Any April/May 2012 rad girls out there?

Congratulations to all of you who are just finishing rads up!  I am now 3 weeks PFR and I am healing nicely   The fatigue is still a beast, but manageable. 

I still cry occassionally.  I was never a cryer before...sometimes I wonder if I'll ever stop.  This has been a difficult ride, but I do believe the worst is behind us

SAN

Aang stay strong..Things will get better. Keep a positive attitude and the rest will fix itself!

Well after finishing rads on Thursday it has been very emotional. I should be celebrating but a great friend and classmate lost there 16 year old in a drowning in the local lake. 2 16 year olds drowned in very shallow water and cause is still unknown. They finally found the bodies on Friday afternoon. My cancer has made me very emotional but I have not stopped crying since. What a heart wrenching ordeal. I have put of celebrating for awhile. My nipples and skin around is starting to peel and pretty sore. I missed applying lotion on Friday as we spent all day searching for these beautiful girls. I have not been sleeping well and am pretty tired. Things will get better eventually. It is just a hard time right now!!

I hope all of you are counting the days and healing well. Take care of yourselves and keep fighting!!

Kristi

Wiskris - I am so sorry, what an awful ordeal.  My heart goes out to the families.  I don't blame you one bit for crying all weekend. I am teetering on the edge most of the time and it doesn't take much to turn on the waterworks.

Today is my last whole breast tx.  Tomorrow I start with 7 boosts and I am done!  I spent the weekend in the sunshine (with sunscreen) and it was fabulous!  I asked my RO last week about swimming and she said it was fine so I floated in our pool for a few hours this weekend also.  My underarm is ouchy but not too bad.  My nipple is also sore and has peeled...ewwwwwww.  I have been pretty lucky though. 

Congrats to all of you who finished!

Well, it's been 6 days since my last radiation.  Skin is peeling and areas that are burned are very sore.  I can even say painful when turning over in bed...ouch!  The skin that is peeling off is actually gray/black colored.  Guess you could say by the end I was definitely well-done.  I am looking forward to everything healing and feeling better.  I will definitely try the vitamin E as I have some at home and need to get the aloe.  The RO told me Eucerin would be good to use daily.  I saw the Physical Therapist/Lymphedema Specialist today because my MO does not want me to fly next month without a sleeve.  She was very informative and when she measured my arms, thankfully I only have a very slight difference.  However, she said it's important to learn the technique to keep the swelling minimal so I will be seeing her a few times for that.  I know that the radiation increased my potential for having worse issues, so I am going to try and be proactive to avoid it.

As Sandy has posted, even with all we go through with radiation it does get better as the days after treatment move along.  I hope that we will all come back to this thread occasionally to keep in touch.  Glad for all that are finished and will be so happy when all of the April/May group is finished with this phase of treatment.  Happy Monday...Linda

Congrats, Kelly!  I am now about 4 days PFR and am really sore. Some spots that were worse before and healing quite a bit, but SO tender and sore under my breast and arm.  I have an area that is peeling under my arm that sounds like yours, linnyhopp.  Greyish-black and tender. Just raw skin underneath, no open sores. And so tired!  But each day is further from treatments and no more added injury. I am thankful for that!

I see my MO tomorrow, and will most likely be handed my rx for Tamoxifen. Another step...

My biggest silly issue right now is that I can't get/give hugs since my shoulder blade is so tender and itchy and it hurts the front to hug too. I am quite a 'huggy' person, so many folks approach me expecting a hug!  I give fistbumps instead. I'll be glad when I can give a hug to someone with abandon!  And alot of friends love rubbing my fuzzy head and can't get over how soft my new hair is!  So far, it is the original color which is fine with me. My oldest daughter wanted silver curls!

Andi 

congrats to all that have finished or are nearing ....

Wiskris, so terribly sorry for the loss of the teens. Such a difficult thing to handle, for anyone. Just had a chance to read back through some previous posts. Please know that you and those families will be in my prayers.

I stopped by my ROs office yesterday, after seeing my MO (got my script for Tamoxifen), and asked if they could look at these raw spots before my scheduled skin-check appointment on Monday. I'm now on Silvadeen cream 2-3 times a day, with this tubby-top kind of webbing to keep non-stick bandages in place. Awkward spots to have bandages, but they feel better already. So glad I stopped in. Haven't worn tubetops in YEARS!  

It is a glorious morning here after a drenching day yesterday. Hope to enjoy some of it outside today!

Andi 

I have 3 boosts left and I am done!  I went swimming over the weekend, okayed by my RO but the moisture made me peel.  My DH and I are now referring to it as "Frankenboob".  Almost the entire nipple peeled and under the breast peeled.  It really looks odd and kind of disgusting!  I can't wait until this is over!

That's what I thought Joanne, that it was tan....but must have been burnt!  I was pretty surprised to see it peel away. 

Just came back from a skin check with my RO and she is very pleased! I am 10 days post rads, and still have a lot of red, tender skin under my breast and armpit, but she says it is all new skin and looks good.  Another week or 2 of Silvadeen or Aquaphor til it is no longer tender, and I will be in good shape. So thankful it is easing up. It was so sore and raw for days! 

Joanne, since I have no nipple, I can't identify! My scar looks very good though.  All the redness is around my expanders, no on them and I am glad for that!

Hang in there everyone, and congrats to those who are recently done or almost done!

Andi 

Cindy good for you though for taking control - I go to the store and buy chips and chocolate. I need to turn my ahead around and take CONTROL of things again.

I have 4 boost left I will be all done on friday then I get my life back. My skin under my arm is red and hurts alot but I must hang in there this is almost over :} To all of you out there have a great week .

2 weeks post rads and except for the red "circle" around my incision from the boosts, everything else -- underarm, SNB incision -- all has healed to a tan. Boob is still very sore, though, esp the nipple.

JUST started on arimidex today -- and fosamax. Hoping for minimal SEs. Had lost weight before my LX and right after. Weight stayed steady during rads. Hope I don't gain anything with the HT.

Glad to hear everyone is finishing rads and/or healing up great. What a ride..... 

yeah luvmygoats -- the anastrozole cost $287.00/mo but I paid 0. Fosamax was $9.00/mo for 4 tablets. My DEXA in Feb indicated osteopenia in the spine, osteoporosis in left femoral head but the total hip was good --- ? which was worse than 2 years ago. A friend said she took fosamax for 18 months, then her DEXA came back good so she stopped. I can only hope! The thigh fractures after 5 years are kinda scary!

Hi Ang7894, I had acupunture and my hot flashes are gone.  I strongly encourage you to try this.  I can't believe it myself, I went last Tuesday and walked out feeling like a new person.  I am also doing a cleanse for one week drinking apple juice with lime.  I don't agree with meds either they scare me.  The good news is that I read an article lately that said that women that suffer hot flashes after breast cancer are less likely to have recurrence.  That kept me going for awhile, I was welcoming them.

hugs