Summer Rads 2014

I do!!!  Thanks!

I spoke with a friend of mine in Italy recently.  His wife just went through a BMX and they did the radiation during surgery, before they closed her.  That is her only rads.  Has anyone heard of this?

It is done in this country.  I wanted IORT during my surgery but the insurance company said it was experimental.  I found 6 years of trials and my team suggested it.  Oh well.......

lizzysmom...sunguard shirts with SPF protection is what I will swim in...I have a high neck long sleeve one from target...I will wear a 2 piece suit under it...not my usual tankini as I will be totally covered with a shirt....My neighborhood pool should be ok...I just worry about the chlorine and ph balance ...but even if I can just walk in the low end for mild aerobics on legs I will be happy for now!!  

My MO will also wait until after rads and gynocological visit ( test to see if I am truly menopausal as I was not before chemo...54 years old)...also a bone scan..to make a decision on what drug I will be on.  Looking forward to this next leg of the journey as we will be closer to being done...for now!  Rosie

Ladies with arm pain: I am undergoing PT right now, don't start rads 'til chemo is done in July. I was thinking that my arm pain, tingling and numbness was one thing, but it was actually as a result of the surgeries and 'adhesions' from the stitches, among other things. If you're having arm pain, while a pain reliever might get you through, but definitely consider going to a BC specialist PT - - it has really done wonders for me. I'm getting back to having a full range of motion - I hadn't even realized how bad it was. 

Happy weekend all!! 

Glad I could help Rosie! I was just trying to exercise thinking it would 'go away' and finding I had more and more numbness and tingling with the slightest movement - but like you said, more uncomfortable than painful. I've been going 3x a week for two full weeks and the numbness and tingling is almost completely gone. Hope you're feeling much better soon. I just scheduled my sim appointment and it will be 7/30 if my chemo goes as planned. *fingers crossed*

definitely calling for pt appointment on Monday!  Mine is definitely numbness and tingling...just thought it was something I may have to live with...we are blessed to have eachother ! Thanks! Rosie

Hi everyone,

Thought I would join this thread since I started radiation June 4th. I'll have 27 days of radiation. 23 days of "regular" rads, and, then, 4 days of something my RO called a "boost" around the area that my tumor was.

ktfelder...I'm with you...the Aquaphor is out of control. The first time I put it on I put way too much on; not realizing that a little bit goes a long way!!!! My clothes were stuck to it when I woke up in the middle of the night. They also suggested, in addition to the Aquaphor, that I use 100% Aloe, so I purchased "Fruit of the Earth" 100% Aloe Vera Gel from Walmart.com.

Thank you all, so much great advice. 

 I have just been checking out those shirts with SPF on Amazon.They seem to have a good selection. They are such a good idea and some are really nice even for wearing out of the water. I forgot about the bone scan. My MO did mention it so I expect that will be arranged once I see him in August before starting the meds.

 I will also make sure and take something for pain before the rad appointments. The nurse there gave me a couple of simple exercises that really helped after surgery.

The arm pain I have now is totally my own stupid fault. Its nothing
compared to what others have to deal with. I have been wimping around
doing nothing much apart from work and decided that if you can make the
effort to go swimming after chemo, I could try a few holes of golf after
vegging. The arm was ok as I didn't have to reach up high. The golf was
pretty bad but I needed to make the effort and exercise more.

 I can't complain really but should consider myself blessed for the cancer to have been found when it was. It was an odd chain of events that lead to its discovery and it could easily have gone unnoticed so the surgery really was not bad at all. 

What is funny is that my husband, a 16 year cancer survivor after a recurrence , doesn't really say much at all if I mention mine BUT I went into the bathroom and there was a Toms of Maine Roll On in there. Unfortunately it was a scented one but its the thought that counts. I don't think I will tell him!

