December 2010 Rads

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  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 8,543
    edited December 2010

    starling - CONGRATS ON FINISHING RADS TODAY!  It really is a wonderful feeling but also an empty one.  After many months of doctor's appts and then nothing - it is hard to adjust to.  I have been going through the same thing.  Once we are done, I think the true reality of our situation kicks in and we are now left to really deal with the emotional side.  I have been in a real funk myself lately and am like you didn't know what to say.  I have also been dealing with the SE's of the AI's and that has not helped.

    The ladies on the Nov Rads thread have been so supportive and have helped me through this time.  The holidays fast approaching did not help either.  

    Sweetie, you will shake it.  Just give it a little time.  Go out and do something just for you.  Don't worry about anyone else.  I did that yesterday and it really helped.

     

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  • Barbcard2
    Barbcard2 Member Posts: 71
    edited August 2013

    Starling: I completely empathize with you.  Whenever I try to do something that in the past has made me happy, that wily serpent of dread rears its head.  But, at the risk of a cliche, we both must keep fighting along with all the rest of these brave ladies.

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  • je1957
    je1957 Member Posts: 15
    edited December 2010

    Hi, everyone - started my rads this past Tuesday.  3 down, only 30 to go!  Hey, it's a start.  Just wondering if anybody else gets a metal taste in their mouth about 15 minutes after the treatment.  It doesn't seem to last too long, but I can definitely taste it.

    I finally finished all my shopping - most of the wrapping done.

     I hope everyone has a Very Merry Christmas!

     Jacky

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  • toomuch
    toomuch Member Posts: 901
    edited December 2010

    je1957 I started radiation yesterday and today after my second treatment I had a metallic taste in my mouth for maybe 10 minutes. My radiation oncologist had told me that I might experience it. I groaned because the metallic taste from Adriamycin during chemo lasted for months. She assured me that this would never last for long but it may recur with each treatment.

     I want to wish all of you a Happy Holiday Season.

    toomuch

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  • raincitygirl
    raincitygirl Member Posts: 3,143
    edited December 2010

    I had #3 today and I guess I am lucky as I have not yet had the metallic taste.  Maybe because they hand out cookies and cider after?  :)

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  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 8,543
    edited December 2010

    This is my idea of Christmas

     

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  • lizzybelle
    lizzybelle Member Posts: 9
    edited December 2010

     HELLO, I just got off the phone from my doctor that told me I have breast cancer and I will need a lumpectomy for a well-defined lump that he has been looking at for a year. He said he was surprised it was cancer, becuse it hadn't grown.First, am I posting in the right place? also, my husband is not home, no children, so I needed to speak to someone. Thanks

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  • lizzybelle
    lizzybelle Member Posts: 9
    edited December 2010

     HELLO, I just got off the phone from my doctor that told me I have breast cancer and I will need a lumpectomy for a well-defined lump that he has been looking at for a year. He said he was surprised it was cancer, becuse it hadn't grown.First, am I posting in the right place? also, my husband is not home, no children, so I needed to speak to someone. Thanks

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  • raincitygirl
    raincitygirl Member Posts: 3,143
    edited December 2010

    lizzybelle - sorry you have to join us and for your bad news - you will also find a lot in the "just diagnosed" section.  Sorry also that you are alone at a time like this - how can we help - what can we answer?

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  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 8,543
    edited December 2010

    Welcome lizzybelle - sorry you have to be here with us.  No such thing as the wrong place.  Please, please ask all the questions you want. You are not alone - we are here for you.  

    (((HUGS))) 

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  • Barbcard2
    Barbcard2 Member Posts: 71
    edited December 2010

    lizzybelle: Welcome.  I, too, am alone, coping best as I can--as you surely will.  Joining this Board is a very positive first step.  Let us know about the next step or steps.

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  • lizzybelle
    lizzybelle Member Posts: 9
    edited December 2010

      Thank you....Im kinda stunned right now. I keep thnking negative, and want to change that. I have very 'dense breasts' and have gone for ultra sounds for them after every mammo for about 15yrs; everything always comes back negative. Scared, because I keep thinking I have had for a year already and now have to wait

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  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 8,543
    edited December 2010

    lizzybelle - It is normal to be stunned.  I was stunned for 4 months until my treatments were over. Thought the same thing you did - did I have it for a year already and the waiting is awful.  Just try and relax, take a deep breath (easier said than done) and take one step at a time.  BC is very overwhelming.  Stay with us and keep us posted - we will help. We won't let you feel alone.

