Any April/May 2012 rad girls out there?

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  • Cindyl
    Cindyl Member Posts: 1,194
    edited June 2012

    WooooT!

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  • Cindyl
    Cindyl Member Posts: 1,194
    edited June 2012

    WooooT!

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  • linnyhopp
    linnyhopp Member Posts: 567
    edited June 2012

    Kellogs ~ So happy for you!  Glad you rang that bell loud and clear...you deserve to make sure everyone knows you hit the finish line.  Yay for being done with the rads!  XOXO

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  • ang7894
    ang7894 Member Posts: 540
    edited June 2012

    Nicole4

    Thank you so much I may consider that. Hope it will work for me.

    Kelloggs,  way to go Now it's time to heal :} 

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  • MOT
    MOT Member Posts: 130
    edited June 2012

    Congrats Kelloggs! Smile

    Its been exactly 2 weeks for me and my skin is fine -- rads are a distant memory......

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  • Sandyland
    Sandyland Member Posts: 262
    edited June 2012

    Yay Kelly!!  It is glorious when you are done :)

    Ang ~ I had hot flashes bad...I mean BAD from chemo.  They started in December and got to the point where they hit every 20-25 minutes without fail.  I didn't want to add any drugs so I just rode them out and all of the sudden, like 4-5 weeks ago, they just diminished drastically.  One day they were the thorn in my side, the next day they were a mild nuisance.  Anyway, I don't know if that is common, but that's what happened to me.  I've been on Tamoxifen for 21 days and I haven't noticed any difference in hot flashes, nor have I had any night sweats :)

    SAN 

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited June 2012

    For those of you done with rads, does anyone have hard spots in your breast? Lumps bumps etc?

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  • ang7894
    ang7894 Member Posts: 540
    edited June 2012

    I did it no more rads finished today yeah!!!  I finally don't have to go 78 miles one way anymore I get my days back :}   I also broke down and cried did not think I was going to make it through. Happy I'm done but also scared THAT I'M DONE..

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  • Kelloggs
    Kelloggs Member Posts: 965
    edited June 2012

    YAY ang!  WOOT WOOT!!!!

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  • Gayle56
    Gayle56 Member Posts: 277
    edited June 2012

    Congrats Ang

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  • Nicole4
    Nicole4 Member Posts: 104
    edited February 2015

    congrats Ang!!!  I know the feeling very well. 

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  • ang7894
    ang7894 Member Posts: 540
    edited June 2012

    Thanks, to all of you. Went out to eat to celebrate. Going to take a week and do absolutely nothing!!!

    LORY- for me no I don't have any hard spots lumps or bumps.  

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  • linnyhopp
    linnyhopp Member Posts: 567
    edited June 2012

    Ang ~ Just adding my congrats to you for being strong and finishing rads.  Great feeling, isn't it?  Rest, relax and enjoy your freedom from that daily ride.  I am so thankful that I only had to go across town for mine.  Can't imagine that long a drive for such quick treatments.  Glad you are finished with it...but do know how you feel about being scared to not have treatment every day.  I am still doing Herceptin until October so will probably feel the same way when it's only Arimidex. 

    Lory ~ No hard spots yet, but the breast definitely feels "different."  I hope all of our post-radiation are quick to resolve!   

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  • MOT
    MOT Member Posts: 130
    edited June 2012

    Lory -- the nipple feels "stiffer" and there is some scar tissue along the LX scar -- not really any lumps, but definitely harder areas along incision. Other than that, I really can't tell as my breast is still pretty sore.

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  • ang7894
    ang7894 Member Posts: 540
    edited June 2012

    Hope everyone is having a nice weekend best wishes to all of you. About how long does it take to heal? And what did you use?

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  • Gayle56
    Gayle56 Member Posts: 277
    edited June 2012

    It took a good 2 weeks for the worst of it to start healing for me.  I just kept using what I had been using all along (X-Clair).  I did have to use nonstick gauze pads on the skin under my breast and on the side near the underarm in order to put on a bra for work.

    Gayle

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  • luvmygoats
    luvmygoats Member Posts: 2,942
    edited June 2012

    Ang - I still get the OMG grab me twinges and know that will continue for who knows how long.  Getting better but went yesterday to try on regular bras, no underwires.  Tata got sore being grabbed/repositioned over and over.  Did buy 2 Bali bras, Macy's had a great sale.  Buy 1, get 1 75% off.  Going to a pool party tonight.  Think the high 99-100 degrees today.  I'll spend my time in the cool AC.

    The skin around my SNB is slowly not so much peeling as flaking away.  See lighter skin in places.  I finished May 23.

    I can't image traveling daily that far for rads.  I know Lory and Macatacmv travelled far, too.  Just that will help with fatigue and expenses and fatigue and mental health and fatigue!!

    Lory, my LX side is still perkier (for almost 60 year old tatas).  I'm only just getting adventurous to feel for lumps/bumps as in some kind of self-exam.  Couple little bumpier spots on each incision but not changing.  Lumps/bumps due to for checkup week after next with mammo and BS appt July 11.

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  • ang7894
    ang7894 Member Posts: 540
    edited June 2012

    OK so I will still use what I was given for I guess a couple weeks or a month or two it sounds like. Well I should have known nothing clears up over night. Wishful thinking though.

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  • Andimom03
    Andimom03 Member Posts: 162
    edited June 2012

    Ang, congrats!  I know I'm a bit behind since I haven't had the the chance to check in but it is a good feeling. Don't panic! We all have a long road to healing and need to trust that what they have done has done what it is supposed to do! I will NOT live in fear or let this all define me. 

