Winter rads 2014-2015

I spent the week in St. George Utah where I receive all my BC medical care.  This week I had radiation treatments # 5 - 10 and came back home for the week-end.  It's amazing how being a lazy bum for 5 days made me feel so much better.  I realize that everyone doesn't have the opportunity to take a mini vacation, but I did learn that when the doctors say "get rest" that it really does help.  I know that getting one more week farther from chemo helps, but I feel so much better than I did.

Although I see no skin changes yet, I'm expecting to see something soon. 

Hope it's a good week end for all.

Magical Bean, I will take what we got over Buffalo's total any day - at least when I open my door I can leave the house!

dennyvol, I wish I could help you but I can't. I don't start rads until 12/8 and am still in the pissed off/scared to death phase because of this fifth encounter with bc and not having the scan results all in yet. Hopefully someone will come along tonight who has some better idea of how to advise you than I would. ((((dennyvol))))

perfectly imperfect

I feel the same way- scared it's going to come back. I find it hard to celebrate the milestones like finishing chemo because I'm thinking in the back of my mind that it may not really be over. I just try to push that thought out and focus on the present moment.

Finished rad #2 today and the technician asked if i'd like to see my treatment plan binder- she explained it all to me and I felt a lot calmer about it all when I left!

The technology is amazing!

It's the weekend!! Enjoy it everyone :-)

hi ladies! Thanks so much for those who responded to my question on the tattoos. It is such a relief to hear they are very small.

Caralex: I will be starting week 5 this Tuesday, and so far all I've experienced is a bit of sleepiness. I haven't had chemo though.

Beachbaby:

What I discovered this past week is that radiation plans are just as unique to each person as are tbe chemo plans/dosages. No two plans are exactly the same. There are so many variables that have to be taken into account it's mindboggling! Do what I did and at your next appointment and ask to have your treatment plan explained to you- ask to see it too.

The changes in radiation treatment over the last 5-10 years really is amazing. Not long ago everyone just got the same type of treatment and hoped for the best. We have come such a long way in being more proactive and specific when treating this awful disease. Keep asking questions until you get the answers you need.

Getting ready for my first full week of radiation!

Anyone who's taking/ going to take tamoxifen : did you start while still doing radiation?

Good morning ladies. The day is here. I go for my first radiation later today. I do have a question...when I went for SIM and tattooing I just took cancer side out of my robe. I did briefly cover that exposed side up and they took the other side of robe off to tattoo. It had me thinking since I have the tattoos on both side...do you lay there totally exposed from waist up? I hate the humiliation of being half reconstructed. I have a tissue expander on one side and my other side will have breast reduction and lift. I know the doctors have seen it all but it's still humiliating.

To Gongshow16 - thank you, I realize what you wrote was in response to my question.

I was told I will start tamoxifen after radiation has been done, about 3 weeks after.

Yes- many changes in radiation treatment. I am going to a "state of the art" new facility with computer aided ability. I was shown a chart of how much radiation they expect to each area - heart, lung, etc.

To perfectlyimperfect39 - I put on a robe and they take my left arm out so that side is exposed. Maybe you should ask about your options for doing this? I think they need to have the tattoos exposed to line up the machine.

To CoyoteNV - yes, it is my left side but not sure the breathing is not related to the lung tissue as well. Interesting you can have a blanket on during treatment.

I do know that my lumpectomy surgery involved going to the chest wall and that seems to be a big concern that I get radiation to the chest wall area.

I looked this up on their web site to try to provide accurate info.

provide state-of-the-art equipment for the latest advancement in treatments, including:

• Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is a cutting edge cancer treatment method that uses specialized equipment to match the radiation beam to the contours of the tumor, which allows for precise delivery of higher doses of radiation to the cancer cells and spares the surrounding healthy tissues.

• Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) is a technique that involves imaging the tumor area on a daily basis while the patient is on the treatment table. If the present image shows a change to the planned treatment image, the radiation oncologist can make an instant change to the active treatment field before treatment is delivered.
• Elekta Synergic is Elekta's next generation arc therapy technique that establishes new standards for radiation therapy treatment speed and dose reduction to the patient. With Elekta VMAT, single or multiple radiation beams sweep in uninterrupted arc(s) around the patient, dramatically speeding treatment delivery. Doctors can use Elekta VMAT to reduce treatment times from the 8 to 12 minutes required for "conventional" radiation therapy to as few as 2 minutes.

• CT Simulation uses special x-ray equipment to capture 3-D images that can determine the exact location and size of the area to be treated, which is used to create a unique plan for each patient's treatment.

Hi Perfectly,

I have had my first 4 treatments. I also have had a mastectomy on the right side with tissue expanders and nothing on the left breast. I will also be getting a reduction and lift on that side when I have my implants done. For my radiation, they do remove my gown. I have tattoos on both sides. They do try to cover the breast area on the left side but need to be able to see all the tattoos for alignment. In addition, since my radiation is aimed more at my chest wall since I don't have a breast, they cover me with a wet pillowcase for my treatments to bring the radiation closer to the skin. When they do this, it covers both breasts. I was also a little hesitant at first about being exposed, especially since at the first treatment,one of the techs was male. There usually are two techs lining me up. They have been so kind and respectful, that after the first day where I was a little uncomfortable, it is much more routine now. They really try to make it as comfortable as possible. I do close my eyes during the treatment and try to think of other things but I have not found it to be a bad experience at all. I do ask them questions too and they are very helpful in answering them. Good luck!

I've had 13 rads now. Glad to have a break this weekend. Chest began itching yesterday and have several bumps going on. A little red but not bad. The area is kinda tender today. We will see what this week holds.

They cover me with what looks like a pillow case. They fold up the sides to get me all lined up and then put them down when the radiation begins. They also do X-rats each week, I was concerned about feeling exposed also at first. The techs are very good and have made it easier. Going everyday is a reminder of what we are fighting. We have to keep fighting and do our best to keep our spirits up. That at times can be challenging.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Seeing the different treatment procedures is really interesting.  Perhaps it is the type of equipment that requires the differences.  I mentioned earlier in the posts that my clinic uses TomoTherapy equipment.  It is a type of IGRT that uses CT scans. (Thanks for the info Yikes) The machine looks like a donut and the table (and me) slide into the hole. After the techs get me lined up, I slide inside the donut hole and they take CT scans. I come out and if it looks good I go back in. The machine circles around and sends image directed radiation beams from 360 degrees.  Why that makes a difference as far as covering up is concerned, I don't know. 

Nomatterwhat we must be at a similar clinic! I put the crappy, old, open in the back gown on, race across the hall take my right arm out and lie down, thereby exposing my right side from neck to waist of my jeans- or pajamas, whatever I slapped on. The techs from hell- or I should say the techs I'm just giving up on- tape the gown down the middle of me and then begin their daily artwork. They return between "zaps" to add more sharpie lines some of which they like to cover in scotch tape. No getting "that area" as in my right front and side wet until I'm done w treatments - 32 total, last 5 boosts, #13 tmrw- dec 22 is last one- until then I smell like roadkill on a hot highway. I actually blamed a stranger's dog for farting last week at the vet- true story- ugh- the owner was so handsome and sat on my right side- the stinky side- my only defense was to blame his damn dog and it worked, he even apologized for the damn dog. I've been instructed to fill a sock with cornstarch and "slap" it up into my right armpit- I see no point in this activity at all except maybe if I need to make a stinky paste. I've also been told by techs and patients and an RO that sometimes radiation can cause terrible odor- let's hope this isn't permanent.