      

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  • lizzybelle
    lizzybelle Member Posts: 9
    edited December 2010

      Thank you...i guess it's another turn in the road, I'm 58 and very fit, maybe that will help. I didnt realize radiation treatment can take months.

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  • starling
    starling Member Posts: 76
    edited December 2010

    Thank you Jo and barbcard - I love all you gals...Going to rest up for a bit..I am totally exxhausted.

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  • raincitygirl
    raincitygirl Member Posts: 3,143
    edited December 2010

    lizzybelle - Have you already had a biopsy?  That will be your first step in staging and your first real clue as to what treatment you can expect.  Your post-surgery pathology report is the truly defining piece of information along with an Oncotype gene test on that tumor.  being very fit will definitely help, we have some lovely ladies on here who run, work out, ski, bike every day and they surely have benefited from that and were mostly able to continue throughout chemo and rads.  Your journey has just begun and you will have all kinds of questions and your patience for WAITING will be tried more than you know.  Hang in there....

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  • cmf
    cmf Member Posts: 38
    edited December 2010

    Three Rads down!!!I finished with three RADS. I am really tired, it's a strange sort of tiredness I have never experienced before. I told my adult daughter about the treatments and we both cracked up as I was describing my "situation."  Here I was with my shirt wide open, laying on the table, with a young male positioning me on the table, applying some type of sticky measurement sticks to my breasts, and chatting away about Christmas, shopping, and his kids! Sometimes the description of the treatment is funny!  I am hoping the tiredness goes away as I get used to the radiation.  I can't apply the warm compresses ot the lotions right away because I get  treatments at 7:00 a.m. and then head to work.  I met  a woman coming in for treatments as I was leaving.  We chatted for a few moments and she told me that I would never be able to continue working.  Are others still working full-time while doing RADS?  I have not told my work that I have cancer.  I am a subcontractor and don't want to lose my clients if the district finds out I have cancer.

    I had my lumpectomy mid-Nov.  I think I have been in denial that I am really a cancer patient.  Today when I pulled up to the center and parked in the spot "For Cancer Patients Only, I think  I truly got it, I have cancer.

    Hugs to all going through RADS. Raincity girl, I think we are on the same number.  Three down! Jo1955, I like your idea of Christmas!!!

    Lizzybelle, I would definitely ask lots of questions, especially about the results of your biopsy.  The oncotype score is crucial to determining your treatment plans. 

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  • toni30
    toni30 Member Posts: 252
    edited December 2010

    cmf - I'm still working full time and I'm getting my rads really early in the morning. I have to get extra sleep to combat the fatigue, but halfway done, I'm doing okay.

    starling - So sorry about your funk.  I went into a funk when chemo ended.  I ended up going to a therapist and getting antidepressants.  You may want to talk to your onc if it persists.

    Lizzybelle - Living Beyond Breast Cancer has a great brochure for newly-diagnosed women.  You may want to check their web site and see what they have there. Raincitygirl is correct - you need the biopsy in order to get a good diagnosis. However, not everyone is eligible for an Oncotyope test - so talk to your surgeon and start looking for an oncologist.

    Jo - I love your cartoons!  Hugs to Everyone!!!!!!

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  • susantm
    susantm Member Posts: 184
    edited December 2010

    lizzybelle, I think being fit will help you get through the treatments. I am over halfway through radiation (I am 59, so close to your age.) and have not yet experienced any real fatigue. I know a lot of it is just individual reactions and the different ways we are built, but I hope that the almost daily walks my husband and I take have put me in decent shape and will continue to help my energy level. I had my lumpectomy in October; you will learn a lot more after the surgery and the tests they do on the tumor.

    cmf, I have cut down my work hours greatly, but I have had to, because getting to and from treatment each day takes about three hours, so there is no way I can get in a full day of work, except on Saturday. Some people are able to keep working fulltime; others are not. You will have to see what works for you.

    I finished #19 of 33 today. Three weeks to go, and one of those is a four day week. I feel like I'm getting somewhere. Laughing

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  • rachel5738
    rachel5738 Member Posts: 920
    edited December 2010

    cmf--My doc had said that if you could take the time off work for radiation--that is great--but people do work through it. I have just finished chemo and am now heading into radiation--I have been off work since my lumpectomy in July. I will head back to work after radiation--may be a bit different here in Canada as we don't need to worry about medical coverage etc. Congrats to those getting more radiation treatments done--I am anxious to get started and getting it done!

