SEPTEMBER 2009 RADS

Hi!  I AM GOING FOR MY LAST RAD TREATMENT TODAY!  NOW THE CHEMO IS DONE AND THE SURGERY AND THE RADIATION.  STILL DOING HERCEPTIN TIL NEXT YEAR.  Also daily drugs.  How long does the burn last?  It has not been as bad as I thought.  But I have been tired.  My skin itches something fierce.  Have been using the aquaphor mostly as provided by the doc and some natural body butter.  They even painted a second skin in the crease as it was burning in there.

Gizzie

Gizzie, So...you get to do the Happy Dance today. Congratulations! One more hurdle scaled. Don't know about how long the burn lasts. My rad onc told me last week that mine would probably take about 2 weeks after my last rad. Tomorrow, yea! She prescribed Silvadene 2x/day & Telfa nonadherent pads for the severe burn & peeling under my breast. I've already seen a big improvement. Hydrocortisone cream worked well for me to control the itch. Guess every body reacts differently to everything. Hope you're going to celebrate after your last rads!

Christy!  Green ooze?  Does it glow in the dark? just messing with you...it must be freaky!  I know I was pretty red/brown underneath my breast...but they just looked at it..nodded their heads and said it was fine..so what we have must be "normal"....just one of the many side effects!

Tomorrow is my last day of rads!  I honestly can say that this was really nothing at all...I guess I'm lucky at least when it comes to that...but I certainly feel for the rest of you that had it worse...sometimes I worry that because I had very little side effects (except for losing all my hair) from chemo and rads that it isn't working..I know it has to be but there is always that thought!..I went out with some girl friends tonight..took off my wig to show them my growth and they think it is time I go topless...not ready yet...still think I have the cootie bug look!

Gizzie - congratulations!  I imagine it is wonderful to be done!

lollys - I have 3 more rads to go and have occasional sharp pains.  My radiologist has told me this is nerve reaction - and it will go away.  I too have peeling under the arm and breast and am using pretty much the same creams you are! 

I am happy to report that I am not in as much pain as last week - stopped wearing my surgical bra which was painful, and my skin is now used to being burned.  They had prepared me for some major skin peeling and oozing - hasn't happened yet.  They were very happy today that my skin looked better.

Christy - the green ooze sounds awful.  Hope you feel better and it is healing already.

My radiologist said that I have had a pretty severe reaction - I sailed thru my chemo and did not think that radiation would be a big deal at all.  

Good news is - Friday is the last day!

Congrats to those finishing up this week!

I also wanted to give a comment about "after effects."  Besides just a little peel of the brownish top layer of skin, I have noticed "shooting pains" in my boost/nipple area this week. Not that painful. I'm still feeling tired, which is supposed to last a few weeks; that's about it.  I'm still overjoyed to be finished!

I am 5 days out and I just noticed a burn the exact shape of the boost.  It is kind of creepy to think it took that long to show up, that the rads are stillworking inside me days later. I KNOW they told me that but it is still a bit unsettling to see it. I wouldn't say it actually is painful, but not comfortable either.

I guess I thought it was over a little prematurely.

Way to go, Titan! You beat me to the post. I did quite the big Happy Dance & squealed when they moved the machine so I could get off the table. It was a wonderful feeling to know that I've put this part of the treatment behind me. I made a bunch of blueberry muffins as my thank you to all the wonderful people in the radiation oncology dept. Was warned not to be surprised if I continued to burn for a couple of weeks. The boost area is quite red, so I will continue to be vigilant about keeping that area moisturized & use Silvadene, as necessary. I feel like, all in all, I've been lucky with the SE's. Now...on to the Femara. Sure hope some of the nasty SE's don't happen with me. Good luck to everyone who will be finishing up in the next few days--& also to those who have a ways to go!

Fancy Gap is a beautiful area just to visit...but definitely not a place you want to be stuck in a broken-down car. Enjoy Myrtle Beach...& soak up some warmth for me! It had better be warm, huh?

