December 2011 Rad

Thank you everyone for the responce on lathering up before Rads the oncol did call and wants to see me again have an appointment Tues so I will be sure to ask again.You guys are the best thanks for caring Hugs.

I'm with you.bgail84.I gi Wed. to meet with Rads. dr.  I asked my oncologist the first of this week about the new study on OncotypeDX  but she thought I  meant the older one on farther along cancer and chemo.  I realized this after I got home but that was to late to discuss it with her.  I'd really like to have iand ,if possible, to skip rads.I'm going to ask the rads dr wed about it.  I meant to ask him about not starting till after Christmasand New Years which we will spend in Miss, withdd and family  Iam really undicided on what to do.

Well here I go!! First day of rads today..... 24 more to go. Lets get it done. Hugs fellow rad sista's

Good Luck today Michello. My tx actually didn't happen..... I was so friggin upset! I guess when I had my tatooes done almost 3 and half weeks ago the hospital had  got a bad batch of ink in????? Everyone who was tatooed that week had their tatooes wear off!!! Can you believe that??? So after almost an hour of them trying to find them, they decided to send me back over to CT and have my tatooes redone. After 4 freakin hours I was finally out of there. Needless to say I was none too happy and felt so very defeated.......... I have no luck Soooooo today has to go better then yesterday. Tx at 12:35 today keep fingers crossed ladies

I finished yesterday, December 12th. Thank God and all the kindness of the staff. I never thought I would make it.

Hi All - Tomorrow is #13 for me - almost half way there. Anyone else into their 3rd week feeling tired? I can't tell if it is the rads or the daily visits or just other things but I got up today very tired and remained that way most of the day. I worked at home so wasn't too bad. I have some other things going on in my life which might be contributing to feeling tired and a bit overwhelmed. So far no skin issues - keep that cream coming!

 As Sandy was asking - anyone know what determines number of rads?  Also, are rads the same intensity for everyone (other than the boosts which are more intense and targeted)?

Michelle - Thanks for the info - lots to learn about all of this. On Monday my RO told me that my skin was also where it should be - I guess some subtle signs but not much yet.

I assume your previous rads were not in the same area? I understand you can't radiate same area twice, i.e., if I have a recurrance (or new cancer) in same breast I had my lumpectomy then that breast can't be treated again with rads (also a 2nd lumpectomy might not have adequate cosmetic result). My breasts are not that large but amt taken out was small you can't tell any difference in size, however, if my DCIS had been multifocal it would have been MX (despite stage 0).

Michelle - How right you are - I hope I never need to find out more about second treatment - I want this to be my one and only. 

That is scary about your ribs. You have been though quite a bit (I was not sure what that all meant in your signiture but I am learning). I guess we come together in this but also have our individual paths. This might sound like the obvious but I don't think anyone can really appreciate it unless you have been down this path - no matter where you are in your journey and what your individual path.

Well, as scary as the rib fracture sounds, it's not nearly as frightening as having the first RO tell me that I had up to a 20% chance of heart and/or lung damage and up to a 30% chance of killing my thyroid.  Rib fractures are painful but usually not deadly!  Unfortunately, the rib fracture is a "forever" risk so I'll have to be careful.  The radiation weakens your bones and being zapped twice in the same area definitely increases the risk of damage. 

My radiation has a couple of longer zaps and several two second bursts.  I get a bolus on my mastectomy scar every other treatment.  The machine moves several times and the shield opens up or closes some depending on what and where they are shooting.  They also come in and add a contraption along with a lead shield with a small opening for the electron beam portion of my treatment which is targeting my mammary nodes while keeping the radiation very shallow to avoid the organ damage. 

The physics involved in developing the dosage, angles, etc for treatment is really quite interesting and complex.  I feel very fortunate that I am able to have Dr. Harris at Dana Farber as my RO. He is recognized as a leading expert in this field.  And he is the kindest, most gentle doctor I've encountered along my journey.  He's been at Dana Farber pretty much his entire career, chairs the department and is also a Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard. 

Okay, treatment 10 today. Not feeling tired which is great but do have what appears to be a tiny pimple above the nipple. Is this a blister or beginning of one? At least I will see RO today and can ask him. Am worried more about hormone therapy than anything else right now. Have read so much aboue SEs. My BS wants to put me on Femara--concerned about the whole joint pain, and vaginal issues, just hope he can address that for me. Keep up the fight!

(((((Pebee))))) Do you mean the fatigue is more present or that you are more present despite the tireds?  Sending you strength.

TX #7 today. In intense pain from the positioning of my arms and neck. Anyone else in upper back agony?

Rose - I am using a L'Oreal 28-shampoo product.  The color is Chestnut Brown and as you can see, it took very red on my mostly grey hair.  I've used it twice and it did take some brown this time, more like an auburn color.  It's funny, I was paying a fortune to get my hair to something close to this color and the red would fade away after about two weeks.  This color seems to hang around much better, and it costs $7.  I hate doing it myself but I love saving about $65 a pop.

I agree with Shelley - if you don't let them know a position is painful, they can't help make it more comfortable. 

11 down 19 to go.  They are changing my time again.  I'm going at 4 p.m. on Friday then 3:40 next week unless the drive gets too ugly.  Then we'll have to figure out a different time.  So far the commutes have been tolerable.  With Christmas approaching and all the colleges finishing classes, there should be less traffic until after New Year's. 

Hi Kat - I am just feeling the fatigue more... With Chemo it seemed to come and go, now it has permantly settled.  Another done, almost to half way.