December 2009 Rads Group

mimi1964 · January 2010

Veggy - Wow l hope it's not an infection, but also hoping it's not lymphdema or anything else either. Let us know what your surgeon says... I'm curious to find out.

somanywomen - I hope the Benadryl works for you and relieves some of the itching!!!

Bonnie - I definitely want to know what your Rad Onc prescribes "if anything" for your extra burned patch of skin. I know that has to be painful. Owwee!!! I hope that it doesn't get any worse.

I completed # 16 out of 38 rads today so I'm on my way to being 1/2 way done. Still using the Emu Oil and my breast isn't red. It is a little sore/tender, but I guess that goes with the radiation. So far so good I guess. I have been drinking about 4 oz of red wine each night to get the reservatrol and antioxidant benefits to help decrease the risk of burning during radiation. I don't particulary care for "red wines", but I have found one that I can tolerate. I'm going to continue this for the duration of rads and then say "goodbye" to red wine... Blah!! I'm a white wine spritzer kinda gal if I have wine at all. LOL!!

Renee

adrienne2 · January 2010

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well this fine day.

Bonnie, it's great that you're not feeling much fatigue.

Thank you for letting me know that you have had some armpit trouble, but that it didn't get much worse for a while. So far, mine is still minor, and I'm hoping it will stay that way as long as possible

That's scary about feeling it in your lungs -- so glad to hear that's not happening anymore. I have heard that some folks get lung problems after treatment ends. I found this quote at http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=breastcancer#part_five:

"Some patients develop "radiation pneumonitis," a lung reaction that causes a cough, shortness of breath and fevers three to nine months after completing treatment. Fortunately, it is usually mild enough that no specific treatment is needed and it goes away within two to four weeks with no long-term complications."

I've been taking photos, too, but I've stopped for a while, because there haven't been any visible changes yet. I'm sure I'll be taking more pix soon enough

Lissette, glad to hear that you're done with Tx #19. Good for you. Your mention of Lake Merritt brought back memories: I used to live near it, too. It was a great place to walk and ride bikes. It was fun watching the pelicans, too.

Somanywomen, please let us know if the benedryl helps with the itching. I'm beaming good wishes your way.

Veggy, so sorry to hear about the swelling. I had minor swelling, but nothing like yours: ouch, ouch, ouch!!! It's good that you'll be seeing the doctor. My surgeon did say, when I told him I was going to be doing radiation, that I wouldn't need to see him again until after rads, unless I got very red and swollen -- so it's apparently something that happens now and then. I'm sorry that it happened to you.

Regarding rad oncs, mine sees me once a week. The first week she didn't look at my breast, but I'd had only 2 treatments. The second week, she did look at my breast. No poking or squeezing, though.

adrienne

7 down, 26 to go

adrienne2 · January 2010

Renee, you're nearly halfway done, and you're not red yet -- awesome.

I'm drinking a glass of red wine every day too, just for the help with skin side-effects. If it's working for you, maybe it will work for me. Hoping, hoping, hoping.

Good luck to you, Renee.

adrienne

Jules824 · January 2010

Hi everyone, just quickly checking in.

Hooray! My GOOD news today is my husbands job gave him an extra week to start day shift so I can finish my rad treatment (he takes me). I started crying and was still worried because I dont like to cause issues and or impose on anyone. But they said they are just worried about me and want him to stand by me so he will be on 2nd shift until I finish radiation! (thank GOD I dont have to worry about a ride over now). PS I meet my new doc Wed and I hear shes a gem (I hope so!).

To all of you...I hope your side effects are few and or ease up. I am using Aquafor (finally). Its sooo greasy though. I may ask for something else this week.

As far as wine, I hear it helps with radiation but then I read alchohol is listed as to one of the causes of breast cancer. (Frankly I think this comes from all the bad stuff in food not booze). At any rate I dont drink ever because of my pain meds for my back.

