Any April/May 2012 rad girls out there?
Comments
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Bchygrl- can you describe your severe hot flashes? The ones I'm having are awful, although, I'm not having a ton of them, maybe 6-8 per 24 hr period. But, they start and feel like a slow burning/ hot feeling in my body and then go to my head- my head feels like it could explode, then starts to sweat, then gets cool, then it's over. I also feel lightheaded during some of these hot flashes- anyone else? I'm 43 and was very premenopausal before chemo. My Mom didn't go into menopause until she was 57...my older sisters are still premenopausal.
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I know many of you commented on my blood clot and my brain is way tired today to respond to all. I think the Rad fatigue is really kicking in...I am on #14 today..and not even half done...If I'm like this now then prolly a zombie at end..lol
It was really painful last night where BS tried to suck some fluid up. He put the syringe/needles in 2 different spots of incision from Lumpectomy. I did not feel thing when he 1st did them but after and last night OWWWWWIIIIEEEE! I saw the blood clot on ultrasound and it is pretty much the size of my Dcup breasts. I hope rads will help it go down some. I ma taking some time off at the end of rads to heal and rest. I know that is not helping my pain right now but am doing some lighter work at the office and know my limit!!
I hope this clot shrinks soon!! The pressure on incision is pretty rough. I have a high tolerance to pain but this sucks!!
Keep strong everyone..Im going to bed at 7pm...lol
Kristi
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Hi Charb22
I am receiving the same amount of Rads as you. My RO told me today that I could start Tamox up to 3 months after my last Rad treatment with no problem. I know some of you ladies are already on Tamox. I am fine with taking a breather in between it all. I want to try and enjoy my summer with my daughter. We have a lot of plans and I just want to recoup. I will probably wait till late July to get things rolling. My last Rad is June 6. -
Hi everyone.
Wondered what you thought about what my RO said today. I told him I had a bit of shortness of breath--I'm a pretty serious athelete so I know what feels "right" and what doesn't. He didn' think it was radiation related and said only a fraction of my lung is being affected.
So could it be something else? Blood count or something? I'm scared because after my late husband finished with his chemo and rads, he wound up dying from his cancer 5 months later and the first symptom he noticed was not being able to breathe.
RE: hot flashes. I'm on tamoxifen, have been for nearly a month. Have had my first hot flashes ever in my life but I'm taking a low dose of effexor for them and I seem to only have them 1-2 times a day...but I have had them at night, with sweats. Not every night though, and if I take my meds later in the day I seem to have more night flashes.
I'm weary of rads...
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I'm due to start Tamox soon--as soon as my breast has healed from radiation. I'm three weeks out from finishing radiation and I'm in no rush to start Tamox. (I'm 42 and not premenopausal.) I'm going away next weekend and there's no way I want that ruined by SEs! So, when I get back, I'll likely start.
Just curious, has anyone else had their tx in the prone position? It's pretty much par for the course where I went (New York University), but it doesn't seem to be that way elsewhere.
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Clairenaz- are they checking your blood counts every week? They checked mine every week during rads, as my RO said that sometimes radiation causes anemia. I think that anemia makes you feel weak and short of breath.
I've noticed on this thread that it seems like our RO's ask us how were doing, and if we're experiencing any symptoms, then tell us that the symptoms don't have anything to do with radiation!
I know you're weary of rads...it really wears you down. Hope you get a good nights sleep. -
Busy day today. Took Mom to see her rehab dr. Then went down the street to the lymphadema clinic for an evaluation and treatment (undress put gown own with opening to the back! What a novelty!) PT thinks I show signs of LE, mild so far, but wants try to get ahead of it. She did baseline measurements and a brief treatement, avoiding the sore areas from the rads. She wants to see me once a week for the next few weeks, to monitor the swelling. She says we will probably want to order a compresson sleeve as well.
After that I dressed and wandered through the maze that is our hospital to get to rads. Undressed again, got a treatment, saw the RO (and his teenage daughter -- she's doing job shadowing, wants to be a physician herself) The dr. thinks my skin looks really good, better than he expected it to at the outset. Dressed and crawled out to the car (which I had the forsight to park by the cancer center) and went home for a nap. My word am I bushed. Work is nothing compared being an "invalid"
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Char ~ My docs are being really aggressive too. I also had no node involvement, but I am slated for a total of 36 rads tx's. I have completed my 28 regular and am done with my first 2 boosts (of 8). It feels like an awful lot to me, but I don't ever wanna look back and wish I had done more.
My skin is worst under my arm. Blisters starting, the most angry red skin I've ever seen in my life. Hurts like a mutha!
