Holeinone and Slowdeepbreaths sending positive thoughts your way - hope all is fine. Welcome all new members to our winter rads! I had #19 today - only 9 more regular rads then 5 boosts - there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Found out today that you have to do another simulation for the boosts so I have that next Thursday. They said I'll be taking my pillow mold with me (different facility as my rad center doesn't have the machine for simulation). I asked about how much radiation I was getting and was told 180 cGy per day for a total of 6000 cGy (60 gray) for entire treatment. I'm definitely red & getting a little sore (mostly when my arm rubs against me) but its not bad at all. I'm trying to be good about lotion - 4 times a day and using hydrocortisone for the rash/itching. I know everyone is different & mine may be different with rads after MX with no reconstruction. Keep thinking positive thoughts and remember the rads are helping us fight and keep this beast away! Did I mention the techs said these machines cost $2.3 million! Hope everyone is doing well!

Bethf7 they certainly are uncomfortable and 5 months later I am finally getting somewhat comfortable with them since it looks like it will be with me for awhile. But we can do this one day at a time

6/25 today and I'm getting used to the routine.  Amazing what you can get used to that you never thought you would be able to face.  Pam358, I can't imagine making your trip everyday, winter weather or not.  I'm so lucky being 10-15 minutes driving time from all my docs and treatment, on the table for my rad at 11:40 and home right after noon. 

I know everyone is different, but when did some of you start seeing skin side effects?  I see no change at all yet, no pink or any change of color at all, no itching, no rash.  Of course that could all change tomorrow and probably will very soon. I'm realistic.  I am religiously putting on Miaderm at least 3 times a day, often 4, and hope it will prevent the worst of what might be waiting for me.  I see my RO tomorrow for our weekly visit and then out to lunch with a girlfriend.  It's so wonderful to have somewhat of a normal life again compared to when I was having chemo.  (Herceptin goes on till April, but no side effects.)  Any other advice for me?   Just stepped in for a minute to see how everyone was doing.

LanaM, thanks for the support. Wow, seems like you just started rads and you already have 19 behind you.

Pam358, you and I have about the same travel time. I don't envy you having to drive in the winter weather. I'm sending positive thoughts that your UTI clears up so you can have your last chemo. You're so fortunate to already know your radiation team - it must be very comforting.

rosecal954, you're in the home stretch! I hope the doctors figure out why you're having those side effects.

Thanks to all of the ladies that provided info on why we need to have radiation. I must admit I almost opted out of the process, but I've come to realize it is necessary and I'm thankful they have these treatments to help us through. Good luck to everyone starting this week.

TeamKim - no reduction for me at the time of the lumpectomy, just a straight removal of the affected tissue. How it was explained to me is that there will often be a buildup of fluid where they took out the tissue and that is what they look for on the CT to identify the area to target for the boost. I didn't have that pocket of fluid buildup which made it hard to identify the site. 

LanaM - guess what I was thinking about when I was laying there yesterday? Yep, the cost of the machine. The tech told me that the particular machine I'm using is advanced and that they got the "upgrades" on it. I had to wonder if it was more or less than the price tag you we're told! 

Cari:  Congrats on completion of your rads!  Glad to hear your skin is holding up pretty well. Hope your scans turn out fine for you. I know the decision on Tomoxifen is so hard; I'm in the same place coming up on the 10th of Feb.

SlowDeepBreaths:  Thanks for the encouragement. It feels good to know next week I'll be finished.

Everyone have an easy treatment day or recovery day.

Congratulations Cari3047.  Good luck with your scans.  Thanks for sharing about the five days.

Does everyone get a bone scan and a torso cat scan when rads are finished?

Hi all, I joined this forum a little while ago...Haven't posted anything because I figured I would wait until I had some radiation, and would be able to say something more usefull about it...Also maybe answer any concerns you all may have...As it is, I have had 9 rads so far...Will have 33 total with the final 8 rads a booster...So far so good...No side effects, although my breast is a tiny bit red...I do rub cream on my breast after rads...I have been using udderly smooth( udder cream )which the nurses say is good, along with aloe, and aquaphor....I'm sure there are a lot of ointments and creams we could use, but these seem just fine, at least for now...Don't know if this helped anyone, but I will keep writing down my experience with rad...In the meantime you all take care and hang in there...

Teamkim...I want to wish you a Happy belated Birthday...I also wanted to say what a wonderful pic of you and your father-in-law...I absolutely loved it...

Today was 9/25.  Yesterday had a double dose (7 am and 3 pm).  Pretty tired today.

Peaches12--I have not had redness yet (well maybe a little under the arm), but I do experience some pain in the breast.  

I asked my RO about creams since I notice quite a few of you are using them before getting red.  She said nothing would prevent the skin breakdown and that when (not if) it happens, she will recommend something then.    Have others have this response/experience?

They have my rads scheduled up to the day before I leave on a very long trip.  I think some of you have traveled soon after rads.  How soon?  Did you have problems?

