Summer 2013 Rads

Paula, so glad you are feeling better!! All of us here have you covered, just yell if you need us.

Congrats to all who have finished rads. I have now completed 12/28 and my skin is doing ok. I use Hydrocortisone for itching (I apply it only when needed) Aloe Vera many times a day and Aquaphor 2-3 times a day depending on how it feels. Sometimes I even apply all 3 starting with hydrocortisone first for itching, aloe second for cooling and aquaphor last for healing and protection. Order is important, if you try to apply aquaphor first nothing else will penetrate through and if you apply aloe first the hydrocortisone will not work as well. My RO does know I do this on occassion and says it's fine. So far no breakdown but it does feel like a sunburn and it gets pretty itchy but my concoction above works pretty good.  

I was visited by the fatigue fairy last week and she waved her magic tired wand at me. WITCH!  I am feeling better today having had no treatment yesterday, but I have no stamina. I try to walk everyday for an hour and it feels like someone made my shoes out of cement. LOL. It seems to help but getting motivated is a lot more difficult these days. Does anyone else find it difficult to get comfortable at night? I am sleeping ok but I wake up a lot because I just can't get comfortable.

One more question...does anyone feel like their brain has taken a vacation? I will be in mid conversation and my train of thought completely derails. Or I find myself having to back track while executing a particular task at work not remembering if I completed all of the steps. And one day last week I gave my date of birth wrong to the rad tech checking me in. How does one get their own DOB wrong?   I suppose it's part of the fatigue but its frustrating. I will be discussing this with the RO tomorrow. 

I am done being cranky. Thanks for listening ladies!! I hope everyone had a good weekend. Back to the grind tomorrow.

Go PATRIOTS!!

Hi Carla

I had clear margins no lymph nodes with. Lumpectomy and the ro said for me its just to sure that they get everything

Good luck

LAST Rad today! Thank the LORD!! Let the healing began. My underarm is fried and soooo sore. How long did it take you all to heal up??

Carla53- Hello, my wife and I met with our RO yesterday to discuss Rads. We still have 3 chemos to go but we wanted to meet him and discuss everything. You can see by our Dx that we are Stage 2 with 3 nodes. The RO spent 90 minutes with us and went over everything. He was more concerned with the nodes than the right breast area but he will be doing the breast area for insurance. Seems like the best thing to do. Especially on the right side where the heart is out of harms way.

How bad is fatigue? My wife wants to work while doing it?

Hi JDB,

I am at 16/33 and fatigue hit me end of last week.  Like Paula's, it comes and goes.  End of week it gets worse (like today).  I am working full time at an office job that requires long hours sometimes and lots of concentration with a 1 hour commute each way, but I work from home two days a week.  So far it is totally doable.  Engaging with my co-workers keeps me going, and I have a very understanding and supportive boss.  I would be really bored staying home.  I do the rads in the early am before work.  Excercising every day for at least 45 mins really does help believe it or not.  Plus staying hydrated!

Good luck!

She works as a legal secretary. And the good thing is that her office is walking distance to where she will be doing the Rads.  Her boss will let her work flexible hours. She normally works 3 days a week. So it will probably be ok. Lets say if she works M-Tu-Wed and does Rads on Thursday, that may work out well for her.

My bad, still in chemo mode, no she will get them everyday but i was thinking is he works early in the week then has 4 days off it might be more than doable.

JDB, I never got any fatigue at all from rads.  It may have helped that I live only a few minutes drive from the center.

Carol

Working through rad is very doable. From car to tx to car is 20 minutes. The hardest part for me is the lunchtime drive. But hey......

Hello!

I have 5/25 left to go. Tissue is in bad shape despite lots of lubing. I never expected this much pain from radiation. The last two routine RO check-ins have left me with new topical Rx. They provide brief relief and i keep the whole thing well lubed other than just before the rads appointment. But once the pain sets in (can't lube for 2 hours prior to tx- and I get pain if I don't lube it every 10 minutes) it's really forever to get it under control (so far today, 4 hours and we are not there yet).

The the pain is like crazy. I'm worried what the last 5 sessions will do, especially after reading about the lasting effects some of you have experienced.



There is also fatigue. Hats off to you who have been able to continue working. I just can't imagine...



Exercising was my plan (yoga and hiking/walking) but I broke my right foot 2 weeks into rads and have been on crutches ever since. So getting myself around (including up and down a flight of stairs a couple of times a day) has been my primary workout. It hasn't been a comfortable transition, but my arms and shoulders are recovered from the mastectomy much better as a result of all the arm work. To avoid falling on the stairs I've been sitting on my bum, lifting one or two (triceps lifts) steps at a time. The reverse for going down. I'm happy with the effect on my arms (strength, flexibility) so am counting that as the silver lining to the broken foot during cancer treatment.



Thanks to all of you who contribute. Reading your notes helps me know I'm really not alone in all this. I can get though it just fine because I see the ways that you all have been able to make it through your own stories, and are still making it each day during treatment, too.



Love to you all,

Mum

I didnt have bad fatigue, just slght. My skin didnt take a Major hit until the last two weeks. Right now it is pretty raw and sore. I am working part time as a hairstylist so on my feet with my arms in the air. It is hard, but I get through it! SO glad I am DONE!

I'm at 18/35.  Thought it was going to be 34, but found out today that they are planning on 35 after all, including boosts, so my Halfway Celebration Ice Cream Cone after rads yesterday was a day early.  :-)   I'm bummed about one extra day, which is silly.  Still, it is nice to be on the downward slope.

The fatigue is getting pretty pronounced and I'm starting to feel a little lightheaded getting through the day.  The RO doesn't seemed concerned about that and also says that my breathing issues probably have nothing to do with rads even though it is getting a small part of my lung.  He suggests exercise to help with the fatigue, but I'm trying to work full-time, including making up the time I spend doing daily radiation, eat lunch at my desk and don't usually get home until 7 p.m. and by then I'm doing a credible imitation of Tim Conway's Little Old Man.  I figure that getting through the workday is going to have to be my exercise until rads are over.

So far the skin looks pink and sunburned but it is still intact.  One RO told me to use only pure Aloe and the other has told me not to use anything at all unless/until I have problems.  Instead I'm using Aloe after treatment, Aquafor at night, and was using Blue Emu until I read that Vitamin E shouldn't be used during treatment (it contains Vit E as well as emu oil.)

The input from everyone here has been terrific and I feel supported even though I don't know you all personally and haven't posted much.  It is so helpful to hear about your experiences and the advice you've gotten from your ROs.  It is amazing how much it means to feel that one isn't alone in this journey. 

The fatigued hit me at the very end after the boost. I was very tired for about a week or so and very red. I pealed and then everything healed.

Morning my ladies.... Well I finish rads in the 22 of August .... I did peel... Was raw on my armpit.... But used sulvadine and fresh alov Vera from the store which helped a lot... I don't know why but I'm still feeling fatigue.... My skin stun tan but its healing ... I get muscle spasms ....



I did 6 weeks of rads no boost

I did see improvement after a week a half...



Hang in there!!!!!