Hotflashes ~ My team also wants me to start on Tamoxifen a month post rads. They gave me a month break between surgery, chemo, rads and now Tamox. I am 42, was premenopausal (in chemopause now) and had zero symptoms before. I started chemo in Nov and my hotflashes began in Dec. By Feb they were every 40 minutes, now they are every 20-30 minutes!! It is BRUTAL!! I always feel a bit queasy, just before one begins. Then, for about 3 minutes, I am in HELL. I sweat and I feel like the heat is trapped inside my skin. Anything I am in contact with, a pillow, my bed, the couch...turns to an oven on my skin. Then, it slowly subsides. If these get worse on Tamox...I won't be able to take it.
My MO suggested Effexor for the hot flashes, but I refuse to take any more meds than absolutely necessary. I am really hoping they calm down as I get farther out from chemo.
SAN
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SAN -- I am looking forward to hearing from you once you start Tamoxifen -- I am not having flashes -- I am however on Effexor -- please be sure to let me know what happens when you start -- I am not having any side effects that I can tell.
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Sandyland, you have described EXACTLY my hot flashes, which are 'all natural' (have been in menopause for almost 7 years, no HRT, just nature taking its crummy course).
I didn't know other women feel queasy just before the flash - I sure do. And another thing, it seems they often strike when I have to pee and have been postponing! It's like my body can only handle one stress as a time and having to pee tips me over the edge.
Luckily for me, though, I don't get them nearly as often as you do. I really empathise, it's pretty hard to take and it makes a person very irritable (or am I just using them for an excuse to be crabby? hmmmm...)
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Akmom ~ You made me laugh! I am hyper-aware that I feel SOOOOO cranky during a hot flash, so I try to really hold my tongue. What I find, however, is that I get almost...surprised, every time one hits me and I say, "I'm hot, I'm hot, OMG I'm HOT!!" to whoever is unfortunate enough to be in my presence at the moment. Hahaha! My husband doesn't even react anymore, except to absentmindedly pick up the closest magazine and start fanning me.
Cancer has made me SO FREAKIN' WEIRD!!
SAN
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Starting rads in about a week what is a boost?
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3girls ~ I only know what I have learned having walked this road for awhile now, but I'll share what I've been told by my RO. A boost can mean different things. In my case, the boosts are radiation treatments specifically to the skin surronding my mastectomy incision. Cancer cells tend to hide out there sometimes. Boosts can also be treatments where a bolus (material laid over the treatment field) is used to bring the strength of the radiation up to the skin. I had about 18 regular treatments where a bolus was used. My bolus was made from a hot wax type material to create a hard mold of my left side. It was placed over me prior to the tx's. Radiation doesn't dispurse it's power until it is several milimeters below the initial surface it comes into contact with. When the radiation hits the bolus, it will then disburse it's power right up to the surface of your skin. It is harder on your skin, but it is more effective at killing cancer cells that might be up at skin level. This was important for me because my tumor was very close to my skin and I didn't have super clean margins.
I hope that helps!
SAN
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Hi CharB -- i am doing rads in the morning at 8:15am which is working well for me. I just get up and shower and head to rads which, like you, is an hour drive for me. Then I head to work. I finished 11 of 30 treatments today and so far so good. Like luvmygoats, I knew I would have alot of trouble getting out of work on time to make the afternoon appointments. Also traffic is better in the morning. I think you will just have to figure out what will work best for you. I like the mornings because then I can put on deodorant before work and forget about rads when I get there. I usually work about 8-10 hour days at a fairly strenous job. So far haven't been too fatigued and skin is fine. And I'm 60 years old
Feel like I am always filling up the tank, though.
luvmygoats -- going to look for a sheepskin seat belt cover..... thanks! I don't know why I didn't think of that.
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SAN -- Wow that was a nice definition of boosts and bolus!
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Re: timing of rad appointments - I didn't get to choose the time of my treatments, and they were different every day, which made it hard to plan (earliest was 8:00 am and latest was about 3:30 pm). I actually preferred the afternoon ones, but only because I often didn't bother going back to work afterward (almost an hour drive). When I had morning treatments and then work, the day seemed very long...
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Hello to All ~ So know what the hot flashes are like. I went through menopause (naturally) at 42 and had what seemed like a thousand of the damned things a day! The women I work with used to laugh at me cause I would be fanning myself all the time. They couldn't believe it. As I told them then, it's like an "inside out hot." It starts on the inside and gradually you can barely stand it. I have started experiencing them again now that I have been doing rads. Hate them just as much as I did before and can totally relate to all of you. Hate my sweaty head and body. And I sure don't need more moisture under the boob that's being radiated for sure! It's getting pretty sore and red under there and my arm. This is a hoot...my rad onc (a very COOL woman) told me to wrap a toilet paper roll in a Telfa gauze pad and stick it under my sore breast while I lay down and watch TV. Her nurse almost fell over laughing but then thought it was a genius idea! I am actually going to try it tonight. Whatever works, right?
