Spring 2016 Rads

mltdd

I started looking into therapy today. Prior to rads I did occupational therapy for cording, which helped. During the last 2 weeks of rads I started to loose flexibility but the skin was so raw and sore I didn't want anyone touching or massaging the area. I have developed lymphedema and can't find a local therapist that specializes in it. There's no one at the hospital I go to for treatment and not sure if my insurance will cover someone out of state.

ejmann44

mltdd definitely not the best solution but there are a lot of educational videos on YouTube.

Valstim52

Yay Cathy. I'm 10 days out from last boosts and my skin is horrific. neck, center of chest and under where my breast would be is open and still raw. Saw RO and says another week and will be on the other side of healing. I really was not ready for this. Using all the creams, and basically have to let my skin recoup and regrow I guess.

Good thing is my underarm was as bad as everywhere else and overnight, no kidding its no longer red, just dead skin.

Cathytoo

Valstim52.....This coming Tuesday will be three weeks for me. My chest is fine. Under my breast is still a bit red, but basically fine. Under my arm the skin in one area itches like crazy, is red but I think the peeling is done. I do believe you can avoid underarm irritation if a non adhesive pad is worn 24/7 to prevent skin on skin contact. Whatever.....chemo was an easier ride for me. I hope you start to see improvement soon. I'm still waiting to have some fun. Would you let me know when the fun starts??? ‼️

Valstim52

Cathytoo, I'm hoping I'll be much better by at least next week. I've been wearing a very soft cotton cloth on the worst areas to keep them from rubbing together. I can actually see some improvement but my neck area is the worst. Though I was warned, because the skin is thinner it's still quite a site and painful.

Yes when does the fun start?

Yes this is still easier than chemo. As I'm fortunate my skin did not break until I was almost done, and rather than 5 months of misery it's been 2 weeks. Or at least I keep telling myself that. I have a trip planned Aug 26th and hope I'm in decent shape to go.

Cathytoo

Valstim52...This morning I had a surprise healing under my arm...skin is so much better, almost normal. No itching today! As far as chemo...If they told me I had to do it every three weeks forever and I would live to be a healthy 100 year old woman WITH NO BREAST CANCER...I'd say, "I'm in‼️" Chemo was a non-event for me. But, the whole experience sucks big time. I like to think I'm braver, stronger, more grateful, wiser than before. That might be true, but I'd rather be my old shallow self without the breast cancer journey. And, is it over? Being TN, I wonder. I hope that by the time August 26 rolls around that you will be healed and ready to have a great time. BTW...when you speak of your breast cancer, do you say "I had" or "I have" breast cancer? I'm beginning to say "I had."

mltdd

I say "have" as I still have Herceptin treatments to complete.

Valstim52

Cathy so glad your breast is healing. I think once I heal, I'll say I had.Right now with all the open skin, I look like I 'have' something.

24 years ago as soon as I was done with rads, and on tamoxifen, I said 'had'. I hope I get to that mindset sooner rather than later. Since it is TN and I have a high risk of recurrence, I don't want to waste valuable time worrying.

DFWFLYGIRL

Great finish Cathy........woop woop! I have been finished a few weeks and getting ready to start Arimidex. New Normal

Beebazboob

Hi all. I'm new on this thread. I'm 8 sessions down with 25 to go! My skin is still fine but my nipple is swollen and really sore and sensitive. Anyone elseexperience this? Even just cotton material against it hurts.

Ingerp

Beebaz you might want to move this over the Summer 2016 Rads group, or even the Fall 2016 one. (And I saw this over on the Lumpectomy Lounge--my RO commented on my swollen nipple even at the six-week follow-up after I was finished with treatment, but honestly it never bothered me more than the rest of my hooter. I do know it was sensitive tissue that was a little more impacted by the rads, but it never bothered me. Some have recommended nursing pads to keep it away from clothing.)

LovesToFly

I just got back from a one week vacation, I was pleasantly surprised that my skin was not any more sensitive to the sun. Of course I used lots of sunscreen (as I always have), but I didn't cover the skin anymore than I normally would, wore lots of tank tops and bathing suits and had no problems. I know a lot of people say that even with sunscreen thier skin is extra sensitive to the sun after radiation and they need to keep it covered as it burns through sunscreen. Thankful for this little good thing!

