Fall 2013 Rads

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  • honeybair
    honeybair Member Posts: 746
    edited October 2013


    Resumed radiation yesterday with 12 sessions down and 16 to go. To help me pass the time while inside I focus on counting my blessings and things I am grateful for. Yesterday I used the alphabet to prompt me and before I knew it, my time had passed. Going to that happy place has made a difference for me. Why did I not think of this during my first treatments?

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  • dobby
    dobby Member Posts: 40
    edited October 2013


    Hi everyone-


    My mom has a very bad radiation burn...they don't see this too often but the good news is she is done with her boosts on Friday. Hoping the skin holds up for these last 3 sessions and then the healing can begin. We are both getting very antsy about ending the rads....she has that "what next" feeling. I can't wait till the rads stop and her skin can really begin to heal to the point that she sees the improvement.


    Good luck to all. Always thinking of you incredible, brave ladies.

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  • peacestrength
    peacestrength Member Posts: 690
    edited October 2013

    Honeybair - I hear you about going to a happy place while at rads.  There are times that I almost fall asleep on the dreadful table.

    I haven't checked in on this thread in awhile - Today I completed 21 out of 33 treatments today.  My skin is more brown than red  - My RO is going to keep the bolus on my skin longer.  Been using aloe, calendula and caster oil - all have been approved by my naturapathic and RO.

    Blessings to each of you!

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  • denilynne
    denilynne Member Posts: 102
    edited October 2013

    Hi Radiants!

    Bluebird, you made my day. I may not have a couple of beers this weekend but at least I know I can if I want. I hardly ever drink anymore but a nice cold beer tastes good every once in a while and of course if someone tells me I can NOT do something, it makes me want to do it all the more! Heheheee. My mother should have named me Mary, Mary, quite contrary.

    Holy cow Gracers! You are going through all those treatments at one time? Wow, impressive! I'm having a hard time going through radiation and I just started! I want my life back too..... I have so much anxiety just driving to my rediation treatments. I have to believe people when they tell me it will get better with the routine of it.

    Swellrider, your description is funny. Jelly like and floppy. LOLOL!! I have large breasts too and they have to tape my right one back because the edge of it wants it's own share of the sun beam but the RO's say no way and out comes the tape!

    hugs to all!

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  • FierceBluebird
    FierceBluebird Member Posts: 758
    edited October 2013


    Yay Annie! Congrats on being done!


    Had a big wig from the hospital come in to observe my treatment yesterday and of course yesterday and today went smoothly and quickly! Let's hope it stays that way. I spoke with her after my treatment and said she would make sure my issues were addressed and no more 2 hours on the table. Yay!


    Has anyone had any funny, timely, or inspirational songs play before your treatment or during treatment? I had to laugh today because I heard "Catch My Breath". (I'm doing gated breathing so it struck me as funny.) The lyrics really cheered me up:


    Catching my breath, letting it go,

    Turning my cheek for the sake of the show

    Now that you know, this is my life,

    I won't be told what's supposed to be right



    Catch my breath, no one can hold me back,

    I ain't got time for that

    Catch my breath, won't let them get me down,

    It's all so simple now



    Addicted to the love I found

    Heavy heart, now a weightless cloud

    Making time for the ones that count

    I'll spend the rest of my time

    Laughing hard with the windows down

    Leaving footprints all over town

    Keeping faith, karma comes around

    I will spend the rest of my life



    You helped me see

    The beauty in everything


    Amen to that!

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  • DeliriumPie
    DeliriumPie Member Posts: 1,370
    edited October 2013


    it's not inspirational, but when I hear the song Radioactive, I think it's my theme song. Lol

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  • FierceBluebird
    FierceBluebird Member Posts: 758
    edited October 2013


    I love that song too! It is a great theme song. If you haven't seen the video, check it out. I feel like the little beat up pink teddy bear creature. I was definitely shooting lasers out of my eyes the days I had two hour treatments! lol...

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  • Bounce
    Bounce Member Posts: 574
    edited October 2013


    O Bluebird144 - it is so good to hear you chirping happily. Thank you for looking after yourself and for not quitting rads and not accepting torture as an option.