    I used/use Calendula lotion, used the nonstick pads, and also have one called Lindi lotion, made for chemo skin. It's pricey, but delightful. I've used Eucerin and Aquaphor too.  

    My skin is in pretty good shape. I am 17 days out and have one or 2 itchy spots, but most of the raw stuff has healed up or is peeling a bit. I haven't bothered with a bra since my surgery but since I have expanders in, it's no biggie...they are hard as rocks! No support needed...will be very glad to have them out of here. I see my PS tomorrow for a skin check and to see how long he wants to wait to do the swap-out surgery. 

    I do get discouraged at how small the increments to feeling myself seem to be. Slow and steady, but just get so tired. Just keep trying to listen to my body and do what I can. I know that I am better than a month ago, but it still seems slow! 

    We are enjoying a break in the heat a little. Hope everyone has a good week ahead.

    Andi 

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  • Sandyland
    Sandyland Member Posts: 262
    edited June 2012

    Ang ~ Just as an FYI....my RO and plastic surgeon told me to use my lotions for the next year on my radiated skin.  I don't know if that is just because I still have to have reconstructive surgery, or if that is a rule of thumb.  You might wanna ask.

    SAN

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  • Gayle56
    Gayle56 Member Posts: 277
    edited June 2012

    My RO said it could take up to a year for my skin to get back to normal and he wants me to use a cream that has aloe and vitamin B a few times a day .

    gayle

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  • MOT
    MOT Member Posts: 130
    edited June 2012

    I used (and still use) miaderm -- has aloe, calendula and something else that eludes me but has been shown to be beneficial for rads healing. I had miminal skin issues during rads.  If my skin feels stiff at night, I do sometimes use aquaphor which is soothing but very greasy (its an ointment) so good for night time use with a t-shirt.

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  • ang7894
    ang7894 Member Posts: 540
    edited June 2012

    Wow thanks girls no one told me this I guess I will call my doctor and ask today.

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  • Andimom03
    Andimom03 Member Posts: 162
    edited June 2012

    Hey there. So I saw my PS yesterday for a skin check and he is amazed at how well I am healing, and said he hasn't seen anyone heal so quickly!  That's a switch!  I usually am slow to heal. I was a bit of a nutjob with creams and lotions, so maybe that helped. I still have some redness, which has mostly faded to tan/brown under my breast, but otherwise, my skin is just very dry and itchy. I'm supposed to keep up with the lotions since the dry skin will be around for quite a while. It was an encouraging visit and he said maybe we could bump up my swapout surgery a bit, but we will see. He had told me it would be 3-4 months, minimum. Now he is saying 2-3...and checking me every few weeks. 

    Ang, I agree with Sandyland...the creams will be around for a long time, I think. Our skin may or may not be the same, ever. I was told not to use any sunscreen on it at all since that can be harsh. Suggested a rashguard shirt that surfers use since they have some UVB protection. That way I could swim or be outside more than I have been. I usually wait til late afternoon or evening if I am going outside (we have gardening to do and a pool...).

     I'm stretching the whole area a lot too, since it often feels tight. Always feels good to do, even if a bit tender. Very eager to be done with the expanders!

    Have a good day, all.

    Andi 

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  • Andimom03
    Andimom03 Member Posts: 162
    edited June 2012

    When it rains, it pours.  Just heard this morning that my husband's father passed away late last night. His mom passed away in February and he literally had just finished emptying her home and getting it on the market yesterday. His dad and stepmom are in Florida. He was 87 but no known serious issues. His heart just gave out. Ah, life is never easy is it? He was a precious man.

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  • Kelloggs
    Kelloggs Member Posts: 965
    edited June 2012

    So sorry to hear this Andimom - you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

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  • Sandyland
    Sandyland Member Posts: 262
    edited June 2012

    I go back to my RO today for my first follow up.  It has been 6 weeks since I finished rads.  I still have the annoying cough/scratchy throat and I still, ocassionally, feel that big lump in my throat.  We'll see what he says.  Also, I've got a lot of pain still on my rads side, just below my tissue expander at my ribs.  i wake up in crazy pain every morning.  Anyone else got that?

    SAN

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  • linnyhopp
    linnyhopp Member Posts: 567
    edited June 2012

    Andi ~ Sorry to hear about your father-in-law.  My sympathy to you, your husband and family.

    San ~ I still have pain in my clavicle area on the radiated side.  I see Dr. Coleman in a couple of weeks and will definitely be asking about that problem.  It seems that in July I will be seeing tons of doctors.  I believe I have 11 appointments between doctors and PT.  Or as they say..."How I Spent My Summer Vacation."  LOL!

    Hope everyone is doing well.  My skin is getting better, too.  Wishing the same for all of you.  Have a great weekend.  Hugs...Linda

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  • Andimom03
    Andimom03 Member Posts: 162
    edited July 2012

    linnyhopp, thank you for your kindness. He will be very missed. And we are doing okay. No rush trips to Florida, thankfully, for me. His wife is not doing a service immediately, possibly not at all. He wanted a party when she was up to it!

    My skin is doing very well and I am thankful. Just dry alot. I still use lotion a couple times a day.

    My SE's get very uncomfortable and I look forward to them being out. I get too hard a hug and they can hurt!

    Enjoy your Sunday, all.

    Andi 

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  • Sandyland
    Sandyland Member Posts: 262
    edited July 2012

    Linda,

    Dr. Volpp said he thinks my throat issues are related to rads.  However, he thinks the swelling will subside on its own and the damage will repair itself eventually.  I can live with that.  =]

    SAN

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