I actually was asked to do a photo shoot w my surgeon for MDA and for some medical journal about her new technique of surgery that saves more lymph nodes. Lucky me I got to dress in a crappy, old, open in the back gown while she pretended to feel me up for the camera. I asked the photographer if he would send me one or two of the pics. He did. It's the most horrifying photo I've ever seen- and its me!!! Ugh. I know I've gained 40 and I know I'm pasty and I know my tits are "misaligned" and I know my hair is growin back in pubic style patches and I know my eyebrows and eyelashes are gone and I know my face is puffy and I know there are bags under my eyes and I know I look tired and I know I don't walk as fast and I KNOW I'm kicking cancer's ass- but that photo hit me in the gut and there's not a damn bit of it I can blame on photos adding 10 pounds- besides- with 40 already gained why should I give a shit about 10 more!? I'm merely a suggestion physically of the girl that began this journey. So I've had to pull myself up and dust myself off this weekend and slap myself around and remind myself it could be much worse and I see the much worse every day, whether it's patients at MDA or the sad, bitter woman at the grocery store. It can always be worse. And my 4 dogs don't seem to mind nor my true friends and most strangers are incredibly polite- I just have to remind myself to be polite to myself as well, I deserve it, we all do. Remember that, ladies.

Yikes1 / Gongshow- I am slated to start Tamoxifen after Rad and I'm dreading it.

Caralex- I've done 12- was extremely exhausted after 8-11 oddly. But a 45 min nap completely recharged me. I drink tons of water- tons- other than that no side effects yet at all- I do walk my dogs a few miles a day but not all at once. The leftover side effects from my chemo bother me more. Radiation hasn't bothered me yet.

Chemo was easy for me. Lots of issues with my knees now and I can barely move if I've been seated more than 10 minutes, horribly stiff when I awake. Began after rad 2 having extreme neck, spine and under right scapula pain, extreme and I can handle pain. Threw Advil, Vicodin, ice, heat, you name it at it to no avail. Saw my chiro 3x this past week for deep tissue, tens machine, stretching and adjustments. He says he sees it all the time in Breast cancer patients- the radiation can destroy the muscle tissue and cause permanent damage and lifelong issues. I've added some stretching exercises and bought a lacrosse ball I put on the floor and roll it around to try and break up the knots in that area. The dogs uses this as an opportunity to give me a facial, so that's fun. I asked my surgeon about it and she said yes it is a side effect that's possible- I wanted to tell her finding a baby giraffe is possible too but not likely! The lists of possibilities are endless and it irritates me what they "forgot" to mention- but it wouldn't change anything, I'd still have my gloves on in the ring with this monkey working on a KO. Sure am glad I've got YALL! Anyone putting on a big meal this week? I'm so scared of sugar and dairy and carbs its damn near ruined my favorite meal- happy Monday!

Oh, and I do get the bolus (wet washcloth) every other treatment, too. I find my skin is more red after the bolus probably because the radiation is closer to the skin. And my cancer was in the left breast so I have to hold my breath for each zap.

Happy Monday everyone!

it's nuts how different all the facilities are! Most of Breast at MDA is in The Mays bldg which is beautiful compared to all other hospitals I've been in. Mmtagirl I MUST exercise or I simply can't move and I hurt more and have less energy but I don't do any exercise compared to you!! I'm not on tamoxifen yet and I look like Herman Munster in the am, once I get the dogs walked s out half a mile I start to loosen up. I want to take the free Pilates classes at MDA but they're always at noon- my zap zone. All of the other ladies I've met have awesome techs- I had one fill in with my group on Friday- she was an angel! My others are too young to really understand compassion and patience and empathy are required. Meeting with their director again today. Mmtagirl how many do you have left? I feel like soon I may regret being allergic to Benadryl.

Beachbaby65 I have no idea how you do that but you are one awesome gal!! Holy cow!! I'm a little pink but no pain, I clearly fried my Tatas too many times in tanning beds as a kid I guess.

just found out I get 25 rads, likely beginning Dec 22.... Pending healing from bmx. Liked doc, very gentle and caring, easy to talk to. Hope my techs do not suck