Summer Rads 2014

Kt, congrats!! Great to hear that your skin has done so well. It does seem strange who reacts badly and who doesn't. Definitely needs more research.

Rettemich, your IO sounds wonderful!! I felt better just reading your post! I will look into  the Black Cohosh and must start making curry again with plenty of turmeric! I was actually checking out yoga videos on the TV earlier and found one that was doable, kind of, mainly breathing and just a few really slow exercises for beginners for reducing stress.

Shycat. I definitely think that for some the tiredness starts earlier than the info suggests. Mine started the second week and has gotten worse.I have needed a nap for an hour this week during the day, My eyes were closing as I was trying to work on the computer. Did finally started exercising  again today which is supposed to help.

Next week is my on-call week. Grrr! No idea how it will go so will try to keep napping and exercising as best I can. My FMLA was approved so if the tiredness is too bad I will take a couple of days off work the following week to try to get some rest. 

Shycat and Issysmom, the fatigue finally hit me today, 9 treatments in, I had a busy couple of days and today I can't seem to get off the couch after sleeping 8 hours for the first time in ages. Let's rest when we can, it helps us heal.

vetter girl - looks like we will be on a similar schedule. I finish my mapping tomorrow and get my last tattoo and then I start 33 rads on Tuesday. I am just on the left breast...good luck with both.

Hello everyone else - I've been on vacation after introducing myself a few weeks back. I'd like to say I'm refreshed and ready to roll but I'm still a little nervous. I'm sure once I get the first one out of the way I'll be fine. I'm really just worried about my heart and lung being affected.

So great to see that some of you are finishing up with not many issues. I'm a fair skinned red-head and was worried that I'd be a prime candidate for burning but it seems that the burning is pretty random from what everyone is posting.

I'm thinking of taking a friend for moral support for the first treatment. Has anyone had company? Do they wait in the general waiting room or back where you change? I'm ususally so strong but i need a hand to hold.

Wishing everyone the best in this mission.

Vicki

Rettemich, I won't start any herbal supplements until I speak to RO in August. There was one I tried, not lately thank goodness, 5 HTP. Just looked it up and it said it to avoid sunlight, tanning beds and wear protective clothing. Yikes!!

Hi All!  - I just had treatment 8 of 33, with bolus every other day.   I do not lay on my stomach, thank goodness.  That would be uncomfortable for me!

I went to the beach yesterday with friends.  I slathered on the SPF 50, wore an oversized long-sleeved fishing shirt and spent all of my time under a pop-up tent.  I ventured into the Gulf a few times but only waded up to my lower waist.  A hot day, but well worth it to be there!

Congrats, Deb!!! 

 Another step conquered!!  I still had some fatigue for a week or two afterward.  Now I have no excuse for slacking off!!

Good Luck!!

Ohio

Congrats Deb!!

Mripp and JB, great to hear you both enjoyed your weekends! I delayed start of rads so that we could go up to Vermont for a few days with out little dog in June. It was so peaceful, well worth it.

JB and others just starting, the Coolibar long sleeved SPF 50+ tees from Amazon are working really well. I usually take a medium but sized up to large although they have not shrunk yet on a cold wash. The sleeves are really long but I think thats a good thing.

Hi all,

I saw my RO today to get ready to start treatment. I had my tattoos done, pictures with a CT scanner, practice taking deep breaths and other stuff I don't remember. I signed a bunch of
papers and brought home more. Good thing Hubby was there to remember what I forget!

 I go again on Aug. 1st for a simulation and start treatments on
Aug. 4 through Sept. 15,  6 weeks for 30 treatments altogether.  She said something about boosts, too.

So I am off on this next phase of my cancer journey.  Wish you didn't have to join me, but glad to have the company.

Dee

Vicki,

Looks like we will be in RADs together!

Dee

Hi everyone.

I know I've been away for a few days, so I wanted to check back in. I finished rads last Monday, July 14th, and I also returned to work full-time the same day. I've been exhausted after work each day, so I haven't checked the board much lately. My eyes close by 8pm each evening, and I am trying to get used to my 4:45am alarm clock again!.  But it feels so good to step back into my life a bit. My underarm is still very, very tender from radiation, but I take a bit of pain medicine during the day to get through. My tissue expander on the radiated side is very uncomfortable as, currently, my left boob is almost twice the size as my right one. I am hoping this is due to the radiation only and will go away.

Once I catch up with a couple of paychecks, I am going to buy myself a brand new set of soft, cozy sheets!!!!!

Hope everyone is doing well!

I found out today I have two more sessions to supra clavicular, as they started two days later in that area, so not finished today after all

Louanne, glad to hear that after three weeks you have no real problems, as the techs told me I still have to be careful of rubbing the skin up to three weeks after treatment. So far, I have had no skin problems except for darkening and a little itching. (I did find as time went on, I had pain now and again in the underarm and chest area, similar to after-surgery pain)

I mentioned this before, but for newbies, I put nothing on my skin at all (no lotions etc) per my RO's instructions. His rationale was, the less you rub or aggravate the skin, the better the outcome, as radiation stops the skin from regenerating which is the reason for skin breakdown, and lotions will not prevent this process (that's what I understood anyway). Don't know if that is the reason why I've done so well, but fingers crossed, hope it continues that way.

Good luck everybody!

Hey everyone,

I just started rads today. It is kind of a creepy experience with the big machine and everything but no needles so I'm not complaining! My biggest issue has been with talking to friends, they're all so happy for me saying how much easier it will be than chemo. When I tell them about the possible burns they think its no big deal, my best friend just said "yah but then it goes away". And when I say you get tired they said, "because it's every day, like going to work". It's kind of annoying, I know you don't really get it until you go through it and they are just trying to make me feel better but it still gets under my skin. Know what I mean?

Stephanie, I know what you mean re. creepy. The first time I got on the table, for my sim, I felt like I was in a 1970's alien abduction movie - all these people hovering over me going about their business and not seeming to notice I was awake, and plenty of high-tech equipment which would be truly dangerous if not in professional hands....Yeah, there's plenty to be nervous about, no one can deny that. But even then, now that I'm in full throttle (just got #14/20) I can honestly say that even though the experience isn't what I would choose, I'm just relieved that the SE's are easier than chemo.

For those of you starting soon, here's the xkcd comic I posted a number of pages back:

http://xkcd.com/933/

Congrats to all of you who have finished!

Stephanie...I understand what you mean completely. I was lucky to have a low Oncotype number and did not need Chemo and I'll be forever grateful but this whole ordeal is not a walk in the park. Most of my friends are really good with not saying much but asking how I am doing and listening. My boyfriend is another issue - tells me it's all in my mental attitude. When I tell him I am worried about my heart/lung getting nicked he says well it's not like it's the first time they've done this procedure. I think it's time for a new boyfriend.

I try not talking about it too much because i think most people just really do not know how they would react until it happens to them. It's easy to say everything is going to be ok. We all know that to be true but it's still an experience none of us want to go through.

I had my simulation today on the massive machine and I almost burst out laughing as the techs said they were moving me up to their eye level. Nothing like having my boob right at their eye level. This whole thing feels surreal at times for sure.

Thank you for all the well wishes for our first sessions tomorrow. The techs gave me a calendar with all the dates....I can't wait to start crossing them off!

Vicki