what is radiation like

Alison - I am anxious to hear the replies to your post.  I too am starting radiation very soon following 6 rounds of FAC chemo.  I know there is a whole thread devoted to the topic of radiation but I haven't spent much time there so i will be watching your post to see the updates.

I am  not sure of my exact start date as the docs are debating whether or not they want me to have more surgery first or just go right to radiation.  Hope they decide soon, I had enough waiting when i was first diagnosed in January and don't feel like doing it again.

Thanks for starting this post. 

After chemo, I found radiation to be a piece of cake; and I was so happy to being going over to the 'zapping' side of the clinic instead of the 'infusion' side that I cried. Plus, you know that you are nearing the end of the whole 'active treatment' nightmare! They take very precise measurements, so only hit the places that need to be radiated (unlike the olden days). It is very quick, like 5 minutes or so. I would shut  my eyes and visualize that I was lying on a dock tanning at a camp I used to work at when I was young and I would think, "I wonder if we will have a campfire tonight? What should we do for the talent show?" etc. when the machine came overhead I would pretend it was a cloud going past the sun. ABout half way through my 6 weeks, my boob started to get red, eventually it looked and felt like a bad sunburn, but no peeling or sores or anything. I would suggest you use whatever oinment or lotion the nurses recommend religiously ( I used Aquafor). DON'T put any one until after you daily session (or it will intensify the burn), but I brought a tub with me and smeared it on right when I was done in the dressing room, and then right when I went to bed. Also once my boob started feeling hot, I slept with a fan blowing right on it, and actually bought a little personal fan and put it under my shirt blowing on me when I was watching TV etc. After you are done, you still can keep getting red for about two more weeks so keep using the lotion....then you start getting better. I didn't have any really wierd after effects. My boob went back to it's normal color, it maybe is actually a little fuller than before, and that side is a little 'achy', which could also be from surgery. But nothing that interfers with my life at all, and I, for sure, wanted them to zap the crap out of any cells that might still be lingering about, because I never want to play this game again!!!! Best of luck, remember it's only a few weeks out of the whole rest of your life!!! Ruth

It'll be ok!  Don't be scared!  By the end of treatments there is sort of a void, it gets to be such a routine.  Some people even miss the radiation techs!

 My rads onc told me I would DEFNITELY burn (he said "I WANT you to burn").  But it was no worse than a bad sunburn.  The techs kept asking how I kept my skin so healthy.  I moisturized the heck out of it with Aquafor.  Every morning I slathered it on, then in the changing room right after rads, then again at night.  I also cut the arms and necks out of some of my husband's white undershirts (SO SOFT) and wore those around the house when the burn got irritating, and to bed so the Aquafor wouldn't gum up my sheets too bad.  I also wore cool-max workout shirts whenever I went out because they breathe so well. 

 I started working out the day I started rads, and haven't stopped since.  You will start to feel amazing as the chemo effects wear off!  You will be ok!!!

 ps--for me treatments didn't take any longer than 10 mintues a pop.  Music was playing as I laid there, and the whole ceiling was a backlit picture of tree branches.  I hope your hospital tries to make it comfortable as possible too!

I found rads to be scary mentally - I was always afraid of what was going to happen, that 'the other shoe would drop.'  In the end, nothing serious happened. 

Sunburn, weird brown spots, itching, little pimply things, a small bit of peeling skin....it all healed in a few weeks. 

I had 5 weeks, it took about 10 mins start to finish, I laid on my stomach, right breast.....I brought my own music every day and they cranked it up for me, so I played a bit of 'amuse the techs' with my selections.

Overall, it was worse mentally than physically. 

Like the others, rads was so easy compared to chemo. You don't feel anything while it is happening and it was only in the last couple of weeks (5 weeks of every day) that my skin was a little red. Keep it moistured but only after tx ... don't go in moisturized as that makes burning worse.

I will be yet another person saying rads were a breeze compared to chemo.

I went before work every day, around 8 am, 30 something sessions. In terms of being on the table, it was just a few minutes usually each time. I was a bit uncomfortable the first day because one of the technicians was male. But he was very kind and professional and I actually came to feel very secure around him, as well as the female technicians. Because rads were every day, I also really got to know all the personnel there more than in other aspects of treatment, and they were all very kind. Plus there were other patients I would see regularly. Sometimes I would get blue on the table waiting for the zaps. I would start thinking about the entire situation, the cancer, the fears for the future, etc. I only bring it up because I think when one is alone in that room, there can be some anxiety, but it passed and was only occasional and I am kind of melancholy anyway.

 I did get the burns at the end with some open peeling. But two things. 1. They healed completely in a couple of weeks after I stopped. And after some months, the redness was gone. Now 7 months or so later, you cannot even tell a difference between the sides. 2. It was kind of my fault because I really didn't like the heavy salves they gave me to put on, so I very rarely used them. I should have done so I know. Good luck Alison!

I have been thinking a lot about last year at this time which was when I was going through radiation. It seems like a distant memory and it will for you too. The hardest part for me was when I was getting tatooed and measured because I don't like laying still. I must confess a little Atavan did the trick for that problem. The radiation treatment itself is nothing although it is a bit disconcerting when everyone goes out of the room and leaves you there alone and you do have to lie still while the machine is on. I just visualized that the treatment was bringing me good health. It is very very fast. I loved my treatment team and actually enjoyed going there everyday. It was a time when I needed to feel that someone really cared about me, and they did. I also enjoyed getting to know the other patients who were always there for their appointments as well. After every treatment, I put on aloe vera lotion that I kept in the refrigerator. Throughout the day, I put on calendula ointment. I did not really burn til the last week when I looked like I had a rash from shaving. You can't tell now, and I am enjoying wearing my bathing suit (with sunscreen of course) this summer. Also, it was cold in the treament room so I wore a cardigan sweater every morning that I could keep on til the last second. Good luck. It is another step, and you are on your way.