!!!

sherrybaby

Congrats Misha!! 

bak - do you like your prosthesis? I am finally breaking down and getting one. I said I wasn't going to do it, but I think having one will make things easier. Like you said clothes fit better and I would be able to wear a bra again.  I am also still unsure about reconstruction and would be waiting a while before considering it. 

Hope everyone has a good rest of the week! 

gerrib

Congrats Misha. I finished today too. 

Here's to us all!

Gerri 

bak94

Sherry - I do like my prothesis, pretty comfortable and they look natural. I worry about them being hot in the summer though....

mlm445

Yay Doxie and Grandma V!!!!!!! I have today and tomorrow and now for the first time in my treatment the machine broke down....I'm waiting for a call to go back... I told them I would go twice tomorrow, but I need to be done!!! AGHHHHH!

mlm445

Misha - Congrats!!!!!

mlm445

Wow... as I read you are all done!!!!!!! 

NancyJill

Hi, everyone, I had my last treatment on Friday! It was supposed to be Thursday, but the machine crashed. I was disappointed, but held it together. I practically ran out of the clinic on Friday! That night my husband treated me to a celebratory dinner out. Most of my skin is in good shape. It is the worst where I had had plastic stickies covering the permanent ink outlining my boost area. I had to take them off myself, and the top layer of skin came, too. I got rid of the permanent ink and feel less like a "target." Soon it will be a week post-rads. I am already less tender. Let the final healing begin!!! 

NancyJill

Congrats to everyone else who finished!

dancetrancer

Congrats Nancy!!!!  Ya-hoo!!! 

SuperFoob

YEAH to everybody that's done!



I am still peely. The boost area is all that's left to peel. Thank goodness it's still numb from the surgery!



I just got fatigue feeling yesterday and a bit today. So weird...Ive been done since tues. before last.

Chicago1958

Hurray for everyone!!!

And thanks so much for the long-distance companionship.

(Geegster, hope your fatigue was a fluke and goes away. Maybe you're fighting off a cold or something.)

(NancyJill, I had the same feeling about the stickers on irritated skin and the marker. So glad to have it gone. My boost is still bright red and tender, but the rest looks pretty darn good!)

(Druanne, that's a great oncotype score! I'm with you, the difference between with and without hormonal therapy is so minimal...)

lalere

For any of you that did gated therapy and controlled breathing--did you hold your breath after you inhaled or after you exhaled?  I am getting conflicting info on this.  My RO is not a supporter of it, so I am on my own with doing this..  Thanks.

GirlPowerDebbie

I did not have that experience, but early in the game I literally took my calendar in and synched it with theirs.  Counted off the totals, then the boosts.  I wanted to be sure I was done by a certain date so we were all over it. 

xocwjjb

Congratulations to all who finished this past week - Gerrib and Chicago 1958 and Doxie and Bak94 and Beebop and Misha 99 and Mim45.   Woo-hoo - there are so many of us now who have come through and are ready to move on.

I have a question - as soon as I finished my rads I ran over to my dermatologist for annual check up and he whacked a big lump out of my leg, which turned out to be melanoma.  The idea of breast cancer didn't overwhelm me, but melanoma does frighten me, perhaps because my sister died from melanoma mtx.  Does anyone know of an online site like this one where melanoma folk are sharing experiences?  I have been searching the web but havent found anything useful yet.   Thanks if you can give me a lead.

And melanoma notwithstanding, I am still having my champagne and bonbons.   And I will continue the celebration until every one of the February fighters can join me in saying "we are DONE ! "

Blessings, 

  Caroline

 

doxie

Caroline,

Finishing rads is a wonderful feeling!  Over a week out I'm nursing a blister that completely covers my areola.  Hoping it won't pop.   No nipple involvement because it was removed.

So sorry to learn that you lost your sister to melanoma, and that you now are dealing with the diagnosis too.  What is the next step for you?  Are they going to check on lymph node involvement?  I'm fuzzy on that, but did a little reading before my bc diagnosis.  

I know how frightening it is just to have melanoma suspected.  My core needle biopsy came to a screaching halt when the dr thought I might have melanoma instead of bc.  He refused to do the biopsy and sent me straight to the surgeon to have an excisional biopsy.  This dr told me flat out I didn't have bc, but if cancer, it was skin cancer. (Very rare in a breast and likely a met.) I made my DD look all over my body for signs of possible melanoma, but she couldn't find anything unusual.  I knew I had cancer because the tumor was visibly growing and quickly.  So relieved to find out it was "just" IDC.  

 Please let me know what happens next. 

Chicago1958

Caroline, I am so sorry to hear that. I see there's a forum on this site called "Mixed Type Breast Cancer: Meet others who have mixed type breast cancer, or breast cancer along with another disease or condition, and don't fall into only one category." Click here. Maybe a post there would find some companions.

I am sending good thoughts--hurray for the champagne and bonbons!

Beebop

Caroline, sorry to hear about the melanoma. As if you didn't already have enough to deal with

I actually have 1 more left, somehow I didn't count right and thought I would have been done on Friday. Oh well, I guess I can handle one more. The skin under my arm is really pretty bad, but it is still numb from the ALND, thank goodness! The RO prescribed Silvadine so hopefully it won't take too long to start healing. Ready to pop some champagne tomorrow!

xocwjjb

Doxie, so sorry you have to deal with this areola blister when you thought you were done.   Are you using Silvadene? or something else.   I am still doing saline solutions and I really think they help to calm everything down.  I don't know if it actually heals, but the skin at least feels better. The staff at my rad center all warned me that reactions might get worse after the end of rads before they got better, but so far I definitely think there's an improvement.  Hope you can say the same soon.   I am meeting again with my derm on Friday after he has consulted another expert t UCSF and then I will have a better idea of next steps for the melanoma.

Chicago1958, many thanks for the tip.  I hadn't even thought to look on this site.  (Sometimes I think the rads fried my brain as well as my breast! )

Beebop, hang in there, just one to go.  Silvadene really seems to be effective for lots of folks, so hope you see that skin getting better before the numbness wears off.  I'll be breaking out the champagne for your on Monday! 

Hugs to all,

  Caroline

sherrybaby

Beebop--early wooohooo for you!!!

Caroline--so sorry to hear about the melanoma. Hopefully the doc will give you good news regarding it.

doxie--I no longer have nipple or areola, but I hope that your blister calms down. The Silvadene was very soothing to my skin when it blistered. 

Just as a warning to anyone who might not think of this like I didn't: I was driving home from visiting my daughter at college this weekend. I had a v-neck top on and didn't even think about the fact that I would be driving in the sun all afternoon. All of a sudden I started really hurting and realized that the area on my collarbone that had been treated was getting a ton of sun. By the time I got home it was bright red. I guess I have to get better about putting sunscreen EVERYwhere before I get in the car.  

I took Monday and Tuesday off since I figured I would be tired from my visit and I am even though it was fantastic to see her. Wednesday I start back to actually going into the office to work. I have really enjoyed the freedom of working from home...wait I think I really enjoyed being able to work in my pjs Oh well, I hope everyone has a wonderful week this week. 

Sherry