Radiation with TEs?

#23 of 25 done.The color of my skin is a dark chestnut, but amazingly it doesn't hurt and is not peeling. I think my TE is doing great, but it looks awful tho'! I am naked most of the day and keep applying aloe vera. Aquaphore and emu oil make my skin hotter and red (??????) My armpit however is a mess, it looks something like the Gran Canyon, it has all kind of deep open sores where the skin has peel away, it hurts all the time. You can see the expose red meat of my armpit, even the techs said "ow ow ow ow" when I have to lift my arm . I am applying lycodine and I began to take pain killers as well. I am keeping my arm elevated with a fan circulating air and it's helping, the problem is when I get the armpit wet while showering the wounds open up again.This is going to be a loooooong weekend!

Thank you for documenting your journey, I know there are so many of us asking the same question. Let me know your healing progress, hope you heal quickly

Cindy

I had a torrid time from the last week as the underarm area quickly progressed from red, sore and weeping. My TE feels as if the radiated muscled has shrink wrapped around the TE- just when I thought TEs couldn't be any more uncomfortable!! I think I never really understood the real meaning of "radiation burns"... I never expected my skin burning so bad that it will look like a piece of paper lighted by a match... I never imagine my body will ooze so bad that my arm will be "glued" to my torso every morning. When I read other women talking about peeling and wounds, I never really imagine how bad it looks...Peeling is more like loosing chunks of skin with flesh attached... I look like a survivor after a nuclear attack! I was really never prepared for this, although they told me it was going to happen. I do have severe burns under my arm (sentinal node scar) and under the breast. So bad, that all of the skin has come off in these areas. They are now open and pink and I'm just waiting for them to heal. Using wound wash, domeboro soaks, and silvadene. I pray this all clears up soon-- under my arm is the worst as it's a big open, pink area about 6 inchesacross. Blech.

The RO's say that this is ok and will just take time to heal. It has been one week since I finished radiation and these burns didn't happen until right up to the last week of treatment. I am all set to HEAL now. I was "ordered" to do one week of bed rest, arm elevated on the back of the couch as much as possible (but the muscles of my arm, chest and back are a mess for having the arm elevated all the time and it hurts. Also nobody told me that could happen). I just want this burn gone for good. So I am home, braless, drying my skin with a fan, and I am not going anywhere for awhile. Let the healing begin!