other side rads - 4 weeks - will it be different?

redgirl

7 1/2 years ago i had 5 1/2 weeks of radiation on my right breast - it followed surgery and chemo (act).  i was a perfect mess and had a lot of burning and blistering and i was bone bone bone tired.  in perspective, i have to believe that part of this (the utter exhaustion (but never sleepy) was accumulative...so much stress physically and emotionally (the chemo was very hard). 

2 1/2 weeks ago i had a small lumpectomy for dcis - intermediate grade - caught early and successully removed with good margins.  but within the margins were a few minute specks of dcis - not close enough to have bad margins but there.  because of that and the intermediate grade and my prior history of invasive breast cancer, the radiation onc wants me to do 4 weeks of radiation. 

my question is this:  what is it like having radiation not having it heaped onto the end of (a much bigger) surgery and chemo?  will i be as debilitated?  as tired?  my skin as burnt and blistered?  i like the rad onc but she's not warm and fuzzy and i worry she's making light of what the journey will really be.  please give me your thoughts and experiences. 

many thanks.

redgirl

i'm really sad that no one could bother to answer my post in any fashion.  i will go find another site that is more supportive i guess. 

LKSHER

Hi! If you keep up on your moisturizing and exercise and drink lots and lots of water, I think you will do very well and it will be better. I wish you everything good!

Tomboy

i dont know about 2nd radiation round on other breast, altho i know it is always a possibility for me. but LKSHER has good advice. i would be thinkiing that rads without chemo would not be quite as tiring, i hope so for you, anyway. sorry that you found yourself with having to do that. all i know is i also used the miaderm lotion AND aloe from my garden several times a day, and the skin held up very well. but will you let us know how it goes with you? i do hope someone who has been through this will respond to your question.

RosieRose

redgirl, I didn't reply because I haven't been through chemo so don't have a basis for comparison of fatigue between chemo and rads.

However, I'm at 33/35 on rads after a partial mastectomy in July and I can tell you that I am REALLY tired. The RO doesn't seem to be too concerned about the fatigue since it is to be expected with radiation. I've been eating extra protein and trying to keep hydrated, but at this point I'm running on will power and not much else. It feels like the fatigue caused by severe anemia. The skin started breaking down at 31/35 and from what I've read, it will probably get worse before it gets better. I'm using pure aloe and aquafor but the RO didn't want me to use anything else. There's also a lot of stress right now unrelated to BC that probably is contributing to the fatigue.

I'm very thankful that I've been able to keep working throughout treatment. It makes it necessary for me to fight through when I really just want to take lots of naps!

I'm not sure that this info is helpful to you since I haven't done chemo, so this is FWIW.

SewStrong

hi Redgirl, I just read your post at 11:25pm EST and this was my first time on this thread. I will have radiation after chemo, probably starting in Nov. I was interested in knowing what to expect from radiation, too. I'm mostly on a thread for older Christian women who have finished treatment and they have tons of information. I can't remember the actual name, sorry, and you may be a young woman, but if you can find the thread, I think it would be beneficial to you. Ill try not to lose this link and come back to tell you.