May 2011 Radiation

the tats are super tiny. they are actually smaller than a little freckle. i am very happy my place does tats. no way was i going to have to watch where i bathed and that.

i did invest in some nice cotton sports bras. it's been one week, but my nipple is already sensitive!

Hi All!  19/36 treatments done.  Starting to turn red and fatigue is setting in.  I'm still exercising but not at the level of intensity that I used to.  I too had a very sore nipple the first week but it has gotten better.  I've used the udder cream in the past on my kids' diaper butts.  If it's good enough for their butts, it should be good for our boobs!  Take care ladies.  Keep up the good fight.

Hey. How are you doing.

Hello! I have been lurking here waiting to join a "radiation group", was hoping it was going to be the April group, but now I know i am an official member of the May group!!! I finally start radiation on Mon, may 16! It is funny, that from the beginning of the "journey" it started with test after test, then i had lumpectomy/SNB at the end of March, and have been anxiously waiting to start radiation, all the while waiting on more tests and more tests! It sounds so weird, but I am excited to finally get the radiation started! I am sure most feel the same way! I never stuck to a diet or excercise routine or anything else every day for 6 weeks, so this is going to be a change for me!!

I really do want to thank everyone that shares their experiences on here. It is wonderful to be able to read how everyone deals with it. There are so many things the doctors and nurses do not tell you! (i always tell everyone my best example of this is i honestly thought my incisions would be about an inch long, i was blown away when i finally saw them a week after surgery and they were 3 inches long! )

Anyway, best of luck to everyone, this is certainly not a journey i would recommend to anyone, but having a lot of new friends to share with that totally understand what you are going through on here, make it much easier!!

Hi all! I started my rads last week and tomorrow will be number 5. Going well so far, I'm a little pink.  They have me using Gold Bond Ultimate healing w/ aloe and Aquafor. I just trade back and forth with them. I have my 38 days counted off on my calendar at home and as soon as I get there, I cross them off. It's my way of keeping control of all of this.

So, earlier this week I bought some of the Tom's deodorant and thought I'd try it today.  It felt like slime under my arm.  There's no way I will be able to use that.  So, I bought one of those crystal deodorant things at the store today.  Guess I'll give it a try.  Anyone else use one of those?  Does it really work as deodorant?

I know, it's a "small" thing next to the chemo I just went through, but I'm finding the idea of having to deal with a clammy, smelly armpit for the next 7 weeks really annoying . . .  I guess it's just adding insult to the injury of everything else.

I am so used to feeling slimy now from lubing the boob with aloe gel that Tom's doesn't seem that bad. You can let the Tom's dry a bit and then put cornstarch on over it. I got the tip from this forum of putting the cornstarch in a nylon knee high and then just tapping it on. That seems to work. Be careful with organic deodorants because some of them have aluminum in them. That is bad.

Tomorrow is day one for me too:)

ProudMom and TonLee - I'm sure you're ready to get your glow on tomorrow. I was told too that you want to avoid anything with metals, so that includes deodorants, deodorant soaps, perfumes, lotions other than those they tell you to use.

My doc also recommends the rock crystal for deodorant and Dove (fragrance-free) soap (rinse well).

I was also told no bra. If absolutely necessary for support, choose a soft cotton bra. You want to minimize anything rubbing against the skin.

Let us know how it goes. 

Thank you for the warm welcome! I am anxious to start today. Not really nervous, just anxious about 6 weeks of this and getting into a new routine of it all!

The techs told me that yes we need to avoid the aluminum, and i was joking about feeling bad for THEM when i come in there when it is hot and i stink, and they said they never really notice!! LOL

I went to Kohls yesterday and bought a new bra and a couple tank tops with built in bra in them-all soft material. I am more worried about this part of it because I am a 38D and 44 y/o and me without a bra is not a pretty picture, but for six and a half weeks thats just the way it has to be! I even went through all of my bras at home, and i can't wear any of them because they have an underwire.

I am going to buy myself 33 lottery tickets also, that is SUCH a good idea! And also I am taking my kids out to dinner to celebrate most importantly my son getting a job (he graduated from college last week! SO PROUD!) and for me starting radiation!

It is so nice to have this forum to come to. No one else in my life has gone through this, or understands the emotional side of it!

Have a great day everyone!

I'm wearing a sportsbra with clips in the front, but I turn it inside out.  Do you think that'll work?

Waiting to go in...

Here we go...

One down, 24 more to go. 

Really simple.  Went fast.  Nothing as of yet.  Hope I didn't jinx myself.  I am tired, but haven't slept well in 3 days because of other life stuff.   So who knows, maybe with the rads today I will sleep much better this evening.

Didn't win anything with the lottery ticket, but there are 24 more to go, and in the end, I will still be a big winner for beating the cancer. 

TonLee I hear you....I cried after the 15th treatment, cause I felt tired of treatment, tests, x-rays, getting topless the whole shabang.  My RO doesn't tattoo, I've had adhesive stickers the whole time and I"m allergic to adhesive....I don't have a bolus so I can only imagine....sorry.  Did you happen to shave your underarm yesterday? I remember that feeling the first time and I thought it might have been from radiated razor burn??? I know the things we think...make sure you don't shave that one for the duration of course.

The first one is the worst since you don't know what to expect.  I'm heading into 18 today.  The redness gets worse as the week goes on, then subsides a bit on the weekend.  Start counting down, and congrats to all of you getting started so it can end sooner!

Thanks Sagina,

Um, yes.  I shaved the pit this morning about an hour before TX...lol.  WHAT?!?  I thought, well dang..I don't really have much there right now anyway, but in 6 weeks I might!  So I better clean up the area....that's probably what it is...

My breast hurts though.

And the machine beeps while delivering the radiation.....my beeps (6 of them) are between 7-15 seconds long...I counted after the first one because they seemed to go on forever.....

I think my RO  is trying to fry me....seriously.  He keeps using the word "aggressive treatment" and um, those beeps make me want to high tail it out of there!!

Ya know you're in trouble when they not only leave the room, but shut a big iron reinforced door behind them!

I think I was smokin' when I left

sagina-i totally understand crying from getting frustrated with all of it! The day my Oncologist told me that I didn't have to have chemo, my sister was with me, she went up to get the car after appt, while i had to wait to schedule ct scans and bone scan, and radiation scan...and it all hit me while doing that , i wanted to cry so bad, i was thankful not to have to have chemo, but geez, there are alot of other things i would rather do than all the tests, and appts, AND go somewhere every day for 6 weeks!! When i walked out to the car, she was clearly annoyed that i was upset and told me I should be Happy that i didn't have to have chemo and this was SO much easier!!! It is all very hard...whether you are very early stage, stage IV, in the middle, WHATEVER, it sucks!!! Gosh i feel better typing all of that! ok, so how long until you noticed skin/tiredness, if at all with your rads so far?