Summer Rads 2014

love2sew...my last full breast is tomorrow and then I start boosts...I am thinking the rest of my rads may go like yours did...I need to remember about asking for silvadene and mepilex...a few ladies said it helped a lot!! Rosie

O M G Debic: someone compared their pregnancy to chemo? Yeah - at the end of pregnancy you get a bouncing bundle of joy. At the end of chemo - you get (in many of our cases) radiation. Then anxiety about the next check up. I think that is a 'friend' that I would either a) punch in the throat or b) never speak to again. c) offer to poke her full of needle holes on a daily/weekly basis for the next six months  [I'm not really advocating violence, but still.]

Debster: best of luck. Hope it all comes out ok!

I am 2 weeks PFC and just got my rad-tatts. Woohoo. Start officially 8/18 (although I don't have a schedule yet). Let's get this next thing over and done with. Can't wait to get to the finish line.

Everyone in the midst of treatment now - good luck! 

Rosie, I'm in your pocket, so you are not alone. Sounds like the boosts will be much easier on you.

Sunshine, That is a long shift for your first day on the job. Good thing it's only part time. I would be a zombie. LOL The most important thing is do you like your job?

My RO would try to zoom in and out of our weekly meetings. There were a few times I did have questions and she had to sit and talk to me. (snark) Even had to pull up my treatment plan a few times. Hey it's MY body I want to know what exactly they are doing and how it will effect me. Once when we were discussing the lung as I'm an asthmatic, she blurted out that my lung already had scarring. I just stared at her and said, so it's ok to keep scarring it? Boy did she try to do some fast talking after she realized what she said.  I would be interested to see what a new xray would look like. And compare. And also told me my ribs would be hit and if I were to ever get into an accident or something to tell them I've had rads on that side. Sorry I rattle.

Debic, I know how you feel my own dd told me to "deal with it", one time. I was so close to child/adult abuse. I told her to choose her words more carefully as she could be on the receiving end one day. 

Wishing well for those in treatment, and Good Luck to those just or are about to start.

Welcome OK and congrats on finishing your treatments, I think your feelings are understandable, but you did what you needed to do, so get on with your life and try not to look back. I agree the weekly visits are quick, but that's good, it means you didn't have too many problems. Sorry for those who have uncaring doctors, I don't think they realize a little TLC goes a long way to help us along this road. My RO was very matter of fact when discussing the possible side effects, because this was my 3rd. radiation, he did not pull any punches, but promised he would do his best to minimize them. I am lucky, I have great docs, mine returned from vacation yesterday and greeted me with a hug ,Stephanie

Rett I LOVE my job. It's the polar opposite of what I did for the last 25 years.  There's no stress, nobody micromanaging me, and I can leave when the last patient is done.  I'm actually looking forward to going back next Monday.  Now I'm going to celebrate my five day weekend lol

My RO was fantastic.  At first we didn't communicate much just yes and no's however as the days wore on we got to know each other much better.  My average time was 30 minutes unless I was rushed for some reason. That whole office made a bad experience good and as joy was said earlier just ask for what you need.  Trust me your insurance is paying them WELL.  So you deserve it. 

Hi Dee,

I was told no swimming for 2 reasons. A) it erases the markings that are done in marker and chlorine and chemicals not good. 

dee...my RO said pool was ok until I started to feel It irritated...funny how they all differ !  I stopped going to the pool anyway due to muscle aches as I was doing walking aerobic routines.  I stayed in the low end and never really got the chest area wet...wore my long sleeve rash guard hat and sunscreen too.

Had my mapping/tattoos done yesterday, not too bad and was in and out in just over an hour since the RO was right at hand and didn't hold things up. They did have to move me just a tad and do it a second time but it was fine. Just got a call from them that I go in on Friday for films and dry run, or something like that, and my tx's actually start on Monday. They gave me a cream to start using now, glaxal base moisturizing cream and told me to start getting in the habit of using only my hand to bath with using mild soap such as dove or ivory and patting my skin dry. The less friction on my skin the better. A lot of info to read but I am ready to get this started. I will be glad when it is all over and can actually make plans without having to make them around so many Dr. appointments and TX's.

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome, many of you I recognize from the December Chemo group.

Ohiofan I have the lands end rash guard and love it! 

