Can anyone tell me how bad radiation is??

first of all, your oncology nurse needs a better bedside manner!

i did 25 rounds of radiation last summer - daily x25 days, minus weekends. the fatigue does get pretty pronounced by the end, as does the skin irritation. i took naps daily --went for my tx mid-morning and had to nap around 3pm.

 i felt better on radiation than on chemo --i did dose dense AC-- but the fatigue was pretty difficult. 

i had no problems swallowing or anything else.

 what is your radiation treatment protocol?

good luck. you can do it!

Problems swallowing? I haven't heard of that problem. I had 28 rads (finished end of October so the memory is still fresh) to my chest wall with IMRT and did not have any reals problems. I did have fatigue as ElmCity has mentioned. I worked the whole time and just took a quick nap when I got home before fixing dinner. I did have a difficult time with my skin the two weeks after the last treatment (very red & hot) but I am fair skinned and did not get the correct instructions about using the silvadene cream. Compared to chemo though it was definitely easier. I did experience a some shooting pains in my mx side now and then during rads and also felt like my muscles were stiff. I did lots of extra stretching to try to keep things loose. Overall, it wasn'yt too bad and worth the 10% reduction in my risk of recurrence! Good luck!

First, I agree with Elmcity and that your oncology nurse needs a better bedside manner.  All of us are different but a think the general consensus would be that radiation is easier than chemo.  I had 35 treatments that I finished at the beginning of November and found radiation to be much easier than chemo.  I did have quite a few problems with my skin burning, they said it was not the worst they've seen but worse than most, and even with all of that it wasn't all that bad.  I was a little more tired than usual but I probably wouldn't even have noticed had I not been warned that I would probably have some fatigue.

 There is a forum section just devoted to radiation and you can find a thread with others starting radiation the same month as you and I found the support and information to be very helpful.

Good-luck.  I won't say radiation was a breeze but compared to  chemo it was much easier for me.

Lorraine

My body breezed through 30 treatments.  My mind was a different thing...

I found radiation to be doable. I have had to go through it twice now. I had IBC in 2008 and now Bone Mets 2010. I did radiation on my spine and it was so hard to swallow. I just did not want anything put in my mouth no even water. When I had my breast done I did not experience that. I would rather do radiation than chemo any day. Wish you the best!

For me rads was no big deal. I did 28 treatments july-august 10 and did have the skin irritation towards the end but was controllable. I was tired but not ridculously. It is not as prehistoric as it seems, no big loud metal doors slam behind you. Yes you chest is exposed but I thought my place did it discretely. One person on here suggested buying lottery tickets for the number of your treatments and sctaching one each day, gave me something to look forward to and count down. Only won a few bucks, but hey it was fun.

Ray

Vicki, I had also heard that radiation would leave me extremely fatigued, but that just wasn't the case.  Around the 3rd week of it, I noticed I was yawning in the afternoon, but that was the extent of my "fatigue."  And even then, I questioned if it was maybe just the full force of what I'd been through (2 surgeries, chemo & RT) finally hitting me, as much as the RT tx itself. 

As far as the not being able to swallow, I wonder if his reference for that was a patient with another type of cancer -- maybe thyroid or esophagus or something in that area, in which case, swallowing would be impacted.  Otherwise, I'd be sure to question your radiation oncologist about that SE, and if it's acknowledged, I'd maybe seek another facility, because it just doesn't seem like it should be a factor with breast RT.     Deanna

The reference to swallowing can apply for those with breast cancer whose rads are being applied slightly differently by location, depending upon the location of the cancer or any suspicious areas seen that are closer to the neck, such as supraclavicular nodes. (Breast cancer isn't simple or generic, darn it!) I don't know if the nurse who spoke was referring to that kind of circumstance or not, depending on your personal diagnosis. The rads doctor should go over that with you as well, IF that is the case, prior to treatment.