Congratualtions Titan and Nas!!

I had treatment #25 today, starting tomorrow I will get my boosts. They are calling them "cone downs!"  Anyway, I'm feeling a bit sad today. Physically I'm fine, my breast is sore and achey, having some mild heartburn and am a bit nauseated, but aside from that, I'm fine. There is a man who gets rads before me and he's not doing well. He is very private, smiles when I come in and we often chat about waiting, but this week, he looks awful: pale, very sleepy and very slow. His partner has started coming with him this week and they both look awful. It's heartbreaking. I feel fine and have this awful disease, and there is a man who I sit with every day who isn't doing well. It's so humbling to see how quickly things can change and how close it really is for me. I think, because my tumor was found early, I feel like "oh yea, I had cancer, but it's treatable," but the truth is that's just my defenses talking. I could just as easily be that man sitting across from me.  Sorry to bring this here, but it's just  making me so sad today.

I have 8 more to go and then I'm done too. I think my present to myself will be a dishwasher. We dont have one and I've wanted one forever, now I think it's time!

Have a great day everyone, I'm off to straighten up a bit before I get my kids from school. Did I mention my less than helpful in laws are coming to visit this weekend????

Pam

I found some of the other rad patients made me very sad as well.  But it seemed in my situation, the breast cancer ladies were doing fine but the lung cancer patients seemed to be really struggling. It made me think even more than I usually do that you have to be CRAZY to smoke. Apologies to anyone on here who does, but after going through this process, I wouldn't want to do ANYTHING that would increase my chances of getting cancer.  Maybe the lung cancer rads are worse - after all, they are trying to avoid OUR lungs, but trying to HIT their lungs directly right?

I know it was a some what sad atmosphere, but not nearly like the chemo room! You saw some really struggling people in there. It was a challenge to me emotionally a lot of times.

Nas...On Monday..I will be waving my hand off at the Boone exit...maybe I will scream out the window...anyway..not sure what time it will be be..maybe around 11:00 am..feel the vibes because I will be yelling NANCY as we drive by your exit..and good luck with football again this year...I love football..I think our local team will be going to the playoffs this year but not sure how far they will go..anyway..its a fun thing to follow and great for your town!

Betsy..we are going south on Monday...you have an awesome trip!  maybe someday we will make it out to Oregon...on the bucket list.

Pam..don't even think about "not' bringing sad situations to this thread......that is what this is for..to tell your feelings...know exactly where you are coming from.  you see really, really sad things during chemo/rads and you see good things too...I have seen both sides..one girl who is right after me ..is in a wheel chair..would like to know why...but she is absolutely beautiiul and I think she is going to make it..not sure what she has..she doesn't have to take her clothes off ..so I have been wondering but actually never did ask..She is always smiling..so I'm hoping that whatever it is will go well for her.

You see all kinds of situations in the cancer center...what hurts me most of the little kids..I have only seen one but he had a hat on and his mom brought coloring books and games for him..broke my heart..but he was smiling..you can only hope that he will make it through.

Hey, Titan, didn't it feel great not having to go for rads today? When you come through on Mon., I'll be sending a shout out back at ya. Have a fantastic & safe trip!

Count me in with the "done with treatment" group.  Finished radiation today.

I agree with those who posted about seeing others in rads treatment that look like they are definitely weakened.  For the most part, I do feel lucky.  At 45 I was by far the youngest getting radiation at my scheduled times.  I know plenty of women in their 40's that have BC but I really felt like I stuck out.  It seemed like most of them women getting rads had on gowns with pants -so seemed like bc - and the men had on gowns with no pants - seems like prostate cancer.  

We are planning a trip in January to Hawaii - the soonest we could get away with the kids school schedule (xmas rates too high).  I am very burned, so have the next few months to heal before sitting out in the sun.

Betsy - your weekend getaway is very close to Bainbridge - we go to Point no Point fairly often!  Beautiful place.

Have a great weekend everyone!