Dee, I was told no pool as well, chlorine is very drying and we need to keep the treatment area moist.               Charusa, welcome hope it goes quickly for you.              Rosie, you're getting there.                                               Aff, I completed 22 today, pretty burned in the underarm area and under the breast, itching and burning, can't wait to finish whole breast, difficult sleeping. My fatigue hit about the half way point. It's funny how you can be so tired and still not able to sleep. Did get a nice nap today though.  Best wishes to all, Stephanie                                                                                 

Dee, the nurse at rads center said swimming would be ok until you feel irritated but to shower off immediately. I think it probably easier for those that have tattoos rather than a lot of marker. The tiredness started the second week but keeping active helps and it comes and goes. Some days I have needed an afternoon nap. I slept for hours on Friday, on and off all day after rads but yesterday was OK and today I drove to the office and worked for about 6 1/2 hours (75 mile round trip) before I felt I needed to leave.

Rosie, your on the home stretch!! Hopefully boosts will go smoothly!!

Sunshine, I am so glad that you are loving your job and that its not stressful. That is perfect, when you can actually look forward to Monday morning!! The staff here are wonderful and they too have made this a good experience. 

My skin finally started to peel under the breast today but the skin underneath is not too pink and the boosts avoid that area.. The
nipple is the most sore and a bit red and flakey but nothing really bad.
Only 2 boosts to go. I cant believe how the time has flown.

I was talking to another lady while waiting for treatment today. She said she has been on Arimidex generic for a month and is not experiencing any side effects yet. Her son is a pharmacist and he told her that the majority of the people he sees are not experiencing the really bad side effects we hear so much about so I am crossing my fingers for those of us that are starting out.

Actually I have been stealing the dogs turkey. Its not as bad as it sounds! DH buys very nice lean real, not processed, sliced turkey from Costco, mainly for her. It has 8g of protein and only 40 cal a slice so its an easy way to get that extra protein that they are now thinking can help reverse the bone loss that AIs may cause.

Rosie, I think those little ones will help energize you! If your doing something you love and it keeps you on the go then hopefully it will keep the tiredness at bay and you can put your feet up and nap if you need it once you get home. It will be so much fun after this stinky year!

Hi Amelia - glad you're doing well. How are you doing with Tamoxifen? I see you've been on it about 5 weeks longer than me. I could not sleep at all the first few nights but seem to be ok now. I had some leg pain the first couple days but that's fine now, too. The only thing I'm dealing with is hot flashes every few hours. 

lyzzysmom - so close...hope the skin under the breast doesn't get any worse. It's nice that you will finish on a Friday. My last day will be a Monday. I have mixed feelings about that. 

Rosie - it's great that you are so excited about going back to work. I will be going back on Sept 1 after a 6 month break. I'm not the same person that left 6 months ago and not sure how excited I am. My husband is a high school English teacher. He can't wait to start.

Hope everyone is doing well!

ncollett- that will be interesting with your condition. BUT when I talked to my MO, skin types are almost effected the opposite by rads then they are by the sun. In his experience, darker skin ( especially black ) seem to present with more burns.   It's not predictable by looking at someone's skin type. It's always a wait and see thing.  Weird, huh. 

DeeC, everyone is different. But usually you will start to see some redness about half way. The fatigue is a hit and miss. Some get it really early some not until toward the end. I got mine about the 3-4 week but it was off and on. I would be fine and then zap one day I couldn't stop sleeping. That was not every day. Just here and there. Try some Black Cohosh for the hot flashes. My IO started me on it and it really did help. Of course everyone is different but it is worth a try. It's pretty easy to find. Most vitamin stores carry it. Even some of the drug stores carry it.

Rosie, Woo Hoo done with those full ones. Yeah baby, the boosts should be mush easier. I'm in your pocket girl. I don't blame you for wanting to get back to see all those little faces. 

Izzy, 2 left I can't believe it!! On the home stretch!!!

Sunshine, I am SO happy you are really enjoying your job. It really hard to get a job that you can look forward to. 

aff, hang in there sweetie your almost there!!!

Nancy, so sorry your didn't have clear margins. It's really hard to say how you will react to the rads. Everyone is so unique. See if they will be doing extra blood tests to keep an eye on you white cell count. It does have a tendency to rise some while on rads. Don't be afraid to ask the RO how they will handle this. Hang in there sweetie we are here for you. I don't know where you are having your treatments at, but if they have an Integrative Oncologist there, see if you can get an appointment. They can help with some of the effects. 

I used an organic soap, have for years, while in treatment. Ivory and Dove are ok but I don't like using cow fat, or tallow to wash my body with. I had No issues using organic. I also have eczema.