Summer 2012 RADS HANG OUT

Tina, just had my 3rd treatment and last night I feel the incision area is drying out.  SO, a little worried this sucker is going to start drying out and hurt.  They have me putting on hydrogel.  I started rads when I no longer needed packing.  Hoping it heals for you a lot this week.  When you see your doc, if he's still not comfortable ask for a wound vac.  I healed so quickly on that thing.  It did take three weeks and my tunneling/cavity was pretty big.

Make sure your insurance will cover it.  That sucker was expensive.  Thankfully I had already met my out of pocket limit for this year.  It also requires a home health nurse to come every 2-3 days to clean the wound, etc.  

Sending you some healing prayers.  I totally understand how frustrating this is when you want to start treatment and you have to wait. 

mt4ever - any radiation can cause skin cancer as does the sun, but the great thing there is you can see the skin and remove anything suspicious before it becomes malignant (you know exactly where you were treated so you can keep a closer watch in that area).  However, the odds are very low that you'll get it, so don't let it make you anxious.  It's much more important to remove the remaining nasty breast cells that are already cancerous.  

First day of rads



Drive along the motor way and a cop car pulls me, "Madame it says you have no insurance for your car"



Little old me sits in back of a cop car trying to contact DH because I couldn't remember the insurance company.



He keeps asking me if I have insurance I keep saying yes, he then says if I can't prove it I'm taking the car to the pound.



Ten mins later DH calls me so I tell the cop the details. I then ask how long it will take he says not sure. I then say ok only I'm a cancer patient and I'm going for my first rads.

You should have seen his face, my insurance company had got a letter wrong on my number plate.



Very late for rads and I find out rads above my collar bone - not a happly bunny.



It was ok but my scar hurts now

Stacie - Sorry to hear it was painful to have your arm up for so long.  That should be the longest period for sure.  At the center I go to, they do X-rays roughly once a week, so those days it is a little longer than the rest of the rad days, but still short in comparison to the mapping/simulation etc.  They can move those arm rests around, so if you find it is really uncomfortable, you may want to ask if it can be moved slightly without compromising your care.  Just a thought.

Belinda- thanks for all your feedback.  I am getting so anxious about this.  I had been doing some research on wound vacs and was going to ask my BS.  I will have to find out about my insurance.  So far I've been lucky in this area.  I saw a lot of progress in the healing just in the past 24 hours.  Its amazing to see the change in the size of the wound just from one week's worth of packing.  I am so glad I found someone else going through something similar to me.  This is so frustrating and something I wasn't anticipating at all in my treatment schedule.  I hope you don't have too much pain from your treatments around your incision site.  I suppose its still very tender and sensitive.

Stacie- I thought it was painful when they did my mapping too.  Since then I have been trying to exercise my arm more and put it in that same position for short amounts of time.  I hope that yours continues to feel better and that rads go smoothly for you.

Ali-What a story for your first day!  I probably would've just told him up front I was on my way to rads.

mt4ever-like any of the treatment side effects, whether its chemo, surgery, rads, hormones, whatever, you have to weigh the pros and cons.  Skin cancer is a slim possibility but it is the lesser of two evils and is very treatable if caught early.  Like slak said, getting those cancer cells out of your body is more important than any side effects.

Ali68: what a rotten first day. Ug. Can only get better?

Karen - DOH I had 7 - see I'm so tired I can't count!  LOL

Eric - It really is heartwarming to see your posts.  Very few spouses would support their ladies so actively like you are doing.  She is lucky!

So curiosity is getting the better of me - while Aquaphor is a great product for dry, chapped skin, it is so greasy I can't imagine putting it on my armpit. Seems like olive oil, while certainly budget friendly, would be even more like an oil slick. Those of you who tried those or other petrolatum-based products, what did you think? Wouldn't they ruin your tops? I do have fair, sensitive skin, and I am planning to be proactive, but after reading older posts, I will take the plunge and use the Miaderm.

Thanks! So the Aquaphor/olive oil blend soaks into you more than your pajama top, then? I'll keep it in mind.

Treatment 5 completed today!  Hoping the next 5 weeks goes by as quickly.

Hi All: I'm still in my countdown to rads, but learning alot here as I wait.

Question: my RO recommended using water based lotions, as anything oil based would be as if, as she put it, you were frying your skin in oil. Why is olive oil still ok then, I'm wondering... Any thoughts?

Anyway she also recommended that I start moisturizing right away, well in advance of starting even...so I am just using Lubriderm in copious amounts.

KCB:  I am on the same schedule/regimine as Kim.  Lubed up probably a week or two before and do it at least twice a day.  The olive oil I use is mixed with aquafor.  There's not a ton in it, but others have said they use strictly olive oil.  Each RO has their different opinions on what to use.  I have been using Miaderm as well.  My RO gives it to everyone for FREE.  Ask if they give it to their patients.

Tina, great news!!!  It will definitely speed the healing from the inside out.  Just had rad #5 and it's not bothered the incision area with the exception of being dry.   

The wound vac is a little cumbersome but SO worth it.  Just plug it in when you sleep to charge it and you are good to go.