Well I have to go. Have a great night everyone! :-)

Jules

adrienne2 · January 2010

Jules, I am thrilled to hear that your husband's job is making arrangements so he can drive you to all your treatments -- yay! That must be a big load off your mind.

I hope your side effects aren't giving you much trouble now. Best of luck with your new doctor.

You are absolutely right that "they" list alcohol as one of the causes of breast cancer, I believe because it is estrogenic. That is why I quit drinking several years ago (not that quitting seems to have helped me any ). Because I'm worried about radiation side-effects, I am drinking one glass of red wine a day during the treatments, and when treatments are over I'll stop.

By the way, I've heard that it's best to sip the wine, keeping it in your mouth for a while before swallowing, as the best way to absorb the elements that are helpful is through the membranes in the mouth. Makes me wonder if I could just spit it out afterward, like wine tasters do.

I admit that some of the treatment days I am drinking grape juice instead of wine, hoping it helps too. However, I haven't seen a study saying that grape juice is as effective as wine.

Veggy, please let us know what your surgeon says about your swelling. I hope he can help you get back to normal size quickly.

I'm looking forward to treatment #8 today. Things slowed down so much because of the two 3-day weekends that I felt that I wasn't making any progress. Now things should move along quickly. BTW, that armpit discomfort I've been mentioning: this may sound silly, but I've been having trouble finding out exactly where it's located. It doesn't seem to be on the surface of the skin, although it feels as if it should be. Finally, last night the pain woke me up, and I started poking around to see just where it was. Turns out that it's much higher in the armpit than the treatment area is supposed to hit, and it's small and internal. Maybe a pissed-off lymph node, or something. I'll keep my eye on it. I'm just relieved that it's not early burning.

I just realized how since this roller-coaster ride started I've gotten intensely focused on every little change in my body. I hope I don't turn into a hypochondriac. Or have I done that already?

Have a great day, folks. Consider yourselves hugged.

adrienne

7 down, 26 to go

Anonymous · January 2010

I'm off to my appointment now. I'll let you know what happened when I get back. Thanks everyone for being here for me. I really appreciate it!

((((((((((HUGS))))))))))

Jules824 · January 2010

Hi everyone, I hope this weeks going well. Not many on this week, I hope that doesnt mean bad side effects.

Veggy let us know how you make out. I hope everything will be ok for you.

I hear ya Adrienne about being aware of your body. I am trying to be more aware too. On the wine, dont know what to believe. I always heard before a little vino is good for the blood and the bod, now not so much. Who knows.

Oh my husband made burgers for lunch today and I couldnt eat. I kept thinking of all the crap in our food. It was actually gagging me, so I threw out my burger. I have gotten alot of organic things lately. I have to look into organic meat though. Otherwise I mostly eat fish and veggies, but who even knows about that anymore. Yes paranoia has set in some..lol..

Well today the traffic was worse than rads. lol. I was in and out of the rads in no time today. Tomorrow I meet the new doc. See what she says 28, 33, or somewhere in between..lol.. Other than nausea and being tired I dont feel as burnt this week.

Take care all and keep us posted on how you are all doing.

Jules

BonnieSF · January 2010

Veggy: I got red after the first treatment, and also swollen, but no where near as swollen as you are. I'm curious to hear what the surgeon has to say about it. Good luck!

adrienne2 · January 2010

I hope you like your new doctor, Jules. How great that you don't feel as burnt. I hope the nausea and fatigue pass quickly.

Veggy, I hope your doctor was able to help you today.

Had my eighth treatment today, and now I'm pink. At least I finally had something to take a photo of

To all, I hope you are having an easy week and enjoying life.

adrienne

8 down, 25 to go.

mimi1964 · January 2010

Veggy - What did you find out from the doctor today?

Jules - I'm really glad things worked out for you with your rads and I hope you like your new rad onc tomorrow!

Ladies - when they talk about alcohol contributing to breast cancer (?) I think it is more to do with the harder forms of alcohol like vodka, whiskey, etc. The study has shown that the antioxidants in red wine help with decreasing the burning and healing properties. But do your own research and form your own judgement.

