May 2012 radiation

Loving seeing all those smiley faces with sunglasses!  Wow, we are almost done!  yea for us!

We don't have a Live Strong program in Maryland or even a YMCA that I can find.  I think daily stretching will be in my cards for years!  That's okay,  it feels good!

I wear spf 30 on most of my body and then spf 50 on my right arm and radiated are and my whole chest area, I also have a big straw hat and I sit under the umbrella.  I did sit out a bit the other day in the late afternoon and it was a bit cloudy but I still had my hat and all that sunscreen on me.  RO said ocean water may be good for me but I didn't go in but pool should be okay too.    I wore a t-shirt when I went on my long walk the other day and I would normally wear a tank top so I wouldn't get a farmer tan but I don't really care anymore and with spf 30 to 50 I probably won't get much color anyway.

Oh I hope I don't start losing hair.  It just started growing!

McKenna, my last scheduled rad is Monday, but that's the day I see the RO and he will assess the condition of my skin and determine if he wants to press on for a few more boosts.  I wish I knew for sure!

There are four raw, red open areas on my chest and back.  The biggest one is just too big and involves too many skin folds for me to put BL's magic dressing on, and I want to save it for the smaller ones.  The three smaller ones have been treated with the Mepilex Lite dressing BL sent me, and the difference in healing is amazing.  I can see little "islands" of skin developing in them, whereas the big one is still raw, red, and oozing.  Thanks, BL!  I intend to show my RO my little skin experiment and hopefully it will encourage him even more to order this dressing for me and his other patients.

Wear a hat at the pool, definitely, and don't forget to apply sunscreen everywhere.  When I ride my bike I wear a lymphedema sleeve on my left arm as a preventive measure, but the one I currently have is plain flesh colored and ugly.  I got my MO to prescribe bilateral sleeves, and have a beautiful pair ordered from Lymphedivas.  I'll wear them for sun protection as well as lymphedema prevention, and no one will know one of them is there for compression.

Boost #6 this afternoon--the light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter!  Happy Friday, everyone!

sb...I also have a Lymphediva sleeve. It is the flesh coloured one for my left arm. I sure makes it feel better altho I don't wear it as often as I should. Hard to wash my hands or prepare food with it. Are the new ones you ordered the patterned ones? Some look like a tattooed arm when wearing only one...am sure people wonder "what the heck?" I am going to order one as well...she may even have one in stock. I have basically quit going to the therapist....it didn't seem to be doing any good. I try to do it myself and seems to be in check so far! My worry is that it might spread to my hand.

mckenna - my RO nurse told me to cover up as well but I just didn't feel like it on the beach.  So, I wear the spf 50 (for my sanity), my big straw hat and I usually sit under the umbrella.  I usually wear a t-shirt though when I would have definitely worn a tank top in these past few weeks with this heat.  If I go to the pool this summer, I will either find an umbrella or wear a t-shirt if I'm not in the pool and go late in the day and/or find a shady spot. 

SB - I hope you start to heal soon. 

I saw this on the June rads thread and I agree.  My RO told me at the beginning that the 6 weeks of rads was like a marriage. The first 2 weeks would be the honeymoon ("oh, this is no problem, I feel great"); the middle 2 weeks you start to see some problems and little things begin to annoy you; and the last 2 weeks....well, I'm ready for a divorce. 

Nancy - I like to do my exercise outside too with long walks with my golden retriever, Reiley.  I find peace.

BL - yup, I don't mind divorcing rads either! 

Make sure you wear a lot of sunscreen on your affected arm too.  You don't want to get it sunburnt and jeopardize those lymph nodes! 

I really haven't wanted to sit out in the sun to get color but I do enjoy reading on the beach.  I finally read a book this week since my diagnosis and I'm 2/3s through my second!  Most of my reading had been breastcancer.org since October.  LOL  Still is but it felt good to read again.   

mckenna - that's what I just read!  I couldn't even get into them after my diagnosis.  I played solitaire on my iphone in the waiting room! 

ha ha ... you ladies are funny.  "most of my reading had been breastcancer.org since October" that cracked me up!

I always brought work with me in the waiting room, I never really was able to concentrate, but it made me feel like I wasn't "wasting time" ;-)

After I had my wires placed, before my lumpectomy, I had to go to work for 2 hours and grade exams ... now that was fun.  But, I was so freaked out about getting them done, that it definitely made the time fly by!! 

My rad waiting room always had a table with a jigsaw puzzle in the works.  Sometimes when they have equipment problems or earlier patients are late, they can get behind so the puzzle is a way to kill time that's better than tapping your toes and checking your watch.  It's also a very pleasant way to meet and chat with other patients.

 Today was the first day that my chest actually felt better.  Still pretty sore under the arm but the front definitely felt less tight and burny today.

Hello to everyone, and thank you for all the support I've received from reading your posts. I'll be finishing radiation on July 20th, and starting arimidex 2 weeks after that. I'm very anxious about the side effects, but want to stay positive. Are any of you currently taking arimidex or a similar med or about to start? Can we hold hands through this?



Susannah

Good morning all.

AEM   Congrats on being finished.

SB    Have a good visit with your sister

Mckenna  I will be down in your area later today. We are having dinner at my daughters tonight to celebrate ending rads

susannah  I will proably be starting generic femera next week after MO visit. I think this scares more than any treatment so far. I do have several friends taking these and they are doing fine.

For anybody that is interested, I started a new thread the other day for Arimidex/Anastrozole users on the Hormonal therapy forum.

 ha ha ha, mckenna, I am assuming your phone picked up the word "Themistocles"?  

Reminds me of a story a friend of mine told about texting one of her friends after they had finished a race.  She sent a text that said "congratulations" what her friend received was a text that said, "epiglottis" 

I am excited too Goodie!  And agree, it made the whole radiation ordeal so much more tolerable having you guys to talk with about it all.