Positive Care Expereince

dogmomx4

I found this forum when I was looking for info on ovarian suppression (MO brought it up at 2nd appt, between surgery & radiation) and found useful info but also some scary info. I realize this forum is a place to share when you're having problems & issues, find out what has worked for other survivors, what others have experienced - it can be overwhelming & almost terrifying when you are at the beginning of the breast cancer journey.

I thought I would share my experience so other newbies would know things can go smoothly. I hope this eases at least 1 person's fear of the unknown.

I had a lumpectomy on 2/3/2021 with no reconstruction; there was no lymph node involvement so I opted out of chemo.

My MO referred me to my RO - had a consult on 2/26/2021. My 1st CT stimulation/mapping session was on 3/4/2021. My 2nd CT stimulation/mapping session was on 4/1/2021.

16 prone position treatments started on 3/15/2021; followed by 4 supine position treatments which started on 4/6/2021 - total of 20 treatments.

During my 4 weeks of treatments, I had 3 techs - all great, 2 female & 1 male. They saw their patients as people, engaged them as individuals - not just a patient number. They were all very respectful, understanding, helpful & made what could have been embarrassing/awkward appointments nearly pleasant daily visits. All the techs kept up a running dialogue of what they were doing, the male tech made sure to say something every time before he would touch me, even if it was just on the back. All the techs would say something if they were going to touch my breast. They all kept the time I was uncovered to a minimum, handing me my cover up as I was getting up from the table. With the supine position treatments, I was able to stay covered on the non-treatment side.

At the end of week 1, I was just starting to turn pink.

At the end of week 2, I was turning red and had spotty itchiness.

At the end of week 3, I was sunburn red & itchiness started to spread.

At the end of week 4, I was beet red, itched over the entire treated area & my nipple was painful.

I week after treatment ended, fading back to red/pink, back to spotty itchiness, limited spot peeling

2 weeks after treatment ended, fading to a nice tan color, itchiness is nearly gone, continued spot peeling

I had started to moisturizer the week before beginning treatment - just my everyday lotion, once in the morning.

Week 1, I was using Lubriderm lotion with vitamin E cream in the morning; vitamin e cream after treatment, mid-afternoon, when I got home & at bedtime

Week 2 - added hydrocortisone cream before moisturizer each time I applied

Week 3 - added Aquaphor at bedtime

Week 4 - added Aquaphor to morning

1 week after treatment - added Aquaphor (just a thin layer, about 1/4 to 1/3 of what I used at bedtime) after each time I applied moisturizer - still 4 to 5 times a day

2 weeks after treatment - still layering Lubiderm, vitamin e cream & Aquaphor in the morning. Now just a light layer of Aquaphor 1-2 times during the day, thicker layer at night.

With the first mapping session, I received 5 tattoos, 4 on my back & 1 on the side of my breast; 2nd mapping sessions received 3 temporary marks.

The only issues I had thru my radiation treatments were minimal - the tattoo pen had an air bubble & sprayed the ink all over 1 side of me - the tech felt horrible; the power to the entire facility went out 20 minutes before an appointment - everyone kept apologizing for the delay as we had to wait for the machines & the related systems to reboot; tech forgot to tell me do not apply moisturizer over the sticker & temporary mark - water OK, moisturizer removes them - not OK. With the tattoos - the tech said it would be like a bee sting - 1 in the middle of my back hurt like a mother & the 1 on the side of my breast made me flinch. The one thing no one really said anything about was how much your nipple could hurt - worse than a bite while breast feeding.

I realize I received great care at a wonderful cancer center, unfortunately not everyone has the same options or facilities available to them

It sucks that we're all on this breast cancer journey, none of us want to be here - a great care team (I got completely lucky on that one), family & friends make it a tolerable journey

annlat

It is so helpful that you posted this! I finished rads this week, and I was wondering how long it would take for my skin to go back to normal. I got red and itchy like poison ivy, also very sensitive nipple area. Congrats on being done with it, and wishes for a healthy future!

dogmomx4

annlat -

I am now at 3 weeks after my last treatment & my skin is just a nice tan color. Still have some minor peeling, still just small areas at a time. The outlines of the treated area are definitive but no more itching or irritation, my surgical scars are even blending back in - they had still been black lines. I am still moisturizing 2 times a day, in part to use up my open containers of cream. Hope you heal up soon