Another totally off topic thing that happened during all this that my belief that there is such a thing as great customer service was restored! This week I got a message to call a company in California and press option 2. I realized it was the lab doing the oncotyping. I dialed the number and it said press option 2 for billing. My heart sank. What do they want? I hit 2 and the phone was immediately answered by a lovely lady who told me that the insurance company had approved the test and as I was so close to my out of pocket there would only be a relatively small payment for me, possibly nothing at all if I reached my limit before they billed. She also said that they had an assistance program for people that may not be able to afford it.

 I then asked if they knew when the test would be available to my MO as I was trying to juggle appointments based on results. She put me through to the lab after just a short hold. A gentleman answered who immediately knew who I was, who my MO was, when my sample was received, that my test was ahead of schedule and that my MO had an online account for immediate results. He then proceeded to explain the test, ask if I had any questions and tell me I could call again if I had more questions. 

After screaming at the short term disability people who gave me the run around during the 4 days I was off work the week of the surgery this was like a breath of fresh air.  

Goodnight all. Its like 3 am...

Land's End has the shirts online and at Sears.  Pretty prints.  I think there is a 30% off sale, too.

Rosie!  yeah!  Glad I could help! Yes, just finished 12 rounds of Taxol.  

I did get too much sun this weekend.  I don't start rads for a month, good thing! I have appt with RO tomorrow, I'm sure he will not be pleased with my skin color!  I will claim it's early conditioning. 

Rosiesride - so glad you got to enjoy your pool. I ordered 2  long sleeved spf 50 tees from Amazon.   Got a white and a coral in large as I do not want them too tight. I should have checked with Lands end too as DH gets a lot from them. Its a gorgeous day here but he is waiting a few days to get the residents beach tickets as he turns 65 and will get the senior discount!

Mripp, sorry you are in this anxious waiting period. I am still new to this but i am guessing that it just means that the area that needed removing was close to the skin rather than deeper in the breast as they like to have a margin of clear tissue. Its good news that your SNB was negative.

Rads does not have to begin immediately. If they think that chemo may be beneficial they may decide to do that first. It is quite normal to wait a while for rads to start. I can only go on my experience which is rads starting 7 weeks after lumpectomy and RO and MO seem fine with that. I read somewhere that they want to start no later than 20 weeks after surgery which seems like a long time and I don't know if that is correct but there is some wiggle room.  

Sending all good thoughts your way. Do ask your doctor for something if the anxiety is really bad. Just me personally, and others may prefer not to, but I find a low dose lorazepam (ativan) really helps and doesn't have side effects.

Mary, actually they were able to take away some of the markings after I asked if it was all needed. That was after I asked some of you women here if you had the same thing. They don't put anything over them so have to redraw each time. Some if you have tape or stickers over the marks? What kind? 

ktfelder and khodro

Glad to hear I am not the only one who had problems with range of motion and pain lifting arm over head, months after surgery, as my surgeon makes it out like I am an anomaly. Granted I did not do any exercising while I was doing chemo. A week and a half ago, I could not even get my arm in position for the radiation simulation, I was in so much pain, much less hold it for 20 minutes. I had physio for 5 sessions and my range of motion is a million times better, and the pain vastly disminished. I would recommend PT for everybody who has had breast cancer surgery, especially if you are having radiation. I wish my surgeon had told me to do so a lot sooner. (However, most people seem to have no problem, so maybe I AM in the minority). Exercising on your own may help, but my therapist also deep-massages the entire chest/arm/underarm/rib area to "loosen up" adhesions from scar tissue, which made a huge difference to that tight feeling around chest and under arm

Rosie, I think the problem is, in my case at least (1) no follow up by surgeon to see where you are in your recovery (2) we ourselves do not know where we should be at a certain point in time. It was only because of radiation why I realized I needed to have immediate therapy. Otherwise, I thought I was doing OK, since I know at least two women who do not have full range of motion a year after surgery. Therapy did help me a lot, I tried to schedule it every other day, as I am very worried about delaying radiation.