May 2012 radiation

sbelizabeth

Good morning, everyone!  Today is treatment #3 and I'm getting smarter every day. 

Yesterday I had the tech turn on my iPod just as he was leaving the room, so I could listen to Celtic Women instead of the ominous buzzing and whirring of the machine.  Today I have some warm socks and a lavender-infused eyemask so I can just relax, practice abdominal breathing, and go to a beautiful place in my head. 

The trick will be to keep all this quick...they need to turn the room over pretty fast.  I guess that means I can't drag in potted ferns, a birdcage filled with singing canaries, and a string quartet.  Blessings today to all of us!

mckenna

sbelizabeth, what a great idea.  t-f is so quick i don't think i need much of anything relaxing but x-ray days are long, i am going to get a relaxing eye mask to use on mondays

sbelizabeth

Sorry, Mckenna, what's t-f?

mckenna

tuesday - friday (sorry, work short hand:)

sbelizabeth

Your treatments vary from day to day?  Mine are Monday-Friday, exactly the same fifteen minutes of lying completely immobile while my hands fall asleep.

mckenna

mine are the same, 109 seconds (after getting into postition) but who is counting

on mondays they do xrays just to make sure i am still positioned correctly so it takes longer, this monday it took 30 minutes

BLinthedesert

saelizabeth -- thank you, your posts always make me laugh/smile.  The thought of dragging in the potted ferns and canaries just really cracked me up!  The radiation techs at my place are very "perfunctary" and don't talk or crack a smile much -- so the thought of them waiting for me to get things in place would be really funny.  On the other hand, I am in and out in less than 15 mins so I won't complain!  

 Today I met with one of the nurses who runs a meditation class.  She is going to teach me some exercises next week.  Between my job and all this mess I am way too stressed ... this gives me a chance/excuse to do something I have never found the time to do 

I have been running my usual schedule so far, so I am happy.  I do find that even after only 3 days my "bad breast" aches sometimes.

So -- tell me about your machine/treatment.  Mine starts on the left side (it is my right breast) the first "zap" lasts about 25 seconds (I can count slowly to 25), then the little teeth come together and I get 5 secs more, and then it moves over to the other side and does it again.  What I am most interested in, is the extra 5 second thing (with the teeth) - do you ladies have that too?

Good luck today!  slather away. 

mckenna

what are the teeth, i don't understand.  to be honest, i lay down and keep my eyes closed until they come back in and tell me it is done.  so i don't see anything.

BLinthedesert

Hi mckenna - I think there are different machines.  The one they use where I am looks like a huge round disk and because of how the position me I am looking right into it for the first few minutes!!  It has a grid etched on the glass and inside there are these little "teeth" that move after the first 25 count.  Weird ... 

Glad you are doing well! 

sbelizabeth

Mckenna, I think BLinthedesert was talking about the enormous thick manhole-cover thingy that delivers the radiation.  If you watch the business side of it, it has lots of long, thin, cylinder-shaped "teeth" that move around during the treatment, apparently to change the angle and shape of the radiation delivery. 

BLinthedesert, not that I know this for sure, but I think the zaps depend on your own customized treatment plan.  Mine includes the chest wall (where my boobie used to live, before it took up residence in a jar), my internal mammary lymph nodes, my armpit, and my supraclavicular nodes. 

mckenna

yes i do have the man hole cover but now i will have to watch for the teeth but my head is turned to the right and sort of lifted, i am not even sure i can see much?

Joanne_53

When I was having my treatment -- they started with radiation from the lower right -- it was full and then the teeth went in to what I thought was the shape of my breast -- and continued to zap -- then the teeth moved out again for a full breast zap -- the machine then moved to the left and zapped from the upper left across my right breast full and then the teeth moved in for a shape ... and then full breast again ....

any of this make sense -- 

silviazara

HAHA you ladies crack me up! I can't stand to look in that toothed man hole cover hahaha

#20 done! 13 left!  just ordered more of MiaDerm.  Skin so far so good. Looking forward to 3 day weekend to give it a break.

