3 treatments & skin already acting up?!!

KristinaA

Hi all,





I don't normally have sensitive skin except for the fact that I'm very pale. I've had 3 treatments. Tonight my breast felt irritated. I shower in warm(not hot) water and use a unscented moisturizing soap. I don't rub my skin dry. I'm not using any lotions, scents & use a natural deodorant that has never given me trouble before & has been approved by the radiation techs.



My husband looked and saw a little bit (and I mean little bit) of discoloration near the nipple. Right around the bra line I have a patch of red, irritated & itchy skin. There are 5 raised dots that look like pimples. My bras (non-underwire) have never done this. Can skin irritation start this early?



I'm incredibly upset right now. For someone who was the perfect candidate for a lumpectomy, I've had just about everything go wrong - hematoma, a HUGE abscess, months of packing my wound, severe constipation & nausea/vomiting so bad I lost 23 pounds in 4 weeks, etc. I was so hoping this would be the normal amount of cancer suckage & not extra on top.



Thanks for any advice.

SophiaMarie

I'm so sorry to hear of all you've been through all ready! That would especially discouraging to already have problems from the rads. I don't start mine til next week, so I'm not speaking from experience, but the ro nurse had a spray she suggested I use a couple of hours before treatments that contained a silicone that she said would help protect the skin. Did they offer you anything like that? I wound up not taking it because it also contained lavender essential which is a strong phytoestrogen (I don't care who wants to give it to me, I can't get myself to put that right over an er+ tumor site!). But my occupational therapist showed me a skin repair gel that she got from a local acupuncturist that could be acceptable as well. The techs/ro should approve it first, but I would look into something that could help protect your poor skin! I'm anxious to hear how it works out for you - I wish you the best!

BrooksideVT

Show up a little early today and ask to see the RO before treatment.  I had a similar problem (breast red and hot) after my first treatment, went into full panic mode.  I asked for the RO, they sent me to the nurse, who called in the RO.  In my case, it was apparently an issue of my skin reacting to a new irritant.  The RO gave me the next day off.  It happened to be a Friday, so I had a long weekend.  On Monday, all was well.  Although my skin was still red, it actually faded over the next couple of weeks, despite treatment, and it was at least two weeks before my (now perfectly normally reacting) skin was as red as it had been on day #1.  Thereafter, itching and redness were perfectly within normal range. And, yes, my skin is very, very pale.

2tails

I am so sorry you are going through this. I know it sucks. Today I have completed treatment 24 of 28. I had discoloration around the nipple as well. And my bras were irritating as well. I used a mix of 3 products...hydrocortisone, aloe and aquaphor. I applied hydrocortisone first on the itchy areas then aloe for cooling and aquaphor on top for healing and protection. This was with the blessing of my ro. Obviously hydrocortisone is not necessary when you don't itch but aloe and aquaphor work great to calm things down and keep skin as in tact as possible. I applied aloe and aquaphor everywhere within the radiation field. Its greasy but it helped me a lot. I also wore a plain white cheap t shirt under my bra. It helped with the rubbing and kept the aloe and aquaphor from ruining my clothes.

This is what I did. Not sure if you find it helpful.

2tails

Oh...I forgot this tip. I keep my aloe gel in the refrigerator. For me, it feels better when its chilled in the fridge.

KristinaA

The nurse for my radiologist is very nice, but totally shot down the idea it was radiation caused. There's no way that this could be happening from the radiation so soon.



Meanwhile, it's still there but I didn't wear a bra today (I HATE doing this) & it's less apparent but still there. I've never had any kind of yeast infection or irritation like this along my bra line, no matter how hot or sweaty I was. I don't have sensitive skin. I see both my radiologist & his nurse tomorrow.



Meanwhile the techs were very sweet and gave me Miaderm to use. They also recommended over the counter hydrocortisone cream.



And thank you for the advice and not treating me like I'm nuts. I KNOW skin irritation isn't supposed to show up for weeks. But nothing else in this whole cancer process has been 'normal' for me. I felt silly even bringing it up at my treatment today, but I'm still glad I advocated for myself.