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  • raincitygirl
    raincitygirl Member Posts: 3,143
    edited December 2010

    cmf - looks like we are very similar - i am also tired after just 3 treatments and that does not seem to match what others have experienced. 

    I had the same experience when parking for my simulation appt - they had sent me a parking pass and when i pulled in and saw the "parking for permitted cancer patients only", it felt so very real.

    I did a lot of research on my particular tumor and ended up quitting chemo.  I had 4 opinions and only one really seemed to push it.  I bagged it after reading more deeply about my oncotype results.  My rad onc explained that I was a luminal A tumor with a low ki-67 whch meant it was ok with him that i quit chemo - my med onc also seemed ok with it.  luminal A and k-67 had never been mentioned to me before.....

    Let's hope for easy treatments....at least the people have been so caring thus far.

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  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 8,543
    edited December 2010

    cmf - I worked a full time job through rads and my boss was amazed that I was able to.  I found I had to go to bed earlier at night.  The fatigue is much different that just being tired from putting a full day.  For me, it stayed with me through out rads and is still with me (I am 3 weeks post rads).  I don't feel it quite as much - can stay up later and don't have to take as many naps even on the weekend.  I was told by my rad onc that I could have the fatigue for up to 6 months after treatment.

    Even though I am through with treatments and waiting to start Tamox - I am still somewhat in denial.  Everything happened so fast with me . Biopsy to end of rads - 4 mos.  What a whirlwind.  Some of the emotions are still with me and I am dealing with them now.  Granted everyone is dealing with this beast differently but we will all get through this.

    Everyone going through rads - wishing for no skin problems. 

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  • lizzybelle
    lizzybelle Member Posts: 9
    edited December 2010

      Second day after being told I had BC , since its Xmas Drs office closed . The surgeon just called on Wed, told me and then I was  too stunned to ask questions, now can't speak to anyone. My problem is I keep  thinking negative, and cant be my normal self to think positive. i am a teacher, so at least I dont have to work. ALL I was told was I need a lumpectomy and radiation,,,,,nothing else. I guess I am just rambling, will try to speak to you all later.

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  • raincitygirl
    raincitygirl Member Posts: 3,143
    edited December 2010

    lizzybelle - i am wondering if you heard DCIS in the conversation?  Anything containing the word invasive or not?  Anything about 1 cm or 8mm or size? 

    My experience is that you can call anytime and expect a response.

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  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 8,543
    edited December 2010

    lizzybelle - It sucks that you had to get the news this close to Christmas and can't do anything until next week.  My heart goes out to you girl friend.  I so wish I could be there with you to give you a big hug.  I know the news is a big distraction.  I got the call that I needed to have a needle biopsy when I was out of town starting a convention weekend.  Guess what was on my mind all that time?  So I do know what you are going through.

    Stay here with us as much as you can.   

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  • Sherryc
    Sherryc Member Posts: 5,938
    edited December 2010

    startling so glad you are finished with rads, but sorry you are in a funk.

    Lizzybelle so you have to join us here but it is a great place to be.  What bad timing to get your news at Christmas.