I finished #17 rads today out of 38 and I was a little pink today. I put on the Emu oil and it has helped but it seems like I am having an internal burning today in my breast and it is still sore and I have noticed my axilla (really far up where I shouldn't be receiving any radiation at all) is a little red and it seems swollen. Anyone else having any symptoms like this? I put the Emu Oil up there as well. I have kind of felt like I've had a little swelling to my back where my underarm rounds out from my underarm also. I know it's strange... it's not very swollen and you wouldn't notice it only me because I see myself everyday. I'm definitely praying for no swelling and NO burning!! for any of us.

Renee

Anonymous · January 2010

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Anonymous · January 2010

It was a long day yesterday. I went by myself for a change. Big mistake. The surgeon and her nurse assistant looked at it and had me go for an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed what looked to me as a big round hole with little chambers. Turns out that the area that had the cancer was full of liquid. I was taken to a procedure room and they opened up the scar and drained the liquid. They packed it with gauze and left the wound open. My husband has to change the gauze twice a day until it heals. My breast no longer looks purple and fells like a brick.

Now since I have an open wound, the radiation has been put on hold. I was told for maybe two months until this heals on its own. I don't have to make up the 4 treatments I already had. Smile I guess that is one good thing. Now I feel like this is never going to come to an end. I had it all figured out when my last radiation treatment would be and I would free at last. I hate these little roadblocks.

I'm glad everyone in the procedure room was warm and friendly. I tend to be a big baby when it comes to needles and these things and to be there alone made me more scared. I can't believe I made the 45 minute trip home in one piece.

Time to change the gauze. Talk more later.

adrienne2 · January 2010

Veggy, thank you for letting us know what happened. I have been thinking of you almost constantly since you told us about the swelling. I am soooooooooo relieved that the cause was something relatively simple to fix. Of course, I know that the recovery will be a pain, with all the gauze changes, and I completely sympathize with you over the long delay in your rads treatments. I was annoyed at the two 3-day weekends near the start of my treatments: I can't imagine a two-month delay. Thank goodness that you won't have to make up the first 4 treatments, anyway.

Congratulations on getting home safely: you don't need to add an auto accident to the mix

Take good care of yourself, and heal up fast, Veggy.

Renee, I am so envious of your not turning pink until #17 -- I turned pink yesterday, after #8. Even over the envy, I'm really happy for you, though. Keep using that emu oil -- it certainly seems to work for you.

Regarding alcohol and breast cancer, my rad onc said that it is the alcohol itself that is the culprit. Here's a link to a write-up of a recent study: http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20091210/alcohol-raises-risk-of-breast-cancer-recurrence Almost all the women in the study drank wine. I was sorry to hear this I'm still going to drink red wine during my rads, but I'll go back to not drinking after they're done.

hhfheidi, glad to hear that things are going well for you. Hang in there.

adrienne

8 down, 25 to go

Anonymous · January 2010

They tested the fluid and it's not an infection. DH changed the gauze without getting sick. I'm amazed!

Adrienne2- Thank you for your kind comments.

Jayne_in_UK · January 2010

Hello Ladies, I hope you are all having a good day.

I have been catching up on this thread, as I don't pop in so often now. It is 2 weeks since I finished and although I did get a little pink towards the end, I still didn't have any burning or swelling. The only area where anything shows now is my back, where the radiation came out of me. My DH is still putting cream on it twice a day and it is gradually fading.

Jules it's great news that your husband will still be able to take you to your treatment. His employers sound really considerate.

I started drinking a little wine occasionally over Christmas after going off it completely during chemo. I know alcohol is said to be bad if you have bc, but I was so pleased that it was tasting good again. I'll have to read that study you posted the link for Adrienne

Veggy I'm sorry you have been having such trouble with swelling. At least the cause has been found and it isn't an infection, so it should get better now. I'm with you on hating the roadblocks. I worked out which day I should finish and start celebrating, but then the machine was out of action for a couple of days so it was delayed. I thought that was a pain but it's nothing compared to two months. You will get there though.