LovesToFly

bee I slathered my nipple in neosporin (polysporin in Canada) or the silver cream that was prescribed, and then used some nonstick gauze over it. The gauze was given to me by the rad Clinic an had a coating on one side so that it would not stick to my skin. It helped a lot. I would place it between my nipple and sports bra, and when I wasn't wearing a sports bra the cream actually kept in place anyway as long as my T-shirt was somewhat fitted.

Positivepower11

Hello ladies this is my first post on this board,  rads went by fast, I   completed 15 rads with boosts as per new protocol. Did not have any problems with the skin during rads , but two weeks later now skin has turned blackish and  started peeling. I have a big circle of peeled skin under my arm which is red.  Is this common?

What do most of you do for this ? how long does is take to heal, how do most of you deal with work ? going out ? I   have large breasts and am now wondering what to do. Was hoping that I would be able to deal with radiation without issues and I hope this is short term, Appreciate some input/ suggestions.

VLH

Congratulations on finishing your radiation! Black may indicate necrosis / tissue death so it would be best to see your RO quickly. Having dealt with two weeks of daily IV antibiotics and weeks of pills from infection related to having a seroma drained, I can say you don't want to let a complication go unchecked now. Good luck!

Lyn

Kechla

My skin darkened quite a bit before it would start to peel, but not black... So not sure about that. I had 8 boosts after 28 breast and lymph rads and about a week after I was done, my skin was pretty destroyed. It seemed like it took longer for my skin to recover from the boosts than from the breaks I had along the way. I was pretty sore under my armpit for quite a while (they did my nodes too), but that healed quickly in comparison to the boost area. I'd say that area took about 5-6 weeks to heal. I had 1 area about the size of a quarter that took even longer. But... I did start chemo about 2 weeks after radiation, so that may have slowed down my healing... I used lots of coconut oil. That was the best for breaking up all the dried flaking skin. Also used Miaderm which I found to be just "ok". Aquaphor is nice, but so sticky. Use a cut up t-shirt or something to protect your clothes. Also, I had a sock filled with corn starch that I used to help dry the area. I also found that a rolled t-shirt lodged in the right place (my hubby donated one of his soft white ones) does a nice job of keeping skin off skin. I've heard others also recommend a maxipad...

I would suggest you give your RO a call and ask about the black area.

Positivepower11

Thanks ladies I have called the RO and will meet. In a bit of shock that this happened 2 weeks later.

champion

HI Loves to Fly, and any other Thornhill/Toronto girls - I also live in Thornhill and am going to Sunnybrook for treatment. Would love to connect with you sometime.

mltdd

Almost 7 months out from rads and my breast is still sore. Anyone else?

LovesToFly

yes. Feels bruised and achy. Supposedly it's normal.

Valstim52

add me to the list. achy and sore. 5 months out. told it's normal. tissue is adjusting.

Katzpjays

Positive - I had black areas at the end of radiation as well...particularly around my nipple. My RO told me to avoid picking at it and as he told me, the skin eventually peeled off on its own. It took 2-3 weeks before almost normal color was back

Hootowl

Add me to the group with soreness after radiation. Worse now than when I finished in July 2016. It even hurts partially over my scapula.I just keep trying to stretch and move.

sarahrae

yep, same here(can't remember if I already posted this).

Def sore, think a bit of it is lymphadema, some the tissues/nerves still healing and tightening, my physical job, and the AI's. the rib under my breast was hurting pretty bad off and on so I finally asked my MO for a scan. No signs of cancer/tumor, so I figured must be from the above reasons, but still unnerving.

PT has really helped

sending hugs

Ingerp

I am much more sore now than through the surgery/radiation. I know it's my own fault, though--I was supposed to be massaging the area daily and really have not kept up with it. I start a round of follow-up mammo/RO/BS appointments in a few weeks and I'll talk to the docs about it then.

Sitti

Ingerp,

Our DX look very similar. I met with RO yesterday regarding what my treatment would look like. He said he thought I was a good candidate for shorter time, higher dosage. If I'm recalling correctly he said 4 weeks (5 days a week). I saw where you commented that you had the shorter treatment, would it be similar to what my RO is saying he would do? If so, do you feel that you were prepared ahead of time by the RO for the side effects or were there more than anticipated? Just skimming this page it looks to me like radiation may not be quite as smooth as it sounds, another consideration.