Fall Rads 2014

Lolis, interesting how each center has its own way of celebrating the finish of rads!  Hope you don't blister!

Your SIDE is numb?  My underarm is numb (just maybe a bit of feeling is returning, maybe).  Seems strange, doesn't it?

way to go Giles! From what you write you probably wouldn't notice fatigue from the rads. Keep up the good work! 

hi beach lady, welcome. They probably won't start rads for a few more weeks, but I had chemo i between so someone who did not will jump in and tell you, but I think they wait about 4 or 5 weeks. The sim is a dry run, the set you all up, they measure everything, and go thru what they would do without actually radiating you. Before that you have a cat scan and a few tatoos, everyone has a little different experience, some have no tatoos, some have visible tattoos, me, I have them that only show in black lights so you can not see them, everyone who can see them say they are very small. Anyway after all that you go for 3 to 7 weeks, and everyone here is a little different on how many treatments also. The last five if you go for the norm are called boost and ar shorter. It can take 5 to 20 minutes under the radiation machine, each person is different. Anyway that is about all in a nut shell. There are different rads I guess also, mine you do not hold your breathe, but there are a few offered a type that you do have to hold your breathe. I do not know what the real difference is, I just heard in an appt that if it was on the left side they would send me across town to do the breathe holding type, but since it is on my right I can have it here. The other advice I would give you is to use aquaphor and aleo, even now would not hurt,I find now using it after three weeks that my scar is lighter and lighter so I will be using it for a while even after rads are over. You can buy it, most places, even Walmart had it, just grease them up before bed and wear an old cotton tee shirt. As for anything else, you can find lots of answers, but it all depends on how rads effect you. I have no fatigue, I have no open sores, so far anyway but some here do. You can read about that when the time comes. I will also say, the time goes by real fast, it feels like just yesterday I started and I am almost half way done, 15 done, 18 to go. In two days, I will be counting down to the finish, passing the half way point.

Welcome and good luck.

Hi everyone!!! Just wanted to mention that I got a sore raspy throat during rads also, right above my right clavicle which I know was targeted during radiation b/c that spot got the sorest. Also they gave me a cream my very first appointment and told me to start using it 2x's a day but not within 4 hours of treatment. I did graduate from the cream to other things as well. When it really started burning much like sun burn they told me to do dumburo soaks. That helped a lot and is good for poison ivy, insect bites and other things as well and can be found in the first aid section of the drug store. Hope this helps!

Char

Oahu-711, I suspect those red spots are called punctated (note the spelling) follicles.  The hair follicles pick up the radiation and turn red.  I had that.  Mostly that and a bit of slight redness.  Just used Aquaphor.  Can't use aloe at all.  I also tan very easily and never burn which I think helped a lot.  I just finished my rads Thursday and the RO said things should start to clear up in 2 weeks but it may take longer for it to go away.  Judging from what others have said, any SEs do NOT clear up immediately after the end of rads, it takes time.  And sometimes even gets worse.  But it will clear up!

Oahu, my punctated follicles were like little spots, not pits like you seem to have (BTW, the nurse practitioner kept spelling it "punctuation" and the doctor gave her a really hard, though smiling, time).  Poor dear!  You sound miserable.  I really don't know where to look.  Assume you've read everything that BSO has here on radiation. 

All I can suggest is keep using mild soap, no rubbing, slather on the Aquaphor or whatever lotion/cream your RO wants you to use.  I would think you will start clearing up in the next week or so.  It may not be gone but at least improved.  And I think I'd also skip any type of deodorant if you can stand to.  No corn starch either.  To me it makes sense and I have no medical basis for thinking you should avoid them.  I'd also go braless is you can, wearing cotton-rich t-shirts or maybe cutting large squares of old t-shirts to act like a cover over your underarm to prevent seams from irritating.  I'm just throwing out ideas - maybe one will resonate.  

Finally, if you think the area is not getting better, call your RO and see him/her.  Don't wait. 

HUGS! 

Hey Lolis, I'm on 15 I'm not red YET..I am tired its strange how the fatigue hits you one min I'm fine and the next I can hardly put one foot in front of the other. My rads tec warned me that by the middle of this next next week  I will start to have some symptoms. I'm hoping I don't blister but she told me most do.

