July 2011 rads

Pejkug- wow -- I wish I had some way to help you..

If I may sugest, for several reasons which will become apparent-- go see Love and Other Stupid things it wont help your wounds but it will make you laugh.. and the sceenery is not bad either.. 

Kaskav would you explain to me in laymen, the way the fractional route works.I really want to understand as much as I can about treatment options in general..

I am going to try to open a new thread thats called rads and beyond the saga continues.. as we all adjust to yeah! being without our daily treatments - still need to figure out the pill if and when and why and all that.. plus Im sure there will be othe issues - why? cause there always are....I'll let you know if I get it, I just cant bare the thought of losing touch with this great group of ladies.

Many of you were sympathetic to my Sunday/Monday issue so thank you and Lets just pass that down to some of you that are in your earlier number -Sundays are hard and make you cry..Mondays are the hardest day to get up (show up) but as wisely said- Just keep showing up anyway. 

Gigil what about cheese _ I really cant live without cheese

Lena love you cool girl- you just say what others feel -Whats Lena in Sim world up to?

pejkug3: That sounds so familiar .. I did that too... Did they tell you it was going to get worse before it gets better?? The thing is it will get better just takes a little time - I creamed and used the aquaphor at night and took pictures so I could see the progress and had ammo to show the doc if needed... Went around with no top on when ppl weren't around for about 2 weeks.. and slowly it did get better - i couldn't use silvadene because it has sulfa in it but used polysporin instead of the aquaphor and it helped tremendously...

Hi everyone,

24 done/9 to go.  I am down to single digits in terms of total treatments left.  Skin is getting unhappy and angry red and I know it will get worse before it gets better, but in less than two weeks I will be done.

I hope everyone is having a good day. 

As sore and hurting as you are ducky is right your all tough,and we are almost there..

2 more Christy, and Liz and I are not far behind..

Losing skin -peeling like crazy pain blah blah blah -but with the two days off I dont even care just so happy for the break. It's the little things aahhhhhhh

Linda 

OMG pejkug thank goodness you're almost DONE!!!!!!!!! Even though I had a BMX so no breasts/nipples to get sore from the rads, your posts still scare me.

19/33 for me today. I'm still taking Dayquil and Nyquil for the coughing (dry again since I got over the cold), plus daily using the Jeans cream and cortisone cream. The Chest is pinkening up quite a bit now and also looks like it would be a good idea for me to go back to my post-BMX PT exercises. I still have my ROM but it's getting a little stiff/uncomfortable sometimes.

Thanks for the tip, Cora.  I see the RO tomorrow for a skin check and I'll be asking about that.  My armpit is so sore today.  I even used the horseshoe shaped pillow under my arm when we went out for dinner tonight.

Funny story...when I was being grouchy about all my skin issues at my skin check on Wednesday, the RO said, "I told you this could happen."  I responded back, "Yeah, well if I told you that I was going to back into your car in the parking lot, it wouldn't make you any happier about it."  DH and I hunted down his car in the hospital parking lot today....his tags say "RAD MAN".  SHeesh...lol

Another funny - I have an oval shaped burn mark right on my clavicle bone.  You know the bony part that sticks out a bit?  I have a noticable burn right there.  It kind looks like a hickey.  I went for Herceptin today and when the onco nurse asked me what happened to my neck, I told her it was a hickey.  She says, "Well, how'd you get that?"  I said, "Well, how do you get hickies?!"  LOL  Even the MO thought that burn was odd - it's all lonely there and the skin around it it perfectly fine!  (Not that I'm complaining about that!)

Guess what girls?!  Tomorrow I and DONE DONE DONE! 

And I'm having a margarita at lunch.  :P

25 down/8 to go  Getting close to being done!  Happy SE free weekend, everyone.

pejkug3:  Congratulations on being finished.  It has been a long road for you.  Thanks for the story about telling the RO about backing into his car.  That image made me smile through rads this morning.

Colodisneylover:  I sympathize with your experience with your RO.  My Tuesday visits are usually a joke, too.  In my mind, I refer to him as Dr. Clueless.  His nurse is no better.  I am having a problem with itching like many people here and all she said was to use OTC hydrocortizone.  If that had worked, I would not have asked for her help.

Congrats Pejkug3! 

LindaJ did you get that other after rads thread going?  If so, how do we get to it?