    I mentioned once that when I had my pre-surgery MRI, checking to see if I had cancer anywhere else in da boobies - one of the songs I heard above the noise of the MRI machine was Bob Dylan singing Knockin' on Heaven's Door. I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry. Like I told Summergal - at least they weren't playing Another One Bites the Dust!


    honeybair - thanks for sharing - very good idea to keep yourself calm and happy - must try to remember it.


    DeliriumPie - who sings Radioactive? - I have to listen to it.


    denilynne - thanks for continuing MsP's positive terminology and bringing us light and healing while being "cool" enough to laugh about it all too.


    I was talkting to my husband about the probability of me finishing rads in one piece and he said - Don't worry. You won't fall apart. You'll just fuse together into one solid blob like a bead of glass.


    Now if some guys said this it might be totally out of line but we have a long history of joking about illness in my family (it helps us cope) and my DH is very sweet and supportive so I was OK with him joking. In fact - it made me laugh and I have been giggling about it all day.


    I will save some more of our terrible humor to share another time.


    Hugs

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  • LisaSp
    LisaSp Member Posts: 253
    edited October 2013


    I want a t-shirt that says "Radioactive!"


    Bounce, the group Imagine Dragons does this song and it's great.


    Ok, no. 3 rad was almost routine, which is comforting. Also there is a really nice tech there who's funny, so that's a win. I use aloe vera, Miaderm and emu oil.


    This weekend I go to a conference on survivorship which should be interesting. I am so looking forward to being done!

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  • Bounce
    Bounce Member Posts: 574
    edited October 2013


    LisaSp - thanks for the info - will take a listen now.


    I was thinking about printing this signimage on a T-Shirt but didn't want to scare other "normal" people who might be waiting for treatments.


    Sorry the picture is so big.


    I think the picture is funny but its actually better to think of radiation as healing rays of light rather than death rays!

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  • TwoHobbies
    TwoHobbies Member Posts: 2,118
    edited October 2013


    i am also on Aquaphor only. I am actually done with rads but still using Aquaphor only due to extreme red and peeling. I put a tissue over it or where a tank top as an undershirt. Before rads I was showering and just gently rubbing mild cleanser over it. I don't think you have to get it all off.


    On the topic of how we got cancer, I would not be surprised if stress was a factor. This would make sense in my case. I was over my "fighting" weight but never considered overweight by medical standards. I exercised. I drink about 3 to 6 times a year. I eat my vegetables. But yes I was stressed frequently in the ten years leading up to DX and especially the last four years where I've now had two bouts of cancer.


    I've been reading about the primal diet and that is the only other thing that hits home with me. That is pretty much the opposite of how I ate but it's starting to make a lot of sense.


    Forgot to ask my question I signed in for. Can someone tell me how long the peeling sore skin takes to heal? It started appearing a day or two after rads was done so I didn't get a chance to ask the doctor.

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  • DeliriumPie
    DeliriumPie Member Posts: 1,370
    edited October 2013


    that's a great T shirt idea bounce. The techs remind me of at home fireworks shows every day. You know how someone lights the fuse and then runs for cover. That's what they remind me if when they scurry out if the room after setting me up.

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  • FierceBluebird
    FierceBluebird Member Posts: 758
    edited October 2013


    Bounce that is hysterical!


    Sheila, good depiction!


    The Primal diet makes sense but I hate the idea of eating meat. I am such a vegetarian want a be! One day hope to make the switch to alternate proteins. Of course I can't eat nuts, soy or dairy so I better start liking beans more!


    image

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  • Bounce
    Bounce Member Posts: 574
    edited October 2013


    Bluebird144 - I too am a vegetarian one to be.


    I can't cook beans in a way that I like but have discovered that black lentils and quinoa are good.


    Green lentils give me gass but black lentils are fine.


    I have been making the most phenomenal dish which I put together in the morning and take with me to have as lunch at work.


    At the beginning of the week I cook a big quantity of black lentils and of quinoa and put them in the fridge for ready access.


    I also chop up a salad - small cubes of carrots, red pepper, cucumber and tomatoes.


    I mix together 4 spoons of salad, quinoa, black lentils, a small amount of Bulgarian feta cheese chopped small - drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and sometimes add salt.


    It is delicious and filling and easy to make if the lentils, quinoa and salad are ready to be dished up.