Skbrown, so sorry your having a bad year. You will find there are some wonderful women on this forum everyone understands the feeling of getting dx. These women on here are great. They will help you along the way and answer all your questions. Susu 

Peggy,yea that's what I have heard from many who have been through this everyone reacts different 

Hello Everyone

I'm a "before" rad therapy. I already had initial consult with Rad Onc. My lumpectomy is coming up this Friday and I am understanding that radiation doesn't start until 3 weeks post op.

I'm concerned (who isn't?) as not only is it left breast, Rad Onc has advised it could cause scarring on top of left lung (left breast has the tumor). I already have reactive asthma - PFTs are good but I don't know about maybe ending up with scarring on the lung? And how do they work around the heart?

She is aware I have Sjogrens, which is an autoimmune cousin to scleroderma. She basically assured me this some kind of beam radiation therapy? should not be problematic but she did confirm that its contraindicated for connective tissue AI.

No dx of scleroderma (not tested for it but I do have connective tissue issues).

Anyone with similar issue going thru or is after Radiation Therapy that wouldn't mind sharing the experience?

I won't have time this week to call Rad Onc with my questions. Pre-op tomorrow, rest of week tied up with appts errands and surgery Friday.

I suppose my real question, which may sound redundant or silly, if the risks outweigh the benefits - i.e. if radiation therapy would cause or exacerbate already existing medical issues (and I have a lot of them unfortunately), resulting in increased diminishing of quality of life - is it worth it?

I should say I am also fully disabled with no caregiver.

Thanks!!

P.S. And yes I will call Rad Onc once I get through my surgery and ask a lot more questions.

I was tested, too, for deep breathing since my BC is on the left.  Apparently they decided it wouldn't be necessary since I didn't have to do them during my tx.  I had no trouble with them during the sim, so that wasn't an issue.  I'm just so glad there's something to be done to kill any stray BC cells!  Same with Arimidex, which I just started - anything to make sure it doesn't come back.

There's far too much to learn, isn't there, Davida88?  Tx = Treatment.  Sim = is pre-radiation session that determines what position your body should be in, includes x-rays/CT scans, the need for breath-holding, tattoos or markings so they can align the machine properly.  That usually takes an hour or so while the actual radiation sessions normally last 10-15 minutes.  

For other abbreviations, look very near to the top left of the screen under all the discussion board listings and the "search" bar.  There's a blue bar that says "Help with Abbreviations."  I got lost in all of them, too.  You'll catch on quickly.

I'd think you'll wait 3-4 weeks post-lumpectomy before starting your rads.  You need to be able to stretch your arms above your head for the rads.  It's not uncomfortable but if your lymph node incision is still tender you won't be real happy (but it is doable, of course).  

Since you are having a lumpectomy, you might be interesting in joining that forum.  This link takes you to the last page of postings:  Lumpy Forum You'll find tons of help information there and lots of support.  You also may find ladies who have conditions similar to yours that can tell you what has worked for them.  Lumpies tend to be on that forum and this one as well as the Arimidex or other AI or tamoxifen  forum since our treatments generally follow the same pattern.

Good luck to you!

SKBrown, just breathe.  You'll do fine.  Definitely scary but it is all doable.  Make sure you explore the forum that covers your type of surgery.  That will give you a lot of help.  We're here for you!!!  Hugs!

skbrown - Magnolia, Texas !!!! I used to live in Magnolia, then moved to Tomball for many years and now I live in Champion Forest.  Small world we live in...

So much info has been put out there over the weekend (while I was busy) that I can't think of much else to add.  I thought of the SIM as a practice session.  It was really fairly interesting, the tech's room looks like NASA.  My cancer was on the left and I have to do the deep breathing during rads. I use goggles like for a virtual video game and can see a bar graph inside that shows my breaths.  I have to keep the yellow line over the blue line for about 10 second intervals. Nothing to it.  So far, I don't notice any rad fatigue but chemo fatigue was so bad, I think it's all relative. I've had 10 rads as of today and am just slightly pink but I tan easily. I've used Aquaphor every night since the first rad. I finish the day before Thanksgiving. I had to have chemo because I was HER2+++.  My drugs were Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin. After 4 chemo infusions, my doc stopped everything but the Herceptin which I will continue to get every 3 weeks until June (again because of being HER2+++). I hope you can get by with just radiation.

Found this interesting study that could put many of us "left breasters" at ease about the effects of radiation on our hearts.  Radiation & Heart

Davida58, buy some Aquaphor.  That seems to be the cream recommended by almost all ROs.  it works.  Doesn't stink.  If you can use aloe, that also is helpful. There is far too much info bombarding us in such a short time.  Hard to absorb.  HUGS!!!