Jules824 · January 2010

Hi everyone. I hope you are all having a good day.

(I thought I posted a bit ago, I must be crazy today..lol. Oh well I will retype it again..lol).

Thanks for the comments I appreciate them alot.

Veggy I am sorry for whats going on, I hope and pray everything clears up and you can move on with treatment.

Jayne, thanks for the update. I am glad you are doing well now and I hope your redness continues to clear up.

I met the new rads doc today who is very nice and much more thorough. I have to drink alot of water cause Im dehydrating. The nausea and sick stomach is from ulcers so now I have stomach ulcer meds. In addition I had to get some hydrocortisone cream instead of the Aquafor because they said the Aquafor is too much like vaseline.

Lastly I have to have 4 boosts in addition to my 28 because of the comedo type cancer. So I have to do what I have to do.

Had a very stressful day today. Couldnt get ahold of my dad for a day and a half (hes 83). So we went by after rads and had to charge in (he didnt answer the door). He messed up the answering machine and couldnt hear my calls. I was a nervous wreck but thank God he was ok. (he should not be living alone in my opinion, and thats an ongoing argument w my brother and a whole nother story).

Well take care and have a nice night everyone.

Jules

somanywomen · January 2010

6 more......Can you believe it!!...My redness/itchyness actually subsided a little, I am putting nothing on, but I am taking benedryl....not sure what the last 5 boosts will do.....all else is good, never did get the tiredness.....

Jayne, I didn't think the rads entered the body very deep, esp, to have redness on your back!!!

I went overboard with my Christmas gift cards and ordered about 8 books from Amazon about BC, Cancer Fighting Foods, you name it...Well if anyone has questions, I should be able to look it up for them.....

Sounds like all is well with most, glad they figured your problem Veggie..was it a hematoma?..

Jayne_in_UK · January 2010

Somanywomen only 6 left, you'll soon be done! Glad your redness has subsided.

I asked my onc about the redness on my back and that was what he said, that the radiation came out of my body there. So it must have passed right through me! I was nearly finished by the time I noticed anything there, so it was too late to start panicking. That was just what happened to me though, it may well be different for others as it seems to vary so much.

RunswithScissors · January 2010

Hello, everyone.

I apologize for jumping in here without catching up on the posts, but -

you're gonna love hearing this -

I feel so good lately that I have to force myself to sit and spend time on the computer and rest....

Finished the accelerated rads on Dec 31. Doc said to expect the side effects to peak around the 5th of Jan.

I was so paranoid waiting to see what was to come - and it was basically nothing. Red and a little tight feeling. That's all. I thought, ok, maybe she was wrong and it's still building...

but today, all is noticeably more normal looking. Black and blue is fading, red is fading, spots are going away. The internal pains have stopped. Fatigue has been manageable. I just take lots of breaks as I'm going about getting my life back on track after 9 months of tx. Yahooooo!

(A reminder because I know it's confusing to keep track of who said what on here sometimes -

I was doing My Girls cream, and daily cold compresses of calendula tea or diluted cider vinegar. I wore a silk undershirt and no bra from the beginning of rads. I don't know if that was what did it, but usually my skin is ultra sensitive, so no way that I expected such limited burning. )

I am so hopeful that this is not a fluke!

Wishing the best to you all, I will be sticking around to report and let you know how things go -

I am hopeful that these results will be typical for all of us - EZ! Cheers.

Anonymous · January 2010

Somanywomen - It was a seroma.

mimi1964 · January 2010

Veggy - I'm so sorry to hear that you have a Seroma, but at least it wasn't anything worse... and I'm glad to know that your DH is helping you out packing and dressing the wound. I have a Seroma also, but it has done nothing like what yours did (and I hope and pray it doesn't). My rad onc is watching it. He did tell me it takes a long time for them to flatten out and your body to reabsorb them, but in light of what you have been through I think I may place a call to my surgeon tomorrow and ask if he needs to see me and check it out since he was not the one that diagnosed it. Hope you heal fast and can get on with your rads.

somanywomen - YEAH!! to only having 6 more txts left... I can't believe time has gone so quickly for you. It seems like it's been only a short time. I'm ecstatic for you.