Speaking of red...after having a great lunch with San yesterday (and yes, I was jealous that she had that humongous margarita and I had to go back to work!) I can vouch for her horribly burned skin. Ouch! I feel so bad for her and any of you who have the issue. You guys are suffering for sure and I am afraid I will be among you very soon. This is the pits and I know we will all be glad when it's over. Hoping those who are finished are healing well and those of us still going through it manage to keep ourselves as pain free as possible for the rest of our treatment.
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akmom. Ick. I'd hate not having "my slot." I have the last slot of the day. Just leave work a little early, get zapped, go home. It's kind of funny. Trooper and I show up and everybody stops to say hi, then goes and start shutting down for the day. Today I came in earlier because I was already at the hospital and they worked me in early. Several people gave me a bad time because they had to work for another 1.5 hours...
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Hi Joanne I hope you skin heals fast. I had no problem until the 3rd week when I developed folliculitis. I am using a cortisone cream and my aloe plant. I think it is healing since all the tiny red bumps turned darker like a wound on the mend. take care and let me know how it goes.
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Hi all ,
I am now one week out from all tx. Sunburn has almost all gone. Tiredness getting better. Went back to work tuesday. It felt so good to be the nurse and not the pt. I am now hypersensitive to there needs now.
The tears seem to be coming less now. Went and saw my new MO.
This one can get me in metformin trial. Of course I hadto askfor it. I had to ask for tamoxifin script. I may be able to get into vaccine trial there too. Of course had to ask about that .
No bllodwork or scans now unless there are symptoms. Halfway through appt I got overwhelmed and the tears started. Then later dh and I at bar and tears started again. I think he was talking about just for him to cont working till he is like 70(loveshisworknow)
I hear youll talk of effexor , what is that? Im on celexa for this bc induced depression
Just need to put my life back together -
Momof3--they aren't checking my blood every week. The last time I had a lab count was my final chemo tx. Should I ask them to do this?
I'm vegetarian now...was eating meat during chemo but not anymore, and I know that red count can drop for us vegetarians. And cause shortness of breath. I wonder if that's it.
I agree--if our SE aren't in their "book" they dismiss a lot of them. I swear we get nearly as good medical tx on these boards sometimes as we do in tx!
Claire
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Fran -- I am on Effexor for depression -- I was on Wellbutrin prior to bc but it interacts with Tamoxifen so had to change --
I just checked the list and Celexa is also has major interactions -- I have attached the link.
http://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/celexa-with-tamoxifen-679-335-2145-0.html
I would be asking your MO or Family Doc about switching.
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Thanks to everyone that answered about rads time - can't thank you all individually - still have chemo brain as I'm only 2 weeks PFC. I'm still so exhausted from chemo and I went back to work on Monday. I was so wiped out yesterday, I was in bed at 8pm! Came home from work, had dinner (made my 78 yo mom!), read for a bit, then off to bed. DH has to keep doing everything for a bit longer....thank goodness he's such a sweetie and doesn't mind.
How often do you actually see your RO during rads? I can't imagine I'll see him every tx. Oh, and for you "House" fans...my RO's name is Dr. Wilson. LOL.
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Thanx joanne about info on my celexa. I agree we doget better care using these boards. This one I dont think even reviewed my drugs . Maybe I will just go back to my old mo.
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My boob dr. says new study out from his friends at mdanderson that recommends waiting 1 full yr after rads to get the diep. Sigh . Says there seems to be less risk of complications the longer we wait. Looks like my torture expander stays longer
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I am starting 5 weeks of radiation (skipping the boost, thank) on the 21st.
On the smallish side (B cup on the "good side", A 1/2 on the "bad side"
). I am a runner (I run a lot, about 70 mpw). Three questions: 1) anyone else trying to run through treatment? 2) what were you told about sunscreen use on the chest area during treatment?? 3) where any of you smaller women able to use camisoles with the built in sport bras during treatment?
Good luck May/June ladies. This sucks for sure.
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I am starting 5 weeks of radiation (skipping the boost, thank goodness) on the 21st.
On the smallish side (B cup on the "good side", A 1/2 on the "bad side"
). I am a runner (I run a lot, about 70 mpw). Three questions: 1) anyone else trying to run through treatment? 2) what were you told about sunscreen use on the chest area during treatment?? 3) were any of you smaller women able to use camisoles with the built in sport bras during treatment?
Good luck May/June ladies. This sucks for sure.
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San, I too am suffering with underarm blisters and pain. 2 more to that area, then start bossts Monday. My onco nurse gave me creme and some mole skin type material to cover it. All I want to do is lay on the bed topless, with my arm over my head..
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Just to encourage you lovely ladies: One week post-rads and skin is looking soooooo much better and less pain too! It will get better!!
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Thank You Dechi, It's good to hear from others that it WILL get better. Anyone else getting all teary throughout the day? Seems I feel like a big ball baby the past few days; Iguess it's the fatigue.
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