How I Survived Rads

Frill

I know there's a thread where women posted what they did that worked for them during rads, but I can't find it and wanted to share this because I don't think I could have emotionally made it through otherwise.

I have to begin with this: I did NOT want to go through radiation. I have fair skin, don't go tanning, don't want a big tan patch, and certain don't want anything screwing up reconstruction.

Tuesday I was two weeks out of radiation. I have a square patch that is rougher and peeling and a little bit of tanning. The first two weeks just hurt worse and worse then subsided. Now the rest of my skin feels the same as the rest of my chest except for that one maybe 3"x3" square.

For two weeks before radiation I put pure lanolin on my skin twice a day. It's important to remember to take care of your back because the radiation goes through and comes out the other side. The oil glands that get harmed on one side of your chest also get damaged on your back, so both sides have to be continuously moisturized.

Then I followed the protocal I ran across here: http://quinary5.com/ The specific post is Minimizing the Risk of Radiation Burns: Part II. The woman had cancer once before and used this method, then unfortunately got breast cancer, and used it again. If you have questions, email her and she will answer you. She was a godsend. I only wish I would have emailed her sooner.

Basically she recommends using green tea. I made mine, and put it in a blue glass sprayer I found at Whole Foods. This makes sense because of the tannic acid in tea is helpful for burns. Next, and this is the only part that was a tiny bit pricey but so very worth it, is an organic lavender spray from Pelindaba Lavender. Lavender has also been used for burns. And finally, our old friend Calendula - but the gel, not the lotion.

I got up every morning and stretched between layers of tea, lavender, and calendula. Then rads. Afterwards, another round of stretching and another application of Sara's recommendation. On Fridays and Saturdays I would use "Canna Cream" in addition to the regular routine. Not on Sundays or during the week because I didn't want to risk lotion exposure during rads.

I also drank a gallon of water a day and did plenty of walking until my energy just zapped me out. I also ate lots of fresh fruits and veggies. I also installed a shower head that filtered out all the chlorine, etc. from the shower water.

I don't know what about this worked for me and if something else would have worked instead as well. My mom always had us covered in sunscreen and got me out of tanning beds and tanning in general by the time I was 19. I have fair skin and burn very easy. If this is the variable that did the trick.

Also, for moisturizing after about the 5-6th week out, one of the PAs told me that one of her doctors told her to recommend body butters or creams over lotions. She also said that a main ingredient should be nuts that come from a tree - like coconut oil, shea, something like that.

I hope this helps someone else. It definitely helped me.

Csc-atlanta

Thanks for your post. I just completed rads and followed several of your suggestions. I ordered green tea concentrate from Amazon, which you can mix with water and put in a spritzer. I also used the lavender with hydrosol mist as well as calendula gel and aloe gel.One other thing I did is found a skin care aestician trained in oncology and went once a week for treatment with seaweed serum. My skin held up well. I am still hydrating it post-radiation for the next few weeks.

Hope this helps anyone else.