January 2012 rads

Never had radiation the first time I was diagnosed, but with the bone mets I'm having 15 treatments to my sternum...halfway through!!

Lisa

Ralston--no TE's for me yet...waiting til treatment done.  The RO showed me the "range" of the beam on the body.  It covers where the lymph nodes were but not the actual armpit.  Took his word for it not sure where they actually were.  I am getting 30 treatments and 5 boosts to the scar on the left (cancer) side.

Maggie

Hi, 

I wasn't going to get the tatoos thinking that they would be obvious; however, after a week of the "stickers" I changed my mind (trying to be careful in shower, etc.). The tatoos were like a tiny dot (like a freckel) and I'm so glad I did them.

Patrithia 

twistedsteel - Uh oh, I just looked and see fragrance as the last ingredient in Miaderm. I hope that means there's very little of it, and so I'll try it anyway. I don't seem to have trouble with fragrance as an ingredient in lotions. Is it toxicity or allergy that concerns you? I bought Miaderm after searching other rads threads for creams that ROs recommend. My RO didn't mention any brands.

ptdreamers - Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) involves light circular strokes on the skin to redirect lymph fluid from the affected to the unaffected side. It starts in the supraclavicular area, moves on to arms, chest, and inguinal areas, and is specific about the order to make the drainage work. It's probably best to be shown the technique by a physical therapist. 

Hello ladies,

I thought I'd post because I need your inspiration. Yesterday I had my first rad tx. 1 of 25, plus 10 boosts. I was pretty scared. It was sooooooo easy. I hope it stays that way. I did ask the techs and the RO about creams and maybe a diet to help with all that raiation my body will absorb. no real answer. "We'll cross that bridge that when we come to it." Really. I will moisterize my skin and add more greens and protien to my diet.

It's so nice to be here and I wish you all a easy trip down the radiation trail.

Maureen

Morning Ladies

Was supposed to have my radiation planning today, but the machine broke down.. so have to wait until Monday... That happens to be my birthday,53, and I get to spend it at the hospital for planning.... but then again.. glad it is getting done.. the sooner I start the sooner I will be done..

chef127: As far as diet is concerned, my RO told me not to go out of my way to get extra antioxidants beyond the normal diet because that could disrupt the effects of chemo. They want to destroy those bad cells and if we have an excess of antioxidants, our bodies would be repairing them. Crazy stuff! She didn't say to eat poorly of course, just not OD'ing on the antioxidants. That is the only thing I have been told about diet so far.

My RO gave me a burn gel to use but said that I didn't really have to use it until I started seeing skin changes. She said that I could use lotion if I wanted, but it is not necessary yet either. She will have an appointment for me with a nurse about skin care in a week or two. I just finished my 4th appointment today. Momine: kind of funny that you are getting yelled at for not using the "special cream" and I have no special cream recommended yet. But, I will eventually.

Wow so many docs and so many opinions.  Mine said use whatever you want for moisturizing.  Will address cortisone cream if necessary during treatment.  Cannot wait to get on with this phase.  Sim/mapping on Tuesday and then MO appt Wed to get results of blood work and pet scan from today.  Then Thursday leaving for Vegas for franchise conference for my store.  Busy Busy...feels good though to be doing something.

Maggie

Okay.  So I feel a bit better knowing others have had the rads with the tissue expander in and my PS will not need to deflated. Still waiting to know which day next week I will have my first treatment (1 of 25).

Rockym,

Yes it is a lonely Tx. When my first Tx was done I asked the tech what the burning smell was during the zaps. She looked at me almost terrified. And I thought I was being funny. Today I had my #2 Tx and before we started I asked her to zap the hairs on my chin. They both laughed. They need to ease up on the assembly line attitude. I'm lying there, half naked, with my mutilated breast exposed, for all to oogle. Lets lighten up a little.

I'm having 25 zaps and 10 Boosts. I thought it was because of the large tumor area, but I see your Tumor was a lot smaller. Curious question. are you having 27 TX PLUS 9 BOOSTS? or 27 total?

Maureen

Hi Everyone! Went for my mapping today. It was uneventful. One thing I was curious about was the weekly "quality assurrance" scans they do. I was worried about the extra radiation from them and if they were really necessary to keep them on track since they have marked me up so good. I asked how often they change something based on these weekly scans and she said "about once every 6 months". I then wondered if I was getting more radiation each week because of these scans. She started writing dosage levels and all this other stuff down on paper for me to understand and essentially what she explained was that they figure the dosing from these once a week scans and minus it from the dosing that day to treat you so you are getting the same dose each day, even if you get the scan one day and not the next.  The total radiation dosing is the same and the scan counts as the body burden for the radiation treatment. I don't know if I explained this clearly enough but it made me feel better about the quality assurrance radiation I was getting weekly to make sure there markings were still accurate.  I tried to joke a bit too but my guy was really concentrating on giving me the tattoos and stickers and getting me out of there on time. Geez!

Maureen, the printout they gave me showed 27 reg tx and an additional 9 boosts.  He originally said 33 tx and I never really asked how they figure out the number, boosts, etc.  I was definitely more on my game a few weeks back.

I still joke around a bit, but it's all so quick.  There really isn't time to talk much or get to know these guys.  With chemo, I got to know the nurses and even had a couple of ladies that I chatted with while in the chair.  Of course I would have preferred only rads, but I'm 47, had 2 positive nodes, an Oncotype dx of 22 and I have young children.  I couldn't afford not to give it everything.  Love the burning smell joke :-).  I may just have to borrow that one.

Terry71,

It is impossible to predict  what side effects we will suffer, if any. We are all different. The tx themselves are very easy to take. From what I've read it takes approx. 3 weeks of tx. before you get a reaction. burning skin and fatigue. Thats it. But like I said we are all different. We can only take 1 tx at a time.Good Luck to you and all of us.

Maureen

Rockym- Did you have a lumpectomy or a mastectomy?

Hi all,

I had a lumpectomy on 12/27. Luckily, I don't need chemo. I met with my radiation oncologist last Wednesday and I go for mapping on Monday. I've been stressed out about this whole radiation process. At this point, it seems that the surgery was the easy part. I  also have rheumatoid arthritis, so I already suffer from fatigue and the medication I take for that makes my skin sensitive. I don't know what to expect from radiation. I can't imagine doing that 5 days a week for the next 6 weeks. I guess I need to be willing to do  anything that will protect me from the cancer...but I'm stressed out about the next part of the treatment process.

Traci