    I have completed #15 on Wed. I have 19 more to go.  I have been MIA on the boards the last couple of days because I have been in a BAD funk.  I have had a fine rash all over my breast for over a week.  It stared itching last Wed the day after I saw my Dr.  the techs told me to use Hydrocortisone which did work for about a week.  The itch was not bad.  Well Tuesday night I was up all night itching and the hydrocortisone did not work.  I even had a 2.5% prescription that I tried and it did not work.  So finally at 4:15 in the morning I took a benadryl it finally took the itch away and I went to sleep at a bout 5am.  I woke up at 9am and called the clinic and said they have to do something.  I told them I could not take the benedryl because I have severe dry eyes that I am being treated for and the benedryl bothers my eyes too bad. So they called me back later and told me to stop my cream and only use Aloe Vera and to get benadryl cream to use and to try claritin or Zyrtec.  So I had some claritin and took that,(does not seem to bother my eyes). and went to walmart and got bendadryl cream, but was not able to use it because of my timing to go for rads.  So after rads I put the bendadryl on.  Works a little but not really good.  My doctor is out of town for two weeks so I can't see him.  What great timing.  There is another Dr. that is on call for my doc and in the mean time of all this they called him and he said he wanted me to take Vistoril which the girls told him I would not want to take anything that made me sleepy his comment was I could be sleepy or itch it was my choice.  Boy is my doc going to get an ear full when he gets back.  Good thing this doc is not doing my skin check on Tues or I would refuse to see him.  So I get the medication yesterday and it clearly says it is used for anxiety and allergies and has a big caution do not drive will make you sleepy.  Gee I wounder how I would drive 45 minutes to get to rads??? As Jo would put it what a MORON!  So I go through my medicine cabinet and I find a prescription that I have for some poison ivy reaction that my husband and I have used over the years.  It actually is a psorisis medication but used to treat poison ivy as well.  So decided to treat myself with this lotion and it has mineral oil in it which I figured will be good for my skin as well.  That is all I am using right now since I ham off until Monday from rads.  My rash is actually getting better and the itch is under control as well.  I tryed both Zyrtec and Clartin and I think the claritin is working the best.  I did wake up last night at 2:30 and was itching so I though I would take one of those sleepy pills.  MY goodness I took it at 2:30 and did not wake up until 9:30 and I had already sleept for 3 hours before I woke up at 2:30.  Told my husband it would make a good sleeping pill (not taking that again).  So with all the crazyness on Wed I ended up calling my BS who was in surgery but she called me back at 6Pm Wed night and told me to try the different anihistamines and take the one I thought was best for my eyes and itch.  She did not want me to agrivate my dry eyes.  She also told me to take asprin for the swelling I am having in my breast.  She then gave me her cell number and told me I will always be her patient and to call her any time I need her even if it was Christmas Day.  She is so wonderfulI.  Don't know what this fine rash is, but the techs say they have never seen anything ike it.  They want to blame it on the cream I tell them I am allergic to radiation.  I think the cream is fine. But all the same I am not using anything this weekend except the presc lotion and the rash is improving.  Wish my RO was not out of town he is great and would have listen to me as well. I do have a square sunburn like sqare on my breast that is the radiation area.  I hate the way it looks and sure hope it goes away after radiation otherwise I will look like a freak in a bathing suit.  I have to say I officially hate radiation.  Wish I had been giving the choice of a mastecomy and reconstruction and no radiation.  I think it would have been better than this. But that was not an option so here I am.  This is my second lumpectomy on my left breast and it is smaller than my right and now I have this lovely sunburn square.  I don't think it could get much uglier.  I just want all this to be over with so I have my breast fixed and try to look somewhat normal again.  I had a bad breakdown yesterday with my husband and then with one of my best friends last night.  But they stayed for dinner and lifted my spirits so I know God sent them over yesterday for a reason for me.  I sure needed it. I am much better today.  If there was some whay not to look at my breast and see how ugly it is I think I would be better. I am really not a very vain person but this is getting to me.  Hope this does not sound whinny because I am really am much better today.  I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy your time off.

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  • Teklya
    Teklya Member Posts: 435
    edited December 2010

    May I take this time to wish all you and yours the most wonderful of holiday seasons.  I pray that 2011 will bring a year of peace and wonderful things, much laughter and love.  I know how difficlut this year has been for all of us and this new year can only get better, right? 

    Stay well, take good care, enjoy the family & friends and get some much-needed rest, too.

    All the very best to you!

    Teklya 

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  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 8,543
    edited December 2010

    Sherryc - SOOOO sorry your experience with rads sounds too much like mind.  I would never want anyone to go through what I did.  I know you have tried various things for the itchy skin. I did find the Topicort worked the best.  That may still be an option for you.  I had the square sunburn and mine is gone.  Just an little area left in the boost area and that would never been seen even in a bathing suit. I put my bra on each day before getting in front of the mirror.  Can't look at myself and see the deformed boob.  It is not that back and I can't imagine what is going through your head with having 2 lumpectomies on the same side.

    You know how much I hated rads, I really feel you pain and know exactly what you are feeling.  I just doesn't get over quick enough.  Hang in there sweetie.  You have come so far and are really a strong person.  Please stay on here even if you are in a funk. Sometimes a breakdown is just what we need - I had several of them when I was still in rads.  Keep me posted - send a PM if you like.

     

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  • jo1955
    jo1955 Member Posts: 8,543
    edited December 2010
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  • toni30
    toni30 Member Posts: 252
    edited December 2010

    Sherry - Yuck, what a drag.  I have not yet had an itch, so I don't know what I would do.  It's too bad you had to go through all of that.

    I'm going to go wrap some gifts and not think about BC for the next two days.  Hope everyone has a great weekend with no SEs!!!

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