Winter 2013-2014 Rads

Mimi - Here's a study that was published last fall.  My derm doc was all in favor of mometasone (Elocon) once a day as a preventative.  The RO doc - not so much.  She favored only Aquafor but said OK to Miaderm.  After I finished radiation I had the derm doc write an Rx & I treated two adjacent burn patches - one w/Elocon and one w/Miaderm.  I only put it on 3 days.  The patch w/Elocon has already dried and is just about finished peeling.  The adjacent patch is still an ugly red rash. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23942595#

Hi there. To the topic of creams etc. As I said nothing till week 3.

But at week 4 the told me to air the boob. To spend the weekend walking around the house or wherever topless. I joked that this would be exciting at the mall. Yes,it's legal here but, ummmm, no.

I did it and it helped. Glaxal Base 3 times a day, epsom salts baths twice a day. I think I've gotten of pretty easy, so I'm glad I listened. 

Good luck girls. My heart is with you even if I can't respond to every post.

Hugs'n'kisses 

Deb

flagirl, I had to keep markings on for quite awhile after my simulation due to further testing of new lumps. They provided me with clear plastic stickers to put over the markings and it worked very well. I ended up getting tattoos when I started. Even with the tattoos, they still write all over me at my appointments.

Minustwo - Thanks for the research publication.  I will read it  tomorrow.  Feeling tired tonight after a fun day of shopping and eating with friends.

Flaggirl - I too had tats at my simulation and they put little clear tape over each one - about the size of your thumbnail.  Then I was told tatoos don't work that well with breast radiation.  Nothing I did or didn't do would keep the marking on - except maybe the big "X" they put on each tape so they drew all over me every single time from tape to tape - red, pink, blue green.  I think any lotion fades the colors.  I literally did not shower my "top half" for 2 weeks at a time but they were still very unhappy w/me.  So glad I had a hand held shower to take care of the necessities below.

yay! I am over halfway done Rads! 17/33 today. Just noticed pink patch up in armpit....didn't know Rads reached that high. I noticed little balls of skin there this morning...thought it was lint and tried to brush it off...oops!

Flagirl my tats worked just fine for my rads. I am almost 2 weeks post rads and other than some occasional zingers in the incision area and the little balls of skin that are exiting my epidermis I'm ok. I am using nothing but Glaxal Base and it seems to be doing its job. 

Andrea, congrats on being over half done! Yay you. You've got this girl!!

Thanks flagirl:  I finished rads a week ago, but as they say, skin can worsen for a week or two.  As for zingers, I am getting a whole lot of them and they can be quite shocking at times.  Thank goodness they are quick. I should start to get better over the next few days to a week and cannot wait.  It is like the worst sunburn I ever had as a child.  You are almost one third there.  I kept track like that.  It helped me to celebrate each milestone and it did seem to go fast.  I hope your skin holds up well. 

I am finishing my 4th week of radiation and was wondering if muscle weakness and soreness was a side effect?

Well I turned a corner within the past 24 hours and feel MUCH better.  All of a sudden the chills are gone and although my skin looks dreadful, the pain has subsided.  It was so sudden and so welcome.  So if any of you find that your symptoms worsen once rads are finished, it only lasted for one week for me and then very suddenly improved.  Whew

I thought I'd check in with my post treatment update, too.  I had only a couple of weeks of discomfort and they began at about week 4 and lasted to the end of the whole breast treatment.  Discomfort for me was lots of nipple sensitivity - I'd actually have to hold any clothing away from that area.  I was very red on the rest of my breast, but it didn't hurt or sting like a real sunburn.  It looked much worse than it felt.  I switched at that time from regular Eucerin to Aquaphor, because it seemed to be a good buffer against clothing. On weekends there was always a noticeable recovery time, when the sensitivity calmed way down.  I got a few zingers during that uncomfortable time and asked my RO, who said that they were from the nerves disturbed by surgery and that the radiation could activate them.  Instead of getting worse they disappeared by the time I started the boosts.  I think I only had them for a few days - few times a day.

The minute the boosts started (29th treatment) I began to heal - a little peeling of very thin layers, particularly in that area below the breast.  I didn't have to get the prescription.  My RO checked carefully and could tell if the peeled areas were something to get extra help for or if it would heal naturally.  I got slightly redder in the boost area during the last treatments and then it stayed red for about 4 days post treatment.  I haven't had any more zingers, peeling has stopped, I have a slight tan, haven't been fatigued.  I am enrolled in the cancer wellness program that is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but have been away this week for some R&R in the mountains.  I find that I really miss the workout.  I have about another four weeks of membership in that program, so will get back to that on Tuesday.  I'm slightly achy and stiff,  but that is nothing new! (I'm 65)

I want to note that the radiation was not as bad as I had feared in the beginning.  I had to have it on the left side, so was extremely worried about my heart.  I've been very bothered by PVC's (irregular heartbeat) for about a year, although numerous tests have diagnosed this as a benign condition.  My RO from the start reassured me and showed me on the computer how my heart was blocked from the radiation.  The PVC's are no worse now that I've been finished for 9 days.  I also have always thought about my mother who had BC in 1978 and had radiation for 6 weeks - on what would now be considered less accurate machinery - and she did well and lived for 33 years.  She had a mastectomy, 3/12 nodes, and radiation.

Lojo, I'm sorry that you're still having problems.  My RO always stressed that airing things out would really help things heal, but I never had the seepage problem.  I hope they can tell you what to do next.  Now that you are finished with treatment (hooray!) you should probably notice a huge difference in a few days.  Let us know how you're doing!

p.s., Be careful of miaderm if you are sensitive to fragrances.  It made me itch terrible.   I stuck with unscented things like Aquaphor, Neosporin for open wounds, as well as Aloe, and Cetaphil.  

Thanks all! I'm back from the doc, the nurse said to come in. On the phone she said it sounded normal but wanted to check anyway (my follow up had been scheduled for Monday). Anyway, I guess it is acceptable oozing! Gross but ok. The RO said tomorrow or Sunday will likely be the worst and then it will improve quickly thereafter. I think I'd manage better if I didn't have to work or drive. I can work at home, but I have to shuttle the kids around. Sometimes I really hate soccer

TB, so glad you're on the mend, I know you're only a week ahead of me, so that gives me hope.

The gauze doesn't really irritate, but I'm going to air it out a bit. They took the gauze off to look at me, and I think I'll keep it off until bed. But the gauze embedded stuff is really the only way I can apply anything to most of my chest because the skin is so weepy and loose. I think it is tefla, just packaged with Vaseline in aluminum sleeves.

I'm glad this didn't happen during rads though, it is helpful to know that it will end soon, and I'm at least not driving back and forth every day

Thanks Pat,

I'll keep the gauze on. It seems to encourage the oozing of the yellow goop, which I guess is a good thing? I'm just so tired of it and want to turn the corner on this -- now 7 days out, and it's been pretty bad for 3 days now. I thought it might be getting better on Saturday but then another large area broke down. :-(

Trying to see all of this as temporar

Well it was bound to happen. The technician was commenting today on how well my skin was holding up....then tonight my skin is red and sore and itchy . Yikes!

I just had 21/33 today (last five will be boosts). I just took a Benadryl because that used to help with sunburns.