Usually there are female technicians, but recently I got a young guy positioning me.. so I am complaining to my hubby how I am not so comfortable with a guy doing this... so guess what... now I have three young hot guys in a room with me! LOL  All hovering over that pink nippleless fake boob, how bizzard this is! I asked one of them to replace the stickers, he took like forever! I better do it next time myself. 

BLinthedesert

"manhole-cover thingy" -- EXACTLY!!  I was trying to come up with a clever way to describe it! You are awesome sbelizabeth (so sorry that you and your boobie had to break-up)!  

 Joanne -  it sounds like you and I had the same plan, in reverse.  Interesting also because we both had 25 days (and not 30-33).  

mckenna

that is so funny, i had a man and 2 women the first time and i told my co worker who is also in the middle of bc treatment, it was the most action my boobs had gotten in a long time

BLinthedesert

Ha ha ha Silvia.  One of the things I have noticed over the past few months is that I have a hard time not walking into a meeting/room and lifting my shirt and saying "you want to look at these?" - I mean really -- I haven't had this many people interested in my breasts since jr. high.

Also, true story.  I was meeting with my RO for the first time and after she did her exam she let me move to a chair so she could talk to me and answer any questions I had.  So, she is sitting in the "rolling chair", I am sitting in the "principles office chair" and I asked her about the surgery and cosmetically what things were going to look like.   She opens my gown and draws where the surgeon is likely to cut, and what pieces were going to be leaving my body. Then, she just rolls away from me and keeps talking. So, I am sitting there, with my gown open - everything exposed - and thinking, "ok, what is the protocol here?" I mean, I could close up my gown, but that just draws attention and makes me look like a "prude" or I can just sit there, try to act natural in my "topless" state ... it was pretty funny.  

I also think it is funny that for a few weeks I was carrying around my "breast shots" (MRI, mammograms, sonograms) wherever I went -- I felt like I was looking for a centerfold job or something  

mckenna

lol!  one day when i was at the ro, i don't know how many people had been inspecting and drawing and i had not actually seen the ro as this was not actually an appointment so i got dressed then when he came in i said i didn't know if you needed to see it i figured i would just lift up my shirt if you did, he said, do you feel like just walking around here with your shirt lifted up.  i had to laugh.

now i am going to be watching the man hole covering very intently tomorrow

ugg, you should not have to deal with kids and homework and radiation all at the same time.  i should get a pass on 5th grade homework my 11y/o may not live to see summer break

jittersmom

my machine looks loke the man hole cover with teeth. The whole thing go preety quick. Wed is my xray and visit with the doctor day so it takes longer, but the actual zapping is really quick. Today was #21 and i have a burn going I am using radioplex and aloe it seems to be helping. Looking forward to 3 days off and i asked for the following Monday off too!

Dizzy215

Mckenna, are you having partial breast radiation rather than whole breast? I think you might be, otherwise the machine would zap you from both sides and you would see the 'teeth'.

mckenna

no i am having full breast radiation, but i keep my eyes closed i am going to ask the techs to point the teeth out to me tomorrow.

jitters, sorry about the burn.  i don't want any more days off than i have to have, i want this done!

Mereseas

Hi Dizzy,

 I just had my first radiation treatment today.  It is interesting after spending all that time mapping last week that they spent so much time doing x-rays today but I guess I'll get a better sense tomorrow of the actual day to day time.  I have the 4 tattoos but there so small I can barely see them plus I have a lot of freckles so they sort of blend in with them.  The ones the put on either side were shockingly painful but the pain went away quickly.

 I hear you on the "fatigue" issue.  My sister was under the impression she would need to drive me everyday:)  Very sweet but totally unnecessary as my doctor pointed out to her.  I with you, thinking positive is the way to go.  Mere

Neeners815

hey BL! Two of my three incisions are really pretty nicely healed. The one around my nipple is just a line - pretty amazing; admittedly it does look like it's winking when it's happy. One of my incisions looks like a squished pink catarpillar is trying to eat my boob. Gotta have a sense of humor, right? I'm cracking up about you treating the other breast so it doesn't get jealous.

Katy congrats on being done with rads! Aloe spray? Sounds like Pam or something. I'm totally checking it out.

