Sept 2011 Rads

Hi everyone, I just finished 10 rads so far, my skin is pink, starting to itch and a little sensitive, the bra is bothering me.  I am using the Rx cream from my Rad. Onc. 3 times a day.  It is also tight in the scar area in my arm pit.

I don't know if anyone else is feeling this, but when I get in bed at night I feel like I was baking in the sun on the beach all day, and got sunburned.  You know that feeling, where you are under the covers freezing?  I have no fever but its kind of like that.  Just wondering if anyone else is having that.  I am enjoying the weekends off it is a nice break.  Monday back to the light beam, also have Herceptin on Thurs. and ecco cardio on Tues. so its a fun filled dr. week ahead.

Blessings to you all and enjoy whats left of the weekend  Ginger

Ginger, yes I feel like that all the time not just at night. But, its just the radiated breast, not my whole body. There is a temp. difference to the touch as well, its weird!  Hang in there, I just keep telling myself that this will all go away, I will be normal again! ...well, as normal as I can be, I've never been called normal, except from my RO.  Everything to him is normal, lol

Ashleere and Ginger,

I'm sure sorry you're already getting side effects. Hopefully they'll have a chance to heal this weekend.



Ashleere, I've got big breasts and have heard that blistering underneath is frequently a problem. The two tricks I've heard or was told is to use cornstarch as a powder underneath to help keep the area dry, and my RO nurse said lots of women cut up pieces of soft t-shirt material and put it inder the breast inside the bra. I also am really careful to let the aloe Vera I'm using dry underneath (usually lie down with arm over my head reading till it's dry). I don't know if any of this would help, but maybe. Of course, I've only finished 12 sessions (system was down yesterday so no rads) but other than the inflammation I've had since the first day, I'm fine.



Hope everyone has a great day off tomorrow

Ginger, I have a pretty good burn that is peeling, so I do get those weird chills.  It has been hot here and the other night DH thought I was strange lying on the couch with a blanket on me!  I do not wear a bra at all unless I go out in public.  It just rubs that underarm burn too much.  Mostlysew had some good advice about the cornstarch and the material.  I cut up pieces of an old flour sack towel.  I have lidocaine for the burns and it is thick and greasy.  I wear an old shirt, slather that burn stuff on thick and then put the pieces of fabric on top to hold that onitment in place.  I lie down for awhile just to make sure it stays on.  The lidocaine helps numb the surface and feels great.  I also got samples of these wet gel packs.  They are moist, you refrigerate them and they feel good when your skin feels hot.  Very soothing.

Coundown begins for me this week.  Three boosts left is all.  I am finished with rads Wednesday!

I am 11 days post rads and I still have a rash, and I am still extremely red in the boost area. How long will it take for this to go away?

Hi everyone

I've done 9 of 23.  Has anyone had a patch of pinkness in the OTHER breast?  I pointed it out to the techs and spent the next hour immobile on my tummy while they redid my prone setup and checked and rechecked and x-rayed.  So now in addition to 7 tattoos (4 from supine set up, 3 from second setup in prone position) I also have a few sharpie marks too!  Not happy about potential zapping of other breast as it got radiated 18 years ago the first time I had BC.  But, at least they took it very seriously and didn't blow off my concerns.    Would like to hear if this has happened to anyone else?

Hello, Ladies! I just finished my 33 rads on Thursday, Sept 29th. I have to say even though I'm fair-skinned, I didn't burn or suffer too much with it. I had more deep tissue discomfort from surgery than skin discomfort. I had a lumpectomy, both sides breast reduction (from a DD to a C-cup) and cosmetic lift for symmetry (because of the location of my tumor), so I was/am dealing with about 36" of incisions. I still had steri-strips on at my first RO consult. That made wearing a bra that didn't "touch anything" kind of dicey, but it hurt worse for them to be moving free with that many incisions.

I did find, and I wanted to share with you all, some el cheapo sports bras at Walmart that worked perfectly for me, even all through radiation. They are Fruit of the Loom stretchy T-shirt type material, they have 8 eye-hooks up the front, a racer back, and the fabric under the armit comes up high enough to cover the axillary node incision without resting on it. They are 2 on a hanger for $9.97. The best trick is to wear them inside out - with the hooks and seams away from your skin, and all the smooth side next to you. I'm still wearing them and will probably continue, but for that price, it's no big loss if they get cream or mark-up ink on them.

