Spring 2013 Rads

Grrrrr! I am NOT a happy camper today. I was down to my last regular treatment with the boosts scheduled to start on Monday and be finished next Friday. Then the machine went down today and they had to cancel my treatment. I have these annoying stickers all over my chest to protect their sharpie marks and I was to get several of them off today and now it will be Monday. What bugs me about that is that the whole area is a dark red and much of it is covered with a itchy rash called radiation dermatitis and I can't put the healing stuff on the stickers or treat the area under them. I was SO looking forward to being able to do that. I know that it is not uncommon for these machine failures to happen but it is hard to finally get a finish date and then have it yanked away. A while back I would have killed for a long weekend but not now. Be careful what you wish for. End of rant. Happy Friday everyone. Hope your weekend is a good one. Susan

Jayjayc, I finished boosts a week ago which means the larger field finished two weeks ago.  The bigger area just looks very light tan now!  As it has been two weeks, I think it probably won't get any worse from here.  The boost area was bull's eye to the nipple.  Today I noticed some yellow waxy buildup right around the nipple, or so I thought, and when I gently pulled it off with a fingernail, it turned out to be skin!  That sounds more gruesome than it was, though.  It didn't hurt, and it seemed like genuinely ready-to-flake-off skin.  What's under it is red and shiny and doesn't show unless I pull the skin taut, because the nipple and areola are a little puffy and that creates this new little fold directly around it.  I put some Aquaphor on it twice today and a mix of calendula cream and 1% hydrocortisone on the rest of the boost area.  How's that for detail?!  Anyway to me the skin flaking off is a curiosity more than anything else.  My bigger problem is the whole areola is itchy. That might be getting better too.  I'm tired, but only maybe 10% more than usual, and it's essentially more of the same rather than any special kind of fatigue.

MMSS, rotten luck!  I am shocked that they left the stickers on you.  I found them very uncomfortable and the techs were quick to take them off as soon as they could.  They used acetate to trace a map of my boost area and put the acetate back on the breast every boost day, dotting the boost area with a Sharpie.  This was not really pleasant (I made dramatic faces so the techs would know!) but not exactly painful.  If I were in your shoes and the stickers were bugging me and I were feeling rebellious, I think I'd pull those stickers off and let them deal with it on Monday.  It's asking a lot for you to keep them on over the weekend!  Won't they come off in the shower?  (Wink, wink!)

Susan, I agree with Cindy and others---do whatever you want over this weekend. Those stickers are to protect the markings, right---well, you can just touch 'em up yourself afterwards if you need to. But I don't think Sharpie marks will come off with gentle washing---there will be enough left for the techs to see on Monday. 

Soooo aggravating on your LAST DAY!!!!  Just don't go back !

One of the worst experiences at my rads clinic was over the four-day Easter weekend when they covered their 10" long markings with pieces of the stickiest tape ever invented. I peeled them off the next day---the marks disappeared along with at least one layer of skin. Red welts were visible for days.  Thank God, that was at the beginning of my treatments and I had extra skin to lose!

After nine days of freedom , the edges of the burn are starting to fade, no skin breakdown (yet?? :O), hardly any peeling or itching.  Yay!!  And I thought my energy level stayed pretty high throughout (except that last miserable week), but this week I'm suddenly getting so much done.  Good thing---we're moving back to the States the end of June and the to-do list is as long as my arm. 

Hugs and healing,

Cynthie    

Jayjayc, I only had tape when they mapped me for the boost (not the original mapping for tattoos), and they didn't leave it on.  I never got a pad on my scar either.  It seems there is lots of variation in this stuff though. 

It's been awhile since I checked in and caught up on all he posts. Glad to hear more of us have completed treatments.

I am 8 days out from my last tx and doing great. Skin is tan but the rash is gone so no more itching! The area from my arm pit down to my breast is still tender and feels swollen and my arm feels slightly heavy. It is getting better though. The zingers are going away too. My energy level is back up too.

Hi all,

Speaking about "zingers"...... I was sitting with a male co-worker talking about a project when I got a big zinger in

Hi all!  I will be starting RADS in a little over a week and very nervous!  I see alot on here have had a lumpectomy but what is the difference in RADS with mastectomy?? Do we still get the boosts??  I have TE and so worried the RADS will ruin my chances of finishing reconstruction...I am having to move 4 hours away and come home on the weekends...so my focus will be on keeping my skin hydrated and will not be working....I saw letting the girls out is the best thing so I plan to do that!!  Any tips would be appreciated!  Also did anyone change your diet??  I meet with my RO on Tues and if anyone can think of more ?s to ask please let me know! I know I will be having 33 treatments.  I am also getting RADS on my left side and the RO has mentioned protecting my heart and coronary arteries.  Emu oil has been mentionioned alot...can you buy it at Target...ect...so glad to have found this site...it is really lifted up my spirits