Jules - I'm sorry you are having GI problems those stomach ulcers can be nasty things... definitely take your meds and drink lots of water to keep from dehydrating. Hugs to you!

Jayne- We have definitely missed having you come around. Glad to hear you are doing so well. I know you are not missing the rads at all. LOL! I know I won't when it's over.

Adrienne - Thanks for the info on the wine/alcohol I guess what I read was miss info. You never can be to sure about these things. But, I will keep drinking my wine till the rads are over and then go back to only the rare occassional glass which was almost never. I hope the pinkness is not promising of things to come. Praying for no burning for you.

I however have had kind of a down day. I have those every now and then. I call them my self pity parties. I hate breast cancer and what it has done to my life. Wishing all of you a good night.

Renee

adrienne2 · January 2010

Veggy, give your husband a big hug for changing your dressing with style and grace. I hope it's not painful for you.

Jayne, how wonderful that you didn't have any burning. I hope you are having a fun post-rads life.

To balance out the "wine is bad" link, here's one that explains why I'm drinking it during rads: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32648681

Jules, it sounds like you have found the right doctor now. I'm glad that you have found solutions to some of your problems, and hope you will be feeling much better soon.

somanywomen, you're almost there -- sweet! Soon you'll be doing the dance of joy.

Runswithscissors, you have inspired me so much by telling me how good you are feeling. Thanks for the recap of what you did to minimize side-effects -- that is smart, and very helpful.

Renee, I had a small seroma, too, and it has been shrinking. Hopefully, yours will go away soon, but it wouldn't hurt to ask the doctor about it.

About the wine: what I read was just one study, and others may show different results. I'm not trying to get you to change your mind about anything. Heck, there's so much conflicting information about cancer out there that I had a really hard time even deciding what treatment to do. At any rate, I'm drinking one glass of red wine per day until treatments are over.

Thanks so much for your wish for no escalation of the pinkness -- I think it's working for me. I had my ninth treatment today, and I'm no pinker than yesterday. Holding my breath, crossing my fingers.

I'm giving you a hug for your down day. I have them, too, and I never know when they'll hit me. I have done a pretty good "breast cancer rant" once or twice Wishing you a sunnier tomorrow.

adrienne

9 down, 24 to go

RunswithScissors · January 2010

Adrienne, I drank red wine, too. I don't know if there is something in the wine, or something in the de-stress, happy and relaxed attitude that comes wtih it, but I enjoyed my daily glass. (my favorite glass was the one without the bottom... he he, just kidding... sort of)

I am really hoping for you all that the low side effects I experienced are typical for the rest of the ladies... I'm here on the sideline cheering for you.

Hang in there everyone!

mimi1964 · January 2010

Adrienne and RunswithScissors - Thanks for the plus about the wine!! And I definitely needed the hug Adrienne for the down day! It has been a bad one but who knows... maybe with the snow things will look up tomorrow. hahaha

Renee

lissette80901 · January 2010

Hi everyone. Veggy- glad you had it taken care of. Sorry about the delay. It's amazing you were able to drive- you're so strong! Good thing for your husband. The gauze changing must be tough!

My skin's pretty bad today. It started to burn badly yesterday #20 and now #21 really hurts. I saw my doc and he gave me a prescriptiuon which I pick up tomorrow. :-( I was really hoping it wouldn't get bad, but boy does it hurt! Only 4 left. Wish me luck and not too much worse burning.

BonnieSF · January 2010

Hi there, everyone!

Today was #20 of 30: two-thirds done! Showed the dr my burned skin patch (which is getting bigger each day). This guy is as sweet as can absolutely be, but here is what he said (very sympathetically): "Oh, yes, hmmm... That's to be expected." !!! He said keep putting lotion on it and he'd give me an rx for vidocan if I wanted it. Oh, well, thanks, I guess.

