Spring 2013 Rads

Hello Spring rad peeps! I finished my last regular treatments today and will start with the boosts tomorrow. First of all, please drink plenty of water, I feel that helped me alot. I started with pure Aloe Vera several times a day, now I am using Aquaphor. Momtotenkids, you may want to start applying some Aquaphor if you are feeling irritated already. Today was the first day I went to work without a bra! I wore a tank top under a big loose soft sweater. I didn't get red/irritated until week 3 and I haven't been real fatigued either. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables; broccoli, brussel sprouts, tomatos and fruits too. Fresh air/walks will keep the energy up. I hope the best to you all, just take good care of yourself and you will do just fine.

Anyone with some "boost" info?

Cindy,

Boost time is about 20-30 seconds and they said it was a "different" kind of radiation, doesn't penetrate like the regular and they target the tumor site. Two more to go! Your first boost will take a little longer, they want to make sure it is all lined up properly and the RO came in and gave it his ok. The redness/soreness is gradual and I hear the it will heal 4-6 weeks, the radiation is still in there working. Best of luck to you all and pamper yourself!

T

Hi,today was my 16/33. My breast is getting a little sunburned and nurse ratcheting was finally told to give me a sample of cream.I had bee using Gold Bond with Aloe and vitamin E .This stuff they gave me has dimethicone as the active ingredient.I noticed last night that my nipple which has become an inverted nipple thanks to the Rads is a little moist and had a white film around the nipple and the skin almost seems to be breaking down a little.Well not as bad as I described but I thought I would ask to see the Doctor before I left today.Well nurse ratcheting decided she could handle it herself and didn't bother to get the doc.She told me to use a nipple shield and line it with some of the cream.

I start the end of April!

Well tomorrow is the last boost for me and I'll be ringing that bell in the lobby for all of Savannah to hear! My skin is sore and red, but it is already starting to form scabs in some places and is looking alot better. The Aquaphor helps soothe and shields the skin, been going topless at home...tech said to try and air out when possible. When you get to your boosts, since the rads in being targeted for the incision site, the rest of your breast gets a break and starts to heal, so don't get discouraged.

Keep drinking water, it will help hydrate your skin and you will  heal faster.

T

tuxtails - I see you live in Savannah - going to Savannah is high on my to do list - I have read a lot about the history of that are and I find it fascinating - what month of the year would you recommend a visit to Georgia?

Congratulations on getting close to the finish line for your radiation!!!

Thanks for advice on drinking lots of water during radiation. I have had only 4 treatments and now get 4 days off because of the Easter weekend. I am not disappointed that my skin is getting a break.

Hi ladies! I had my 30th and final this past Monday. Next week I meet with MO for tamoxifen.



My skin is feeling pretty good. The "tan" color changes/fades to a different tint each day today. Just had to share this light moment here -- and I hope it's appropriate. Coming out of the shower today I noticed my rads boob is monochromatic -- the nipple is the same color as the skin. It struck me that my boob looks like a Vizla dog's face right now! ;-). (For those not familiar, Vizlas are Hungarian hounds, similar to a pointer. Their coats are a rusty tan color, and their nose is pretty close in color to their fur.)

RMlulu - I asked my radiation technicians today how much Gray I was getting - this is what I was told - I am getting 2.65 Gray daily for 16 times and then I will get 2.5 Gray for 4 boosters. So that adds up to 52.4 in total. That seems like a lot!! Ouch!!

I started Monday 3/25, same as you, adagio!  That makes 5/30.  So far no SEs, just a little red on the underside.  I'm tired, but probably because of the 50-minute schlep both ways to rads and the emotional hit of finally getting into active treatment.  I'm doing deep inspiration breath hold, and apparently I was the first at my cancer center to do that.  (My RO at the hospital where I had my surgery suggested it because it gets the heart farther from the beam.  I'm not doing rads there because it's farther away.)  It took extra set-up time to get me started because the technique was new, and they designed a panic bell just for me!  Now it's down to a science, 25 seconds per beam, two beams, not hard.  I'm told some people with asthma couldn't do it though.

I have a tiny bladder so lots of water drinking is a tough road for me.  Also, I have to do all my hydrating in the afternoon hours so my morning drive to rads and my sleep at night don't get disrupted by repeated bathroom visits.  But it sounds like a good idea to drink a lot.  When I asked my RO nurse about it (not even telling her my concerns), she said extra water wasn't that important. Have the rest of you heard from your RO or RO nurse that hydration IS important, or could this be one of those things that patients take more seriously than medical staff?

Gemini4, your Vizla comment made me laugh!  Congrats on being done, too!

Congratulations on finishing, tuxtails! Such a good feeling.

Ouch Lemon! It stuck to your skin? YIKES!! Hope the last of your treatments go well and high five on almost done for you! Why do you hate Aquaphor? I need to learn all about this stuff! My mapping/CT/tat appt is tomorrow and I am nervous but I want to get this show on the road. My "gold seeds" were planted on Thursday and it hurt for like 24 hours but now feels fine. My "cavity" is kind of lumpy with the seroma, but other than that, I just want to start and finish! 10 tx's in ONE WEEK! Hoping I don't have skin issues, but we shall see!

Happy Easter/Passover to all of you!

Tuxtails, you're an inspiration!  Onward into the future!  I don't wonder that you got emotional.  It's a big experience in itself and signifies a turning point too.

Thanks everybody for the confirmation about the importance of hydration.  I'll do my best.  It will be worth it if I can reduce the rawness you talked about, Lemon68!  Ouchies!

Deep inspiration breath hold is where you hold your breath during each beam.  The point is to inflate the chest and get the heart farther away from the beam.  I'm doing axillary radiation because of my sentinel node micrometastasis, so I gather that is more helpful for me than most.  Plus there's a fair amount of heart disease in my family and I was extra concerned about heart impact. Because my center hadn't done it before, they weren't sure how long it would take to get enough rads in.  On my set-up day, they tested to see if I could hold my breath for a full 60 seconds.  To my surprise I could!  The last 5 seconds were pretty tough.  However, I haven't gotten much over 30 seconds since then.  I haven't really had to--the beams are really 20-25 seconds each--except a couple of times when they tried to take an image during the beam which added about 10 seconds.  I "failed" both times, but that was apparently no big deal, as they just didn't get the image that way.  If I can't hold my breath for the whole regular beam, it only means they have to repeat some of it to complete the rads delivery from that angle.

April485, good luck with the 2x/day big rads week!