May 2010 Rads Group

Well, my last treatment is today! Tomorrow after a med onc appt. hubby can tow our travel trailer back home to Bryan and I'll say goodbye to Houston. I was fortunate to be able to go home weekends and live in the trailer during the week. My skin is pink but healthy. Let the healing begin! Looks like Rocket from NC will be the last one standing Friday. Good luck to her and all who got zappd before - and after - us!

Cher

I am DONE!  Baked some cookies and took a card into my excellent rad techs this morning.  They were really terrific and I will miss them (a little). 

On one of the ceiling tiles in the rad room -- the one that is squarely in your line of vision as you're being treated -- someone had painted a summer scene of a little boy and girl at the seaside.  They are carefully launching a toy boat into the water, ready to let it sail away. It was a comforting scene to contemplate for 31 days, but this morning, it held new meaning for me.  I'm ready to move on and set sail!

One more to go, Rocket! You can do it! Don't forget to turn out the lights on this thread tomorrow after you're done.

 cher

Congratulations to all who finished this week.  It has been one week since I finished and I am shocked at how fast the skin is healing.  I have some nice new pink skin and still a new large area that is raw and just a wee bit weepy tonight.  I guess it could be worse since I now understand what that bolus was used for.  I had four of my 7 zaps with it on and all 6 boosts.

 Hope all are healing well too. 

Rocket hope your last one went great today.

I'm still coming to terms that I'm all finished. Chemo...check; surgery...check; rads...check. It's time to get on and move forward. I'm just glad I made some new friends along the way~

Love to all!

I'm DONE!  The machine broke prior to my last treatment and I had to wait for a repairman.  They couldn't fix it, so they had to put me on another machine and reconfigure it to give me the final boost treatment.  Go figure....  After it was completed, I got to ring a bell in the waiting room for all those who finish.  It's called the "Bell of Hope".  I rang it loud and clear and everyone in the waiting room clapped for me.  Tears of joy ran down my face.  Thank you strong ladies for cheering me on!  You really are awesome!  Surgery..Check, Chemo...Check, Rads...Check and one more surgery to go (hysterectomy) and then I'll be finished too.  I'm officially turning the lights out on this thread now.  Thanks again everyone for being patient with me.  I hope to see you on other threads here and I will be praying for you and thinking of you.  Live life!

I'll be around.

Congratulations to everyone!

 Amazing to me how fast time flew with treatments now that I'm looking back.  Took my skin about 1 1/2 weeks to start getting better, but now it seems like a tan...and dry, dry skin.

  Rocket-love the idea of the bell!  What a simple yet strong way to finish off your treatment.  In what has been the last of my hospital treatments I would have liked to do something like that.

  Here's wishing the 'Bell of Hope' rings for everyone.

Diane.

Hey Leslie1962 and DianeKS,

I appreciate your encouraging words.  You were right Diane, I don't think the candidates notices my flat chest.  They did look nervous despite the fact that I tried to put them at ease.  I thought the one guy I interviewed would faint for sure.  He was sweating profusely in his suit and tie.  I felt so badly for him.

My skin is peeling like crazy and I will be glad when I can wear my bra and boobs too.  I'm tired of feeling like a boy.  At least my hair is starting to thicken up a little.  I finished chemo on April 15th and I have about 2/3 of an inch of hair all over and very curly.  It used to be stick straight.

Did either of you have any pain in your ribs from the radiation?  I've been experiencing a lot of that and was diagnosed with lymphedema as well in both my chest and mildly in my arm.

Hi Rocket,

   No, I did not have rib pain although I did/do have some tight muscles d/t previous cording but now I also feel it along the lower breast area.  I had lymphedema prior to rads, mostly to hand, but also in arm.  No worse since rads.  Once my skin started to peel it wasen't long before it got better so hang in there. I finished chemo April 8 so my hair is about the same length.  In fact it is looking a bit scraggly, so I'm contemplating a small trim to clean the edges up.

  Leslie1962-glad to hear things are going in the right direction with your skin.

Diane.

Hey Rocket,

   My hair is exactly the same as before chemo.  Almost all grey/white...I am 43.  That was the biggest shock when it came out the last time in 06.  I have curly hair to begin with, so as it is short right now it is still straight.  Once it gets a little bit longer it gets curlier.  I am going to keep it grey, but I like it really short or it makes me look like an old lady.  Tired of being called my kids grandma, or 'baba' but it is soo hard to keep up with dying my hair, but now it is hard keeping up with cutting it short.  Ach, who needs to complain, it's hair.  I actually get a lot of positive comments about the grey,  if I grow it out longer I always think it will look curly and look like a 'granola girl'.  Decision, decisions...

Hope you are doing well.

Diane.

Yea for us all being done!  rocket, I had horrible rib pain.  My onc said that it was from rads.  Mine were sore right after surgery too.  My rads Dr said the radiation either irritated the area or cause a pocket of fluid.  I finished rads beg of July and my ribs don't hurt anymore.  Hope yours goes away quickly.  My skin is healing really well and my energy is returning.  I had 2 spots where I reacted to the glue in the stickers and those spots are not going away.  I almost wonder if they are going to be scars. I am looking at my final exchange surgery in November!

Anyone else experience their muscles getting tighter?  My pec muscles have really tightened up to the point of pain if I stretch..  I was wanting to wait to go to PT until my kids were back in school but I am  not sure I can.  My kids are so tired of me being gone. 

Hi Diane - I'm doing pretty well.  My skin is starting to heal.  I can't wait to wear my fake boobs again and then maybe I won't look like a boy!  My hair isn't an inch long yet.  My co-worker measured it with a ruler the other day and it was about 2/3 of an inch.  I think it grows slow, but maybe it's my imagination because I'm obsessing over it.

Cafelovr - It's good to hear from you again.  I hope you are doing well.  My rib pain continues.  How long did yours last?  I'm always scared that maybe the cancer has spread to my ribs and that's why I was so worried about the pain.  I had a bone scan prior to my mastectomy in January and it didn't reveal any metastasis, but I can't stop thinking about that possibility.  I had no lymph node involvement out of 13 nodes, but I have seen others with no node involvement and yet they've experienced metastasis.  As for hair, I think yours looks fantastic.  If only mine would look that great, I'd be thrilled.

mom3band1g - I would also encourage you to go to PT.  It has helped me tremendously with the muscle tightness and the cording.  My PT gave me exercises to do at home and while they are time consuming, I feel so much better afterward.  I also had a lot of problems where the stickers were stuck to my skin.  That area reacted more to the radiation and I had more skin breakdown.  It's finally starting to get better though.  I keep slathering the cream on three times a day.  Hang in there!