Does anyone else have these extra-burned patches? I am using the My Girls Radiation Cream. Forgot to look for emu oil at the store today.

The burned part is under my arm, and now also under my breast. Renee: My underarm area is in the radiation field, so yours might be too. Don't know why that needs to be radiated, as my lymph nodes were negative.

BonnieSF · January 2010

Veggy: Lordy! You went thru a lot, and all alone too. I'm glad your husband is on board to help with the wound care. You know, two months seems like such a long time, but in the big picture, it's not so big. This is the reasoning I have used to tolerate radiation. I was almost going to get a mastectomy just to avoid radiation, but now that I'm doing it I'm so glad that I did not have a mastectomy. What's a couple of months compared to your entire life? Anyway that's my two cents on it. I hope you can find a way to accept the delay.

My surgeon said something that helped me with how long all this seems to take. He said "You'll get through this and then it will only be a box you check off on some future health form." That image has helped me quite a bit.

Good luck,

Bonnie

adrienne2 · January 2010

RunswithScissors, thanks for encouraging me to drink I am enjoying my wine every day, too. The first day I pretty much chugged it, forgetting that I am totally out of practice drinking. It was only 5 ounces, but I had a pretty good buzz going -- wheeee! Since then I've been sipping my wine, because I read that the compounds that help with side-effects are best absorbed through the membranes in the mouth, so I don't get to enjoy that buzz

Renee, I hope you are having an "up" day today. Hey, we're getting close to the weekend, and that's always good. I have another hug for you if you need it.

Lissette, I'm so sorry that your burning has gotten worse. I am definitely wishing you no increased burning and fast healing. Maybe the weekend will give your skin a rest and a chance to heal. Maybe cool compresses will help with the pain? You have only 4 treatments left -- yay!!! I'm thinking good thoughts for you.

Bonnie, it sounds like you're having quite a time. I'm only 9 treatments in, so I don't have any burned patches: just an over-all pinkness at this time. I've heard that the two areas you mention are often the areas where the burning is worse. It might be a good idea to fill that vicodin prescription if you think you might need it later, so you won't find yourself lying awake, unable to get the prescription until the next day. Vicodin's not an option for me: it totally wires me up and keeps me awake, with hallucinations, too. I'm sure lots of people would spend good money for that effect, but it's not great when you're in pain and trying to sleep Of course, it doesn't affect most people that way.

You're two-thirds done: that is awesome.

I like the "box you check off on some future health form" idea.

To all, may your side-effects be few, and may your treatments fly by. If you need a hug, I'll give you one.

adrienne

9 down, 24 to go

Beggy · January 2010

Hi everyone. I'm having #11 today (17 to go) and am finally noticing some tenderness and over-all reddness. I haven't felt the need to use anything yet, but I want to be prepared just in case. Where do you buy the "My girls radiation" cream that alot of you talk about?

mimi1964 · January 2010

Hi all!!! Well I can honestly say today is better, but I'm ticked!! My skin is now burned! I have a burned area up in the deepest part of my armpit much like you Bonnie and it hurts like heck!!!!! The only way I could even wear a blouse today is I cover myself with the skin repair cream and then with the cornstarch. I am also burned up to my collar bone. All of this appeared very, very red last night about bed time. I noticed the funny looking quadrangle, and yes it extended up under my armpit. I agree Bonnie I'm not sure why my underarm is being irradiated or my collar bone since I was node negative, but you can darn well bet I'm gonna ask today when I go in at 2:30 for my appt. If the techs can't give me and answer then I'm gonna ask to see the doc. I need something for this underarm anyway because it is very uncomfortable to wear clothes and it is swollen!!!!

So much for the Emu Oil ladies Cry Wish me luck today I'm 1/2 way through and which means I still have 19 to go and my skin looks like this. It sucks!!!!!!

I'll check back when I get home and let you know if I find out anything.

Renee

December 2009 Rads Group

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