Fall 2012 Rads girls......come on in!

I am finishing my radiation next week. Originally had thirty and then had nine more boost added last Friday. I tan easy but my skin did burn enough that I had to take a few days off. I talked to my onc and next will be the arimidex.... Not looking forward to that.

Got my tats yesterday, and will start treatment on November 6. While I'm not looking forward to it, it's just another step closer to being done! I'm not so crazy about the RO, she seems kinda cold and distant, but the techs were great!

Aruba--so glad to hear you are done...seems like only yesterday you were starting!  I have 7 to go and will be so relieved when it is over!  ENJOY YOURSELF!!

Congratulations, Aruba! Time to celebrate!

Aruba! Congrats!!! xoxoxo

Today 27/33, 6 left! Today is first day of boost, so fast only 30 seconds one area only compared to other rads I had previous were 3 different locations of my breast with 15, 15, and 30 seconds. Skin still good so far, slight sunburn, little itchy but not bad. I had lumpectomy but it is about A cup when my other good side is B cup, so i dont have any issues with under breast because it is so small almost flat breast =/ My BS/PS (same dr) took almost a lot of tumor and surrounding during lumpectomy that made it a FULL cup smaller than other side.

Hope everyone is having good day xoxox

Hi all!  Aruba, glad you finished!  So many of the rest of you are close, too.  Today was 11/25 for me - it really is going fast.  I am just starting to turn pink - in the shape of the bolus, and under my arm.  Not really sore or anything, though.  I am pretty sleepy after work these days, but I think that's mostly because I am getting up at 5:15-ish to make it to my 6:45 appointment!  Aliyahgirl and Andrea, I was really worked up about rads, too - more even than either surgery or chemo.  I had a hard time controlling tears about any little thing - I cried the first two or three times I was under the machine, even though it wasn't really scary and not painful at all.  I am relaxing a lot more after the first week and a half.  I do like the RO and the techs a lot.  Today I said goodbye to the woman who had the 6:30 a.m. appointment before me, because it was her last treatment.  She was so sweet.  I told her I hoped we'd see each other again - but somewhere unrelated to BC! 

Tazzy, that picture is hilarious.  I would have had a hard time holding still today if my techs had dressed like that!

Aruba, I'm sure that was hard to even think about a baby undergoing this kind of treatment. 

Depending on the position you are in, one piece of advice is, if your arms get uncomfortable, they might be able to help so don't be afraid to tell them.  I didn't say anything at first because I knew I couldn't move once everything had started, and on my second port films day, my "affected" arm went to sleep all the way to my fingertips in the armrest, and I was miserable.  I mentioned it when they were finished, and they showed me that they could have moved it so that wouldn't have happened.  I don't hesitate to say something now. 

Hi Luv...I had a seroma under the incision under my arm within a week out of surgery.  The surgeon drained it, then it came back again and again...had it drained 3 times. Don't endure anything that you don't have to!!  The surgeon will numb an area and insert a needle to drain it.  Mine was painless..just a little achy after the draining but not a big deal.  After the 3rd draining, it wasn't as much fluid and I was told that my body would absorb the rest.  I has absorbed it.  I have a seroma in the area where the cancer was removed, but the surgeon doesn't want to drain that and feels it will eventually be absorbed.  The seroma in my breast is now smaller than it was initially.  Get it drained...be comfortable!  I'm a real chicken when it comes to pain so don't stress about that!

Hope everything works out!!!

Luv. I vote for getting it drained....I waited way to long....the doctor took out over 200cc of fluid....the relief was immediate! I wore a sports bra 24/7 for the next week and only a limited amount of fluid returned. As Junif said it is painless





Here had the simulation for the boosts today...16 treatments done!!





Aruba...congrats on finishing....thinking of the child going through this...makes my complaints about the 30 minute drive seem trivial.

I'm feeling sorry for myself too, which equals weight gain sadly, and I haven't even started yet!  Have tats and simulation scheduled for Mon, then #1 of 28 begins 11/12.   My incision suddenly decided to be irritated after 3 weeks of looking just great, little rash around it.  I have been exercising with no discomfort, so I hope that wasn't what caused the issue, bra rubbing or something.    RO said a little neosporin is ok, call if it gets worse and start an antibiotic.  It hasn't gotten worse but not better either.   He will see it Mon anyway.  Trying to give it "air" as much as possible, what a sight I am along with green X's and tape all over.    I really pray this goes as scheduled.  If it does, rads will be done 2 days before a long-scheduled non-refundable Christmas ski trip!   Whether I feel like skiing or not at that point, I don't care.  Just want to take this trip with my family and not disappoint anyone if it has to be cancelled due to my radiation schedule.   So yes, it's a beautiful day but I'm feeling sorry for myself, and I KNOW things could be a lot worse.  

Hi Ladies!

I am beginning radiation on Wednesday. I have completed AC chemo (4x), Taxol chemo (12x) and now on to rads! I've been planned and tattooed, permanently marked and cast in my foam bed...now the early mornings...

I'm nervous, because I've never been a lotioner. But that's a necessary part to this journey. Thinking about getting an aloa Vera plant just in case too.

Your sharing and wisdom on this board is so helpful.

I blog about this journey I never asked for, but would not trade at www.graceembraced.wordpress.com. What a ride!

Roller coaster ride is right! This seroma business is scary. Last night my breast hurt so bad, felt like it was trying to burst through the cage (bra) :-) ; looked at it, was bright red and so firm. Starting feeling 'yucky', couldn't get warm, then felt the dreaded fever symptoms. Fever was only 100.4. So called exchange, Dr said they don't really consider that tmp a 'fever', I had already taken Tylenol, and dr had given antibiotic, so I was doing all the right things. Said to go to ER if fever goes up during night. Used aloe gel, put ice pack (Dr recommended) on (several layers of cloth between), and made sure I woke up to take antibiotic during the night. Better this morning, but I was so worried that I had so much fluid, felt like it could compromise my incision, and 'leak' through. Still hating the thought of fluid building up like this. Could it be aggravated/induced by rads? (re-excision was done on 9/20) wasn't sure if the redness was from rads, or infection? Underarm incision from ALND is starting to get a little irritated. Using aloe, and calendula cream on area. Just counted, I am 1/3 way thru rads. Gotta mark those mini milestones.

Thanks to all who share wit, wisdom, and 'therapy' through your experiences.

{{Hugs}} to all.

LuvBngGma--

I told my doc this week that I was aware of radiated breast being warmer than the other one and he said that the warmth (and swelling) are caused by the radiation increasing the blood flow/dilating vessels in the affected area. I have only had 7 of 36 rads treatments and when I saw myself in the mirror at my exercise class, I noticed that the radiated breast is noticably larger than the other, where a few weeks ago it was noticelably smaller. I'm also seeing some evidence of seroma. . .

Hang in there! we just have to plod through this phase of treatment.

Now that I've been through 33 or 35 treatments, I just learned that large breasted women have more side effects. Wish one of my oncs had told me that. 

I had a rough time of it, especially the underarm, underboob and a burny area on my chest. Day after tomorrow I am ALL DONE. I can't wait. Election Day is also Graduation Day for me. 

I found the Domeboro soaks helped along with Miaderm and Rad-X. (For all my fellow rad girls with Boobage.)

I'm supposed to start rads in December so I thought I'd hang out here and get some advice. Waiting on my first consult with the radiation oncologist to figure things out.

Starting rads tomorrow. Am nervous! I still have some nerve damage pain in the breast, and I hope the treatments won't make it worse! When I got my tats, the techinian doing it reminded me so much of my mother, that I got tearful. Sadly, she won't be the one doing my treatments.