new to radiation

My first meeting was just to discuss rads in general, side effects, duration of treatment time, q & a session, steroid cream prescription. RO then plans the treatment field based on mammo/mri etc. Then I was scheduled for the SIMS. This is where they will mark you with stickers, sharpies, and sometimes tattoos which are tiny dots (they did not hurt me). They will also check to see if you can lie face down on treatment table vs being on your back.They will take some films that day too as well as throughout treatment as a protocol to make sure you are positioned correctly. The stickers and markings stay on during treatment and helps them line up the table and machine very quickly each day you go in. After that they will ask what time is good for you and mine was the same time every day for the entire 21 days. I did 16 treatments plus 5 days of boosts. For me, radiation was the least scary thing I've been through since this whole nightmare began last November. Also, at the first meeting they gave me a list of supplements to avoid during rads. I'll add more later if I think of anything else and others will chime in with their experiences too as experiences can vary place to place.

speace--rads really was no big deal (mainly time-consuming since I had a 50-minute round trip drive--my choice--to have a fantastic RO do my rads). BUT don't expect to enjoy a typical summer in the sun at the pool or beach! My RO was adamant about not adding sun exposure to the rads field--that area is assaulted enough during treatment and needs to be protected for a year. She suggested a rashguard shirt for swimming outdoor laps and sitting at pool, and at least 30 SPF even directly on the radiated areas, and a cover-up shirt at all times outside. (My 35 rads started in mid-March and ended first week of May, so summer rays were decidedly a potential problem.) TG

Such a bummer. I always look forward to summer and driving topless. -

I did my radiation in November/December and was by far, one of the lucky ones with my skin, but I also had the holidays for extra days off to help with the healing.  I barely got burned and hardly used any aquaphor or silverdene.  The nastiest part was not using deodorant.  My center was only 5 minutes from work so I did my rads on my lunch hour.  I had the "bolus" every other day.  This is a packet of gooey stuff that brings the radiation closer to the top and was used because my BC was so close to my chest wall. 

speace-I keep looking at that bottle of Tamoxifen. I just can't open it! My Onc would not be happy with me but I'm not too happy with her right now either lol. I should have started, and would have, except I read on foodforbreastcancer.com that zoloft interferes with tamox so I've been weaning off that. hurt my leg on the trampoline last week, waiting for that to feel better, so i'm on a clean slate so to speak before i start. eh, bet i'll try and find another excuse but i can't delay too much longer! since we will be starting soon I'd like to keep in touch about S/E's. gawd, good luck to us both!!

yes, when my Onc put the tamox script in her computer, it red flagged it. I said yes, already read that, already started the weaning process. but i was pissed, she had my list of meds from our first visit--all 2 of them Zoloft and Ativan. I think there are only a few that do not interfere. Effexor stands out as one (hope I'm right) and that also helps with hot flashes. I'm going to try and do without. I will say I've been a big crybaby since weaning off and I've only been on since early January.

It's not going too badly. I started taking 1/2 pill for one week everyday, then 1/2 pill every other day, then went to nothing. had some very mild brain zaps. couple of days had headache. another woman here on a different thread said her onc told her wait 2 weeks before it is totally out of your system (mine said 1 week-I'm going with her onc suggestion as i am beginning to lose faith in mine.)before starting the tamox.

I was told not to use deodorant, but to put some cornstarch in a nylon and pat that on after radiation every day.  Nor could I shave that area.  I did not use any lotions or creams on my right side 4 hours before radiation and always ran a damp cloth across my right side, just before I left work for radiation, just to make sure that area was clean.  You might want to talk with your Onco or techs to see what kind of tips they can give you. 

Hi ladies! I'm new to the site and first time to post . I too am doing radiation therapy right now. Scheduled for a total of 20. I believe I have 8 to go. Just now starting to feel a bit tired and sore. I too need to stop the zoloft but dr hasn't started decreasin it yet ??

wth speace--no red flags on the zoloft? I would really like to go back on. Have a second opinion scheduled for today to discuss Herceptin so I'll ask and see what his computer says. Thx for posting about it.

"If treatment with an antidepressant and tamoxifen is necessary, it is