I had IMRT rads in 2002 after completion CAF x 6. I wouldn't have been able to paint the house or wax the car every week and I took naps a lot. I do have radiation necrosis (a hard lump of burned fat tissue) at the base of the breast that is painful with any pressure. My tough luck. I also have the lifetime increased risk for other cancers that comes with extensive radiation. I'm 9 years out with no recurrence and no other cancers as yet.

A.A.

humph to the bedside manner of the nurse!  I was scared to death of rads but it wasn't as bad as I thought.

I have come to believe how you deal with rads will depend alot on your body and your attitude.  One of these you can control and one you can't.

For some people its not so bad, for others worse.  I went through rads with a considerable amount of tiredness and fuzzy headedness but otherwise, not too much burning until the bitter end and my skin looks pretty well.  I did deal with a round of radiation pneumonitis but still, not nearly as bad as I anticipated.   My boss was diagnoised with an oral cancer in September.  He was  also told how bad rads would be and given where he was getting zapped, they even installed a feeding tube.  Yet until the very end, other than being tired, he did pretty darned well.  Someone on this board  [notself! you know who you are!] told me to tell him to try manuka honey for the inside of his mouth and it worked marvolously!  I believe he said he never even had to do the feeding tube and kept coming to work for a few hours each day all the way to the end.

If you can handle chemo, you can handle rads.

For me it was nothing compared to chemo. (I'd complain about that nurse, what a thing to say!). I did not feel fatigued at all, just tired of going there everyday. Put on the oinment religiously right from the start. Never before treatment, but I'd bring a tube & smear it on as soon as I was done. I think if you can force yourself to get some exercise, that will actually make you feel better and less fatigued. No matter what, it is just for a short period out of the whole rest of your life. Best of luck! Ruth

I agree with the rest of the ladies, during rads - piece of cake.  I never had any change in skin (thank goodness for Indian heritage)  I had the APBI (high dose 2x day - 5 days) in May 2008. However if this is the protocol you are given - watch out. Since 3 mos. after completing rads I have had several side effects rear their ugly heads. 1st was bone inflammation (however no tests were ran for diagnosis and after 18 mos. doesn't appear that was the case) Next was sharp stabbing pains throughout rad area. Hurt like the dickens to breathe, sneeze or cough. This went clear up in shoulder and around to spine. Was given Neurotin for pain - eased it somewhat. Have had weakness and loss of mobility tho I did stretching, weights and resumed normal activities immediately after finishing rads. Most recently had difficulty breathing - wheezing, coughing and will need tests to see how severe the fibrosis is. Not at all happy w/ rad. doc. - he refused to see me when difficulty breathing started. New doc. is afraid their is bone cancer along w/ fibrosis. He says I never should have received APBI. If I had had the facts then I would not have agreed to radx.

I wish you the best of luck and pray you have excellent team of doctors that will oversee your treatment.

I think the worst part of radiation was that you didn't know how bad it would get.....you might have an easy time or you might get painful burns. Well I got the burns, but was told that was because I had a BMX with no recon, so no breast tissue to help absorb rads. BUT, even though my skin got burned, I attended a family wedding weekend and spoke at a funeral of a best friend at the worst time, and I did it just fine. They have treatments for burns if you get them, and they have pain medications which work if you need them. No piece of cake for me, but now that I've done both chemo and rads, if asked to choose which was easier I'd have to say rads. Rads didn't make me sick to my stomach, just a bit tired. And I was happy to do anything to reduce my risk of recurrence. Read some of the radiation threads and you will get lots of good tips. Good luck!

...p.s.: you should speak to your onc re: that nurse.  What a Jacka**.

A piece of cake after chemo. I did get extremely tired as it went on but went to work every morning, finished at 3pm and then went straight to rads. The journey there and back was the most exhausting thing.

Take care

Mal

And I was tired and needed to nap everyday but part of that could have been from finishing chemo a month before rads. Good luck!  I'm sure you'll do fine!