    Point is - if you don't want to eat meat and don't do beans yet - try lentils as an easy cook option. You don't need to soak them first and they cook quickly. Can also mix with wholewheat rice of you don't like quinoa.

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  • LeslieVilla
    LeslieVilla Member Posts: 95
    edited October 2013


    Hi Ladies, I finished chemo and surgery and started rads today. I'm a little shocked that i FELT the rads and I'm already sore after one zap! any one else go throught this? i feel like it's only gonna get worse.. Dont' know why rads are scaring me more than chemo did :(

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  • FierceBluebird
    FierceBluebird Member Posts: 758
    edited October 2013


    Hi LelieVilla. I think you'll see that many of us were very afraid of rads. It is not a well understood phenomena! lol... It does get easier over time. Mentally that is, at least you learn what to expect.


    Bounce that recipe looks good. I just bought a bag of precooked quinoa to try. I figured I better try a frozen sample before I tried to make it myself. I love feta cheese.

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  • MsPharoah
    MsPharoah Member Posts: 1,034
    edited October 2013


    Radiant ones, hello. It is so good to hear about your progress and see the 'flare' on this thread today. Bounce, you are definitely sick and twisted. (haha). That was my impression when I saw your radiation warning sign...but I was really convinced when I read how seriously you take lentil preparation and eating. LOL


    Swell. Love the jelly like floppies. I call my large boobies knee knockers.


    Dobby, I just want to reach out and give you a cyber hug. You are such a wonderful daughter. I have a wonderful daughter too and so I know how much your mother loves and appreciates you. I hope you and your mom find a way to celebrate treatment end and the upcoming healing.


    Two hobbies. I had 28 reg treatments, then 6 boosts. The non boost area started healing before the boosts were done. My non boost area is no longer pink and just some residual peeling. I am 1 week out from the last boost and I noticed this morning that I was less red and starting to peel. I hope you have rapid healing.


    Last week for some reason, I wore red every day. Red sweater, red shoes....something red. And a coworker commented on that fact. He doesn't know I have cancer. I just smiled and told him that i just wanted to show how radiant I am!


    Shine on bright ladies!


    MsP

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  • Bounce
    Bounce Member Posts: 574
    edited October 2013


    The trick to making your own quinoa is to rinse it well before cooking. That gets rids of the slightly bitter taste some people complain of though I have never noticed.


    If the precooked quinoa is yummy great - otherwise you can experiment with your own - my husband likes it cooked with lots of water until its soft and mushy. I prefer it just done with some crunch to it - expecially the red quinoa.


    I eat so much of it (well a little at a time but I eat it almost every day now) that I even got brave enough to try different types!


    And I am getting used to adding less salt.


    Let me know if you come up with a good quinoa based dish.

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  • LeslieVilla
    LeslieVilla Member Posts: 95
    edited October 2013


    Thank you bluebird :) I needed that short but sweet boost of encouragement

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  • ItIsWhatItIs2013
    ItIsWhatItIs2013 Member Posts: 541
    edited October 2013

    Had my first of 6 boosts(narrowed field) today... it was only supposed to be 5 but my RO re-evaluated my "not clear margin" from surgery and added another dose.

    They added more devices to the machine & I freaked a little... but almost done. The spot where my bolus was (they dont use it with the boosts) Is dry and crispy feeling when I put on the colendula ? (4 times a day )... and skin is peeling off each time I get out of the shower.... bla. ? But it (the skin) doesnt really hurt.. its inside that hurts... I can barely lift my arm into position during treatment now. I stretch all day, but its still difficult.  I just keep saying, only 5 more!

    Stay strong ladies.....

    Lorrie

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  • jbdayton
    jbdayton Member Posts: 700
    edited October 2013


    Wow everyone sounds so chipper today. I am down to 9 left. I am starting to get nice and pink in some areas and tanned in others. Just using Aquafor 2 times daily and silvadine once a day. I had my PT appointment for LE. I have one area that is cording and need to work it out. I was amazed at how little pressure you have to apply to do a LE massage.


    Bluebird I am so glad the past 2 days have gone so well. It is a shame you had to go to that length to get the issue resolved.