Colodisney, I had a BMX & my boosts seem different than those who had lumpectomies. I rubbery gelatinous sheet is place over the area that is being radiated, It causes the radiation to be focused closer to the skin & not as deep. Not much area between my skin & chest wall. At first, they didn't use this sheet. Then it was used daily. Now, every other day. Lena & Laura(mamaoftwo) on this thread also talk of this. You may want to look back for their posts. I think they may have explained it better.

GiGiL-Yay for another Disney lover!  We normally go in September....however this year I'll be getting my other breast removed instead!  Totally bummed but that will make the next trip even better!

Thanks everyone for the info on the boosts.  I am sure glad it's Friday.  My skin needs a BIG break from all of this.

 Happy Friday afternoon everyone!

Kshav6 - I actually had my first boost today and yeah, it was similar to yours...they changed the face of the rad machine and I could see like a small round opening.  I was in my same position and they still did two angles, just like regular rads.  And they explained that it was aimed just to the site/lumpectomy incision.

The rad team gave me some Aquaphor, I believe week before last, and that has really helped with the itching and irritation, though mine was pretty much contained to my armpit.  My understanding is that it takes a few weeks for the fatigue to cease once you've stopped radiation. 

I just keep thinking, next week this time I will be done with rads!!!

pejkug3 - Great story about backing into RO's car - LOL!!!  Trying to decide if license plate is a little insensitive or tacky...on the one hand I guess it's just like anybody else who puts their profession on their plates, but....??? 

 Blessings to All

(Never a sunset without a sunrise!) 

Pejkug congrats on being DONE!! Did you have that margarita?

Colo I also had a BMX but haven't gotten to the boosts yet. What I think that piece of material coraeliz is referring to is the bolus, and boluses are not limited to boosts, since I've had the bolus since the first treatment. I get a total of four daily bolus zaps: two zaps with it on the left and two zaps with it on the right, in addition to the numerous other zaps in all fields without it. What it's supposed to do is keep the radiation actually in your skin, instead of it hitting slightly below. Dunno yet how much bolus I'll get with the boosts, but I guess I'll find out soon enough...

20/33 for me today, and YES!! ENOUGH ALREADY! I'm ready for the weekend -- two days of NOT having to drive 60 miles -- or ANYWHERE for that matter! I almost think the driving is the worst part of this (tied for #1 with the driving or a close second would be the fatigue). I just hit the 15,000 miles on my car "milestone" yesterday. But this will actually show you how much I dislike driving and that I only do it when ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY: Shuttlecraft T'Kiri is a 2006 Toyota Corolla and I got her brand new, and now it's 2011, and I only just reached 15,000 miles. This is also the first year I've put on more than 2,000 to 2,500 miles -- thanks to a 300 mile move, a couple times letting my Pack Rat use the car, the fact that the supermarket is now 12 miles away from where I live instead of 2 like at my former residence, lots of doctor appointments and the med center being 60 miles round trip that I have to drive instead of 4 with THEIR transportation van (my former cancer center had transportation service for patients) and now the Mon-Fri rads, the miles are now starting to pile on. Believe it or not though, I'm actually way better off living here than I was before, and even though I still don't like to drive, at least I'm not so totally scared shitless of it anymore like where I was before.

Yup I'm going to enjoy being able to stay home this weekend. :-) I wonder if I'll have the energy to go for a walk.......

LeeLee3  During that time, I had all kinds of pains, shooting pains, they said due to rads, nerves can send the pains in various places, like the underarm or anywhere in the breast.  After rads and after my boosts, I got more shooting pains and then they subsided within a week or so.  They said the rads continue working for a couple weeks after you're done.

I had 19 /33 yesterday. Not rallying energy-wise as quickly this weekend. How is everyone else doing?

No energy for me this weekend either. I don't clean my house and I don't cook anymore either and don't think I will until my energy comes back (ohgarsh how long will that take? I thought I read a month after finishing rads...a whole month!). Except for the fact that rads aren't interfering with the taste of food, my current eating habits are a lot like when I was doing chemo.....breakfast cereal, instant oatmeal, microwaved canned soup, yogurt, various fruits and sandwiches -- and lots of paper plates so I don't have to do dishes more than once every 2-3 days. Oh, there's something here I didn't have where I was before I moved (which was where I was when I was on chemo) -- a store on the way home from rads has takeout fried chicken, so occasionally I stop there and get a couple drumsticks or thighs, bring 'em home and put 'em on a paper plate. I think that, and the oatmeal, are the only HOT meals I've had in maybe 3 weeks so far.