Here's some of the latest research on radiation effects on skin.  They are right there is nothing you can do to stop the breakdown of the skin from radiation.  Keeping it hydrated is about the only thing you can do and then wait for your skin to heal after the radiation stops.  I had radiation to my neck almost three years ago for laryngeal cancer (Stage IV).  Radiation has a latent effect.  You don't see much for the first treatments and when you are done it continues to get worse for a while and then better.  I had pretty bad burns on the front of my neck.  The worst was gone in two weeks.  I have only recently developed spider veins on my neck where I got radiation so I may look into getting some laser treatment (after I finish with the breast cancer treatment).  I still put cocoa butter and vitamin E on my skin twice a day.  The skin on my neck doesn't look great but no one seems to notice and it's not a bad price to pay for being alive.  I go to see my breast team this Thursday at MGH to decide which radiation treatment I will get (partial breast 1 or 2 weeks or 4 to 6 week whole breast).  Hopefully they can use the tattoo I already have between my breasts.  It will be weird going through it again.

Support Care Cancer. 2013 Oct;21(10):2933-48. doi: 10.1007/s00520-013-1896-2. Epub 2013 Aug 14.

Clinical
practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of acute and late
radiation reactions from the MASCC Skin Toxicity Study Group.

Wong RK, Bensadoun RJ, Boers-Doets CB, Bryce J, Chan A, Epstein JB, Eaby-Sandy B, Lacouture ME.

Abstract

Radiation
dermatitis (RD) results from radiotherapy and often occurs within the
first 4 weeks of treatment, although late effects also occur. While RD
may resolve over time, it can have a profound effect on patients'
quality of life and lead to dose modifications. A study group of
international, interdisciplinary experts convened to develop RD
prevention and treatment guidelines based on evidence from randomized,
controlled trials. Evidence-based recommendations were developed after
an extensive literature review. Randomized, controlled trials with
standardized measurement of outcomes were considered the best evidence,
and a majority of the recommendations were formulated from this
literature. The adoption of washing with water, with or without a mild
soap, and allowing the use of antiperspirants is supported by randomized
trials. Use of topical prophylactic corticosteroids (mometasone) is
recommended to reduce discomfort and itching. There is some evidence
that silver sulfadiazine cream can reduce dermatitis score. There is
insufficient evidence to support, and therefore the panel recommends
against the use of trolamine, topical sulcrate, hyaluronic acid,
ascorbic acid, silver leaf dressing, light-emitting diode lasers, Theta
cream, dexpanthenol, calendula, proteolytic enzymes, sulcralfate, oral
zinc, and pentoxifylline. Moreover, there is no evidence to support the
superiority for any specific intervention in a reactive fashion. For
patients with established radiation-induced telangiectasia and fibrosis,
the panel suggests the use of pulse dye laser for visual appearance,
and the use of pentoxifylline and vitamin E for the reduction of
fibrosis.

PMID:

23942595

[PubMed - in process]

Rosie -- When I had radiation almost 7 years ago, I flew from Colorado to Boston on the last day of treatment. With my siblings, I spent the weekend clearing out my mom's house as she had moved to assisted living. I focused on the kitchen and didn't do a lot of up and down stairs, but that was about it. 

Admittedly, I had very little reaction to the radiation. I worked throughout, maybe slept a lot for a couple of weekends. After 6 weeks, I was pretty red, but stopped just short of blistering. 

My guess is that you will have a good idea in the coming week how much you'll be up for the trip. 

Ellen

hi, this is my first post. 

today i had # 11 radiation treatment of 16 after chemo and lumpectomy on one breast.. 

skin is a little pink but the surprise for me was the pain that came on quite suddenly in my armpit, shoulder, and back of my shoulder. my initial thought was that i had torn a muscle, but after reading more about radiation effects i realized it was more likely pain brought on by the lymph system. 

for the past hour i have massaged the whole area gently (small circles with finger tips) and to my relief this gave me some comfort. the area is now less sensitive. i will continue with this self treatment for as long as i have to ~ am just so relieved it worked .

Cari3047: congrats on being done!

I finished my full breast treatments yesterday. Afterwards I had my set up for the boost treatments to the tumor site- got 4 new tatoos to join the 7 I already had. This morning I had the first of 6 boosts, so 26 out of 31 total course treatments are completed. I am in the home stretch and getting excited!

I continue to pace myself which makes the fatigue managable and using Miaderm on my skin, which I highly recommend. Other than that I have been fortunate with no other side effects.

Wishing everyone a good day, wherever you are on your journey!

Today was #6 of 35. I'm getting pink and itchy.

Just popping in - today, I had my first boost, & now I have only 4 treatments left before I'm DONE, DONE, DONE! I can't wait   Rads have been so much easier than chemo, but the daily grind of the appointments has been annoying. I'm excited for it to be over.

Only in the past two weeks, since #20, have I got red, & the area underneath my treated boob has gotten pretty sore -- I've been trying to figure out if it feels better supported w/a soft, unwired bra or without a bra, but by now it doesn't matter, it only really feels ok if I'm laying flat back. I'm glad I'm only a C cup. Been using a lot of aquaphor, keeps the skin soft & supple.