    I love the humor that is coming out to ease the tension we were experiencing with this treatment. At church tonight when asked how I was doing my husband responded "she's just radiant". I had to laugh to myself, I had not told him about this thread referencing radiant ladies.


    LeslieVilla I hope tomorrow goes much easier. We will be in your pocket.


    Lorrie hope you are doing better with your final boosts.


    I pray the rest of this week goes good for everyone as we get one step closer to finishing.

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  • swellrider
    swellrider Member Posts: 17
    edited October 2013


    Thanks for sharing your big girl experiences. There is so much useful information on this site but it comforts me to know the details of how its all going to work. Intimate details of how things "lay" are not big on peoples list of things to share. I can't imagine how difficult this journey must be for the more modest. Keep sharing your bodies and your stories ladies!

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  • Imamom
    Imamom Member Posts: 21
    edited October 2013


    I haven't been on here in awhile, and gave up on trying to catch up on all the posts! I finished 25/28, and am so tired already and sick of traveling every day... Today, To cheer myself up, I hummed another one bites the dust while I was lying on the table. Who was joking about that song? Next time I'm going to hum the rocky theme- what better fighting song, to give me energy?

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  • Imamom
    Imamom Member Posts: 21
    edited October 2013


    I started reading to catch up on what I missed, and noticed that bounce was looking at another one bites the dust negatively! I think of the song, and imagine the cancer cells dying. With each zap... another one bites the dust!


    So, I'm now making a radiation playlist. So far I've got:


    Radioactive


    Another one bites the dust


    Eye of the tiger


    What else would you put on there?

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  • anne11595
    anne11595 Member Posts: 101
    edited October 2013

    Happy Halloween everyone!! Today will 18/30. It goes by so fast but will be glad when I'm in the final days. I have this little round sticker with a x on it on my chest. I think it helps then to line me up faster. But it itchy as hell. Last night it keep me up part of the nite. So when I woke up I see a area next to it that looks like I rubbed it. Now it looks like it might of open the skin a little. I might of done it while I was sleeping. So I will show them it today. But I'm sure that is not a good thing. I'm so mad at my self this morning. Eveything has be going so smooth.

    I so love how everyone makes me laugh on this site. Very happy to see so many done or almost done!!!  Life will be so different when we are not running around trying  to get to all of our appointments. I have forgot what a normal day is like. I will have withdrawals from not seeing all the great nurses I have meant plus docs.

    Hope everyone gets all there treats tonite and no tricks!!

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  • LisaSp
    LisaSp Member Posts: 253
    edited October 2013


    Happy Halloween everyone!


    Bounce, you crack me up! I would so love that sign on a t-shirt! I would buy one immediately!


    Have a great day radiant ladies.

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  • kika2013
    kika2013 Member Posts: 101
    edited October 2013


    Hi everyone! I'm done!! I had my last boost yesterday and every single tech, even the ones who'd never met me, said congratulations as I walked out. It was very nice. I made it through with minimal skin issues--just one area of very itchy rash that I've had for about a week and a half and, while it isn't getting worse, which is good, doesn't really seem to be improving, either. Oh well--I've never heard of a rash that stays forever so I guess I'll just be patient. I definitely have a pink "square" showing the entire area that was radiated, but no skin breakdown. And strangely enough, I think the inside of my breast hurt more towards the start than it did later on. At the moment i have no pain (though to be fair, I should admit I have very small breasts and so maybe there's just less in there to hurt? Not sure about that one). I got home last night, drank a toast with my husband, ate pizza with my kids, and went to bed at 8:30 for a delightful 11 hour sleep. Today I feel like a new person. To all of you counting down the days, keep counting! There's no way you wont get to the end! I am grateful to have had you all here, telling your stories and making jokes as I went through this. Thank you.

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  • ItIsWhatItIs2013
    ItIsWhatItIs2013 Member Posts: 541
    edited October 2013

    Yay.,, kika..... congrats!

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  • denilynne
    denilynne Member Posts: 102
    edited October 2013


    kika! Free at last! God bless you and congrats!

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  • MsPharoah
    MsPharoah Member Posts: 1,034
    edited October 2013


    Kika, congratulations. Let the healing begin!


    Sounds like a lovely evening with your family.


    MsP

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