I took my radiation treatments on my lunch hour at work, and I would get the chill in the afternoon, too. I kept a sweater handy. I did follow the advice of my plastic surgeon on the skin care thing. He said whatever they tell you to do at radiology as far as applying cream, double it. I started out with Aquaphor for the first ten days. I used it even though I wasn't even pink yet. I started with the very first treatment. After 2 weeks I started to get pink so they switched me to Radiaguard, and I added hydrocortisone10 to the regimen. Radiaguard morning, noon, evening and bedtime, hydrocortisone cream twice per day (morning and bedtime) I put the radiaguard right over it. I had a tiny bit of itchyness, but no skin soreness whatsoever. By the time my rads were done, my pink had turned into a Cancun tan, and the only bright pink I have now is the 3" circle where they did the last 5 as boosters. I did not scrub myself. I never blistered, and the really tan places are just starting to peel away painlessly.

As far as deodorant goes, I used an old trick from my warehouse working days - when no deodorant/antiperspirant seemed to do the job. Alcohol swabs. They come foil wrapped so they are very transportable. Odor comes from bacteria, so if you kill the bacteria, no odor. I just swabbed my armpits a couple of times per day and it worked for me.

I hope some of these tips help as you go along. Blessings to all.

bev...welcome aboard!  So glad you have finsihed and are on the mend.  You have lots of good advice to share.  I think I got those exact same bras at Wal-Mart when I had my surgery.  They were great.  Now with my burns braless is best! 

Kate...my tech told me Friday that my boosts are still hitting my underarm.  She also said that it will get worse before it gets better.  I have no information obviously on how long it takes to fade.  Wish I could be more helpful!

Hi mostlysew. I have had problems with hair shedding in the past. I had no problems with hair shedding or eyelash shedding with radiation. Are these gals at your radiation taking hormonal therapy? Arimidex and Tamoxifen etc. have side effects which include hair shedding.

Thanks for the welcome! MostlySew & ginger_mea, I didn't have any hair shedding from radiation. I think katehudson25 may be on to something with the adjuvant drugs. I find it odd how some women are instructed to start them before or during radiation, and some are not. I was told to wait for a couple of weeks after radiation to start the Arimidex...which I've decided I'm not going to take, (but that's in a different thread).

katehudson25, I know I'm fairly fresh out of rads, but as far as "my" timeline is going, they stopped radiating my whole breast on September 22nd, and that area has now turned into a suntan. The circle where the last 5 boosters were given is the only thing still reddish in color, but then it's only been 3 days since the last treatment. I'm thinking it will turn brown/tan in 10 days as well. Nobody has told me anything for sure, but I just assumed the color would return to normal about the same time it takes to lose a summer tan. (???)

Hi Bev1116, thank you for letting me know. Also, I am very interested about your decision not to do Arimidex. I have been so troubled about the decision to do Tamoxifen. As mentioned before I don't ever even take a pain med because I despise side effects. I would rather feel the pain than have the side effects from the pill. My MO said it would only be a 2.5% reduction in my chances of getting a different breast cancer.  He said my chance of getting a different breast cancer is 8.9%, and if I do Tamoxifen it would drop to a 6.4% chance. My Mo said the chances of the sme breast cancer recurring for me is only 1%. Which thread do you use to discuss this? Janis, ifradiation therapy threads needed a patient as a moderator, it would be a good job for you.

Is there an October 2011 Rads thread going?  Just curious.  I will be finished Wednesday!  Cannot wait.  Three more boosts and then I am finished with this phase of treatment.  I see my MO on the 13th and assume then I will start Arimidex. 

Cheering you all on!  I hope everyone is doing well.

My eyebrows and eyelashes started falling out during the fourth week of rads.  For me, I am sure it was the result of chemo since my fourth week of rads was also my eighth week since my last chemo treatment.  The good news was that they grew back quickly.  I hope everyone here with that problem has quick regrowth, too.

Hi Dawnson. I moisturized my breast at least 4 times a day. I used mostly Udderly smooth body cream, and Miaderm when I went out( because it is lighter). I am post rads now, and I never had pain, blistering or peeling, although I did get red and had a rash.