What did you use on skin during radiation?

Hi Brooke,

In the beginning I used the 100% aloe. More than halfway through rads, my RO phoned in a rx for silvadene cream. It worked well. I, too, am fair skinned. Didn't blister but I did get really red and my skin kind of sloughed off.

Take care,

Lexi

Emu oil. It's pricey, but it worked great!

I got my local health food store to order it for me, but you can find it online. It's $25 or so for 4 ounces, but you won't use the whole bottle.

Only thing is make sure it's not rancid, since it can go bad if it's been on the shelf a while.

Try lindiskin @ www.lindiskin.com it saved my life. I never tried emu but I got a huge rash using aloe. I have finished treatment but I still use lindiskin. My Radiology Oncologist's nurse turned me on to it. I love it. I had chemo 6x and 35 rads treatments Lindi skin is all I used. I'm in great shape and my doctors are happy.

I used emu oil too and i loved it, i got it at my local vitamin shoppe, but you can order it online too.  I only wish i found it sooner

I just got the aloe vera stuff at one of those mastectomy stores, but saw same bottle, cheaper at whole foods. think I saw emu oil there also.

Don't remember the names of the creams I used - they were samples the Center kept me supplied with. For the most part they worked fine - just a very mild 'sunburn' after 23rd/before 24th rad but day after last (25th) the entire irradiated blistered and was oozing. What finally healed the area many weeks later was Domebro soaks. During the 'open" time, Dr did not want any creams other than Aquaphor or plain aloe (thankfully I had a huge aloe plant and just about killed it taking so much of it to use).

I read an article that said that using creams did not help with skin that has been radiated. Thats hard to believe. I did use use emu, and some aloe but not regularly. The rad nurse yelled at me for using any oil," just use creams." I used the emu because it is sooo softening. My skin never broke down or burned but turned brown a little peeling. My last tx was tuesday and the clave area and my armpit is fully healed.....Who knows. There are so many conflicting recomendations.

Just to muddy the waters even more, I was told not to use ANYTHING. So I didn't. I had no burning or any discomfort. But I as I am not fair-skinned, I might just be lucky there... Good luck. It is a piece of cake compared to chemo!

http://shepherdschoice.com/

Hi Brooke,

My sister's friend started this company. She has a sheep farm and uses all natural ingredients. If you are not allergic to lanolin, I highly recommend her products. I used the Lanolin Rich moisturizer during rads and my oncologist commented on how she had never seen skin come through rads with so little damage. She also makes a sunburn soother that is wonderful.

Best of luck,

Jackie

I also recommend calendula cream by Boiron.  They have done some research studies on it that show it can make a difference.

http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/calendula 

Literature Summary and Critique
Pommier P, et al. Phase III Randomized Trial of Calendula Officinalis Compared With Trolamine for the Prevention of Acute Dermatitis During Irradiation for Breast Cancer. J Clin Oncol 2004;22:1447-53. Two hundred fifty-four patients who underwent surgery for breast cancer were randomized to receive either Calendula or trolamine, a routine treatment for topical application during postoperative radiation therapy. Occurrence of grade 2 or higher acute dermatitis was significantly lower in patients who used Calendula compared to those who used trolamine.
Due to differences in texture, color, and smell, the trial was single-blinded. Double-blinded studies are needed to confirm the beneficial effects of calendula. 

I was told "only" to get a jar of Sween Cream and use it.  It worked great but I have no idea what was in it.  I just had to use a small bit of it and never used it again for regular use.  I thought it was only for use if you had radiation treatments.  My Onc was amazed that my skin showed no sign whatsoever of even having rads.  I am olive skinned so maybe that helps. 

Oh, and I use body creams/lotions or body butters on both breasts now.  Something that keeps my skin soft and smells nice.  I had a ton of stuff, so still haven't needed to buy anything almost 2 years later.

In this respect, I follow Mae West's lead, but don't spend quite the hour she claimed rubbing skin creams into the area.  I do both breasts as half way through treatment, I noticed that the breast having radiation looked much better than my other one.

We got a sheet from the center with what to use.  Early on told to use Aquaphor.  About midway thru, given a prescription for Silvadene for the redness/soreness and to sprinkle Zeasorb A/F powder on the site (it is an antifungal for athlete's feet) to avoid infection.  Sessions toward the end may begin to get "wet" or weepy looking.  If it does told to buy Domeboro soaks (astringent to dry the area) and while using Domeboro, use no creams, lotions, etc but also sprinkle Zeasorb on the site.  At my 2 week appt after last session, the area was again dry and told okay to go back to Aquaphor.