Jennie93, if your incision is getting tighter, I'd ask your RO for a referral to a physical therapist who has training in cancer care and/or lymphedema.  I'm getting excellent PT twice a week now.  She's working on my incisions and lymph flow and some reduced range of motion in my shoulder.  She's using Graston technique (scary-looking metal scrapy bars, but they don't really hurt) to smooth out the bunchy spots in my arm muscles from the lymph node incision and lots of massage.  After she works on me, I can move my arm without pain, like a magic trick.  Hours later the tugging is back, but she says after a few weeks, my incision will be softer and my arm will be able to move as freely as the other one.  Worth asking your RO or primary care physician for a PT referral if you haven't yet.

CLYDAY, take heart!  Some people do have trouble with rads, but hey, you've been through chemo, and quite likely you will find rads easier.  (This is what I hear from just about everyone who's done both.)  I tried to hydrate more and eat more protein and didn't do very well, but I might get enough protein already.  I did a breath-holding technique to protect my heart--ask about that if they haven't brought it up (they called it deep inspiration breath hold).  Others will probably be able to answer about the TE issues (ask your RO if you haven't), but I had only minimal skin and fatigue issues.  I got emu oil online, but what I actually used was 99% aloe jelly (from a health food store, $4), Aquaphor (which the RO gave me), calendula cream (online) and 1% hydrocortisone.  I mostly used aloe during the weeks of rads and the others after the boost, when my skin was pinkest.

My real advice is to stay distracted.  Rads didn't take as much out of me mentally as I thought it would because I had a different driver every day.  The variety was a HUGE help--I wasn't thinking much about the countdown, just about who I was talking to on each long drive.  Since you'll be away from home, maybe make a scheme to do something different every day, get yourself a little treat, read a great book series, whatever makes you happy and makes the time go fast.  Long break from work?  Maybe not so bad.  Good luck and keep us posted!

CLYDAY - I had MX and rads, on the left side also.  Did the breath holding thing, too.  It worked very well, my heart was completely out of the field that way.  If they don't suggest it, ask about it.  They had to do the simulation/mapping twice, but it was well worth the effort since it gave a much better result.  The last week was just "boosts" which is the easiest part, just one quick zap aimed right at the scar area only. You will find rads much easier than chemo, almost certainly.  The every day part was the hardest thing for me.  I had a super wonderful RO who told me exactly what to expect every step of the way.  Skin started getting pink about halfway through, but no discomfort until the last week.  One spot in armpit got blistered and raw.  The worst days were about 4-6 after the last full field zap.  So it does get worse for a little while after.  But they gave me some silver-something(?) cream which was very soothing and it healed up fast.

Your RO will tell you what to use on your skin and when.  Some only want you to use certain things.  Others say whatever feels good.  Either way be sure to wash it all off before you go there each day.  Mine said to use pure aloe vera or a water-based cream (no oils or oil-based creams) but toward the end when it got ouchy then they gave me Aquaphor.  Don't buy anything yet.  I had seen lots of people recommend Miaderm on here, and looked it up on Amazon, very expensive stuff!  And as it turned out my RO gave me free samples of the stuff they like, anyway.  So wait and see.

You will probably be told to drink lots of water, eat plenty of protein, and avoid any supplements during treatment (a basic multivitamin is ok but no antioxidants).  You will probably be more sleepy than usual.  That's about it.  You will do great!   :-)

Bets4bama -  I don't think you can blame the rads for the eyelashes...  mine hung in there all through 4 months of chemo and then started falling out 6 weeks later!  Bummer!  Come to find out that is actually not uncommon.  But they grew back really fast.  About the time the bottom lashes were all gone, the new baby ones were already starting to appear.  

I finally finished today and I am SO glad to have that behind me. The energy started coming back just a bit when I started the boosts but I still have a burned area under my arm  that really hurts but at least it is not being further insulted. I will miss the techs who are amazing people but not their machine. One of the best parts of finishing was to be able to slather on the cream that they say will loosen the last of my infernal stickers. My skin is in no shape to just peel them off. My DH took me out to dinner to celebrate and I am firmly committed to finding more fun for my life. Doing BC on top of a total knee replacement last May has not made for a great year. Went to the book store and bought two vegan cook books. I am not slavish about it but am trending in that direction because I feel better and have found that I can eat almost anything that I want if I do that and cut way back on sugar. However I do consider a small amount of dark chocolate to be medicinal. Good luck to everyone starting. I never thought that I would see the end of it but that day does come. Hang in there!