Summer 2013 Rads

Patricia - I'm more fatigued now that all my treatments are done.  I finished August 23rd.  I started Tamoxifen a week ago Saturday and have felt like crap these past few days.  Exhausted and my joints ache.  It's gonna be a long 5 years....

JDB53 - I felt good after chemo ended 6-3-13.  It seems to be going downhill since rads ended.  It could very well be cumulative.  Or the fact that I've finally finished treatments and I've "slowed" down mentally/emotionally to really feel the effects.  Who knows, this cancer stuff sucks.

Sorry you're feeling run down Jenn. I hope it improves as you get further away from rads. I love your avatar BTW

Hello Ladies,

Ok, here I am getting ready to start my Rad's.  I was told I will have 33 (including boosts), I won't get done until around the first week of November.  HOWEVER, I made it through Chemo, everything from this point is down hill from here...

I got marked this past Monday and it looks like I gave my Grand daughter a magic marker and let her mark all over my Left Breast.  I look like I have a road map of New York, or some sort of spagettii turnpike.  I heard a lot of women gets little dots and so forth, not me, I got  thick solid black lines and Huge "x's"...going to be hard to wear certain shirts without a huge black mark showing.  

I read a lot of everyone's comments and it looks like fatigue is the worse of it.  Not looking forward to the sun burn feeling on my breast however.  The RO wants me to use Kendal Soothing Ointment....All I know is that it puts a white film on you and stays there....Yippy.  White film with black marks.

RO Nurse called me today and told me they want me to come in tomorrow for a simulation run then I start my Rads next Monday.  She also said that they will be doing more xrays, to make sure that the markings are the same on what they did last Monday when they marked me.   Hoping this is a common thing.  Don't know about anybody else, but I get nervous when I have to have extra xrays or tests done, especially since I was dx with BC. 

Anyway, congrats to those who have finished, hoping I will get through this good.  I still have tired muscles in my legs and arms since my last chemo which was 4 weeks ago....but I think it is getting better.   Still feel and get out of breath when I do some things, but I think that is from the bronchitis I was trying to get 1 week after chemo....still coughing yuk....

Peg, yes, the x-rays are common. I had tattoos (5 teeny dots) to help align me for treatment. When I began the cone down (I had 22 whole breast + 8 cone downs), the corners of the cone down field were marked with magic marker.



Would y'all believe that one of the corners is *still* clearly marked with that ink more than a month later?!



Congrats to all the halfway ladies!

Hi Shipsgirl,

22/33 for me.  Tender, sore, red, tanned, swollen, ITCHY and have 4 little blisters that started 2 days ago.  This hit all at once.  Good Luck!

Best to all

Hi all: I am 16/30 and I am red, swollen and sore....I am also experiencing pain next to chest wall...my RO and I feel a mass....perhaps scar tissue inflamed due to rads...she suggested we watch it, but it feels like someone is pressing on my chest....just trying to get through day by day...Lisa

Glad I checked in here. I just started rads last week , so have been on the fall 2013 rads forum, but figured I'd find more experience with the summer crew.



I have only had 4 treatments, but since the 2nd time, I too am feeling soreness and tenderness on the inside. I think it is also on the outside as well. I did not expect to feel anything so soon. I will meet with the RO this week, so will mention it to him.



Rosierose, looks like you also had a similar experience. So, hoping my RO will also say it 's normal. But hate to think if it is this sore now, will it get worse as treatment goes on?

Patricia- you are still checking in on the summer rads girls!  Here I am at day 23, sitting with my kitten (15 year old cat) who never fails to step on the affected boobie as he climbs onto my lap for some nice evening news watching after work. 

I have decided that the skin does not like aquaphor- am I the only one thinking this? Tonight I will try only hydrocortisone and aloe vera.  Probably I will regret it in the morning, who knows, am starting to not think straight.  Also am starting to be in a bad mood in the mornings.    Today the RO,  covering for my usual RO who is away at a conference, told me "it's going to get worse, especially with the cone down [which starts in 3 days]".  Thanks for stopping by with the useful tip I wanted to say. 

Just venting ladies- thanks for reading   Best to all

Whatitis - I felt something inside after only a few rads.  It went away in a day or two.  Now that I"m more than halfway, it's back and doesn't seem to be going away again.  It is not very painful so far.

23/32... but today I had a surprise.  It turns out that the program is to have 3 boosts overlap with the last 3 "regular" treatments and I started boosts today.  Surprise.  So my treatment just got shortened by 3 days and I"ll be done by the end of next week!!

23/29.  Hooray.  I'll take any and all breaks I can get.

Skin is still holding up really well.  Noticed it was a little red today, for the first time.

I'm using Aveeno and emu oil, in case anyone is interested.

Shipsgirl, congrats on having your treatments shortened by 3. Mine were shortened by 5 and am happy that it happened. Today is 27/28...I am almost done!!

Thinking of all of you!!

Hello ladies, good info on the fatigue. I finished rads a week and a half ago and just as the horrible tissue damage is getting better the fatigue is crazy. I'm actually lying in bed on a beautiful sunny afternoon because I just don't want to hold my head up. I'm that tired. No energy even to do the saline soak I need to do for the tissue.



Did anyone else have an increase in fatigue after finishing rads?

Thanks for sharing!

I was very tired by the end. Slept an entire day. It's cumulative. After a week it started to get better. Good luck

2tails and others, at what point did you take off work during rads? I'm going to work the first 2 or 3 weeks but then I could take off if I needed to. I'd rather decide now and get it set up than wait until I'm too tired to make a wise decision. Would most of you recommend a week off after I'm finished if that was an option for me?