2tails

You absolutely are NOT nuts! Just because skin irritation does not normally show up this early doesn't mean that it did not for you. Never feel silly about bringing any questions or concerns to your health care team...that is their job. I am going to add here that skin care early on (even before any irritation appears) is very important. If you look at other threads (such as Spring 2013, Summer 2013 and Radiation Recovery) you will see a common theme of women using a variety of products to try to keep the skin from breaking down.

Sending you good thoughts!!

encyclias

Whan I started having some burning, especially along the incision lines, during the first few rads, my RO told me that it was not uncommon and that it would go away shortly and not show up again until toward the end of my rads.  He was right.

Carol

SophiaMarie

I was just going to post when I saw this thread - I just had my 2nd treatment and I swear there's a pink blush already. That kind of freaked me out. I'd swear it feels slightly irritated too, but that could be psychological. I hope it's not the stuff I've been putting on it, although I've never been sensitive to anything before.

DeliriumPie

sounds like this is not as uncommon as they say. I was wondering if I was crazy today. Immediately after #2 treatment my chest was bright red like a bad sunburn. About and hour later felt sore and irritated. It is tighter than the other side also. I am very pale also and burn easily. Looks like this could be a long ride.

jenjenl

My doc prescribed me radiaplex - I was obsessed with using it...felt so good.

http://www.mpmmedicalinc.com/productdetails.aspx?pin=c.OC.3.p.7

Chrisesta67

Hi; I'd like to offer some reassurance, if I can.

After my first couple of treatments, my collarbone area was redder than I expected it to be so soon into the treatment plan. I was pretty nervous about what would follow. I've now had 20 treatments (out of 33, total). I am quite red across the whole radiation field (from my collarbone down to a couple of inches below my mastectomy scar) but it's not the same as a sunburn. It truly doesn't hurt as I think a sunburn would. To counteract the dryness of the radiated skin, I'm using a cream called Miaderm, which I found online. It's a bit pricey but it has very good reviews from radiation oncology patients. It has a somewhat thin consistency that spreads easily over sensitive skin, feels cool on my skin when first applied, and absorbs well. It's true that my red skin itches a bit, especially in the collarbone area where the skin is stretched thinner across bone. But, it really isn't as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. I try to do stretching exercises for a few minutes everyday to keep the mastectomy side as flexible as possible through this process. I'm more than halfway through my radiation treatments, yet the exercises don't hurt any more than they did prior to beginning radiation. I'm definitely an anxious person but, so far, my fears about the physical effects of radiation have been unfounded.

Also, my radiation oncologist has told me that the appearance of a skin reaction is one indicator that the radiation is having the desired adverse effect on the cancer cells that may be present in the treatment field.

I know everyone is different and reactions to any medical treatment are unique to the individual. Still, maybe my experience of early redness but, in general, very manageable physical side-effects can offer some encouragement to you. I think one of the most important things to remember during radiation or any treatment process is to be candid with your treatment team about how you are feeling each step of the way and what your concerns and questions are. Best wishes to you as you move forward in your treatment journey.

slv58

hi everyone. I'm sorry to hear of everyone's irritated skin. May I suggest reading the summer rads 2013 thread. I got a lot of very good tips from there. I'm surprised some of you are trying to we're a bra while going through rads-my RO told me right out to give up the bra. It was during the whole summer, so ining suitable tops was difficult-but doable. Also ask your RO's if it would be ok to use emu oil. I used this and only had a bit of skin breakdown during boosts and it was very mild. I also used over the counter cortisone cream when I had itchy attacks. I found that a cool "frogg" towel (amazon has them) put on my skin right after tx and during the day seemed to help alot, if I didn't use it, I felt more irritated and my skin would be hot.

I know this is hard, but you can do it! I'm now almost 2 months out and I've gone through a bit of peeling, and there is a slight skin discolouration on my back, but I'm fine-and I've kicked C butt with everything I could have!