 I'm not looking forward to any machine with teeth.  Hrm.  Also, should I be lathering up now in preparation of rads?  My RO told me he doesn't recommend anything until a problem starts, but I don't agree with that.  Did you ladies start using whatever before you even had rads?  Next Tuesday I get my tats.

mckenna

I started the second day that was when ro gave me creams and told me to start. They said they would rather be proactive than reactive but they had fifteenth creams to try if I had skin changes or burns

Dizzy215

Hi Mereseas, welcome to our group!

Neeners, I have always moisturized after a shower but I started using Glaxal Base the day of my first treatment, with Aquaphor at night. Working well so far  My insurance has also agreed to pay for Biafine cream, which my RO prescribed and it's meant to be a great skin repair cream, so I pick that up tomorrow.  I have also increased my protein intake to help my cells repair themselves....every little thing helps, right?

Mckenna, I counted today....from the first zap thru to the last one took 1 min 55 secs. Takes the therapists about 4 mins to position me, so I can be in and out in about 6 mins, not bad. 8 down, 25 to go.  

  

Neeners815

Thanks, awesome ladies.  I need to hit the pharmacy to get the Glaxal Base stuff.

Dizzy - 6 minutes?  Wow. That's really nothing!

Dizzy215

I know some Costco's sell Glaxal Base but mine didn't, so I ordered it from drugstore.com.  $8 a tube. I keep one in my bag to put on straight after the treatment and the other at home. I know right, 6 minutes is nothing. I'm like a whirlwind....in, undressed, zapped and outta there!! You will be fine!  

BLinthedesert

Ha ha ha ... pink catepillers and winking nipples?  We obviously live exciting lives here Ladies!

Neeners, I started using Miaderm 1 week before I started ... they have a money back guarantee.  Which I was quite impressed with until my husband pointed out, "if it doesn't work, getting your money back will be the least of your worries"  

Mereseas - welcome to our May group.  Even though I have the tattoos they still end up marking me up every day! 

Dizzy -- whoohoo 8 down!

nrp

Hello everyone.

I am recently diagnosed on 5/22/12.  It's a lump in my right breast 2:00 and all they said was it was a cancer after biopsy, which I had to call and learn because they didn't call me.  They have set up a consult with the plastic surgeon tomorrow the 24th even before my appointment with the Doc about what's next about an hour later.  They have also set up an appointment with the Director of the Radiation Oncology for Friday 25th.

They stated they would put a dye in when they do the surgery (don't know what yet, lump or mast) to see if it's in the lymphs and if it turns blue then it has, and also do some other test to see if it's elsewhere.

I am a very small built lady of 52.  I don't care about divets, or reconstruction or any of that. (That can all be thought about later if I change my attitude...I don't understand why they are pushing that now even before I know what is what because I don't care about reconstruction now).  From what I have read they say not to think about it until after radiation or chemo or whatever you have to go through anyway. (and I still don't know what they will have me do yet).

I thought maybe I could get some information from others on this board so will float around for a while if you don't mind.

All I want is this C out of me, radiation to ensure it, and get on with it.  I hope everything the surgeon says tomorrow doesn't confuse me more.

I am glad there is a board here, but as someone else mentioned it is a little confusing as everyone here sounds so educated on it and I haven't been able to get a whole lot of info out of my surgeon yet...maybe tomorrows meeting will make it clearer.  I hope so.

mamawells

sbelizabeth -- your radiation targets are very similar to mine -- almost identical -- I had my tattoos and measurements yesterday and start treatments on June 4th -- it is such a relief and so affirming to connect with others going through the same thing -- I have supraclavical nodes, inner mammary nodes very close to the sternum and a small mass in the chest wall where my breast used to be -- had DCIS 12 years ago, and bilateral mastectomies, no reconstruction -- thought I was fine until I felt the small lump in my neck in March -- what a road it has been!  Thanks for being here!

jittersmom

Neeners..the nurse told me to start using the radioplex before I had a reaction, she said lather it on, I have no pigment in my skin and burn super easy, and i didn't burn until last weekend, she said my skin looks good. I have been using the radioplex from the Dr and 100% aloe gel