MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

I am having # 23 today of radiation I will have 25 at the end of the week I am playing hooky on Friday because we are heading to Boston for my niece's wedding.  I did't want to be sore for the whole weekend.  So now after that only the 5 boost left.

Valgean.. congrats and enjoy your trip!

Nancy and Kay... best wishes with RaDS.

Lynn... have a great time at your nieces wedding!

Have a great day ladies

Kay and Nancy--good luck on your first rads. I think you will be surprised how quick it goes by. Not at all like the simulation. Just remember to lotion up as much as you can starting NOW. Just don't do it the morning of your rads. 

Valjean-Happy, Happy dance for the good doc visit, now you can put that up on a shelf for another 6 months--enjoy your mini-vac--you deserve it!!

Lynniea-have fun at the wedding. Almost done with rads--YEAH!!!

Lwarstler--I have 2 boys, my oldest was going thru HS graduation at the time, so we kind of brushed it under the rug. Neither boy seemed phased by the whole BC event. They keep it all inside, so I have no outward sign there might be something wrong. At least you are aware of your DD's pain and are close enough to step in to help. I understand the guilt feeling--but you do have to let that go. You didn't ask for this. She'll feel better when you start feeling better--its a process and it may take time. . .and a lot of hugs.

Off to the grocery store, lunch with a friend and then Bunco tonight. Gotta love a day off!!! 

kay- I only lubed up AFTER each rads visit.

Janis-YEAH only one more to go!  Keep greased and healing thoughts are with you.  Have fun lynniea and enjoy your time with family and friends.  Kay-best wishes for easy rad treatments ((HUGS)).  Got to work all week but that's okay, keeps my mind off BC and I enjoy working with the students.  They keep me young! LOL  I'm cheering for you all!  Kitty

Kay and others starting rads.-Lubing is the biggest key,  I put aloe on before I got dresses after every treatment.  Emu oil is the best thing I found for moisturizing and soothing.  Use it even if you don't think you need it.  Use it clear up the side of you neck if they are doing your supracavicle nodes.  I have my one month follow up today and am completely healed.  I only had some minor pealling.  I have to count myself one of the lucky ones.

Thank you everyone for all the encouragement and good advice.  I just lubed myself with Aloe.  Your story did not scare me Janis.  You either, witht the point of chemo, Elimar.  I tend to think things will be fine until proven otherwise.  I am so frustrated.  Every time I think I'm through the hard part and things will get easier, it doesn't.  Just found out last week I have lymphedema.  My arm is definitely swollen.  Have an appointment with an LE therapist on Thursday morning.  When I did the first rad today, they were taking all kinds of x-rays to make sure everything was lined up.  It wasn't.  I was very thankful they were being so cautious and careful.  My arm wasn't right for the lining up.  I think it was because of the lymphedema.  I didn't have it when they did all the calculations Monday, the 3rd.  They tried pushing my shoulder down and things.  Then I got off the table and back on again.  The tech was manipulating my arm and shoulder.  They started again.  She came in after a while and said everything looked good.  It was taking so long.  I started hollering, Can anyone hear me?  Can someone tell me what's going on?  Finally, a different tech came in.  I told her I was in a lot of pain and couldn't keep my arms up any longer.  She said just 5 more minutes.  She said don't move or we'll have to start all over again.  I don't know what the techs were going to do, but I was moaning pretty badly.  The tech said to the other tech, she isn't going to be able to stay there, let's just do the treatment and they threw some kind of a shield or something over me and taped it around me and went out and did the treatment.  It was so long.  Then they came in after the treatment and I asked if I could get my arms down.  They still wouldn't let me, they had to give me another tattoo first.  Finally I could get my arms down.  I could barely lift them for a while afterwards.  When I checked the clock on my phone, I'd been in there for an hour and 45 minutes, all most all that time on the table with my arms over my head.  I think it is the worst I've ever felt.  I absolutely felt like I couldn't stand it for another second.  I feel badly that I whined like I did, but I did just have the mx and lymph nodes removed 6 weeks ago.  Even my good side was really beyond its limit though.  My arms were shaking.  I hope it was all lined up correctly.  I don't even want to think about it.  Part of the reason for the long time must have been that the shift ended and a new tech took over.  The one that started it wasn't there any longer when I was finally finished.  What a nightmare.

Kay.. Oh my I am so sorry you had to go through all that ! wow.. I hope you are feeling better this evening. and your swelling starts to subside quickly! extra gentle hugs!

Kay,  I am so sorry you had to go through all that. Truly a nightmare and you have already been through so much. Tomorrow has to go better,  right???  I know you have a very positive attitude so clearly this was enough to test anyone's limits and you had a right to be whiny...and angry.  Hopefully, "the sun will come up tomorrow" and all will be well.  Keep us posted.

Kay thats just crazy!  Just like the others have said, could they have not waited.  My goodness you have had to go thru enough already. 

Kay, I agree with the others...no reason to feel bad about your reaction. It sounds like you were super patient in a near intolerable situation!

I want to share GOOD news! Since it seems things have been aweful the last couple weeks with kid drama and sickness from Chemo, I wanted to share now that some really nice things happened yesterday. Yesterday, I got a call from a LiveStrong who is helping me find resources to get counseling help for my daughter and some help for me. Then, the pastor from a local church came by...we have only been there twice, but he heard and wanted to extend the offer for one of their Stephen Ministers to come meet with me once a week to see if I need help and walk through this with me. He is also contacting a woman who had breast cancer and children about my son's age a year or so ago to see if she would be willing to transport the kids to church events so they can get out of the house and do things at least once a week. That's not all! My son's guidance counselor talked to him yesterday at a teacher's request (because of Monday's issue of him missing for lack of sleep) and she is going to work with him. In addition, she contacted the reading specialist who had triple neg 2 years ago and she called me. She does a lot of work with breast cancer and is setting meup with free house cleaning through a company that cleans cancer patient homes for free. She is also giving me a juicer to help me when eat veggies and such with the mouth sores and bringing me bean soup. 

The fact is, with being new in the area, having family all live 3 hours away, and being couped up because I can't drive...I was feeling pretty alone. So it is amazing to go from that to feeling like support is coming out of the woodwork! I was pretty sick last night, but it didn't matter as much as it has other days.

I just re-read my post and need to qualify something. I have felt physically alone. All of you ladies have kept me from feeling alone, alone and have provided invaluable support that has gotten me through. I'm just excited to see someone in person

Wonderful news Lee Ann.  There are really lots of nice people out there.

Thanks for the comments on the radiation yesterday.  It was supposed to be another set up before the radiation.  And things were just not lining up the way they were supposed to, that is what was taking so long.  I think the lymphedema in the arm may have been the problem.  I hope in the end it was right.  No extra x-rays on anything with the radiation today, so it should go quite quickly, we'll see.

Saw one little boy in a wheel chair in the waiting room yesterday.  It made me feel so badly.  He looked healthy other than being bald and in a wheel chair.  I'm not sure why he would be getting radiation where I am, Children's Hospital of Phila. is right across the street.  Maybe they didn't have a special machine or something he needed.  It is very said to think of such a young boy going through this.  He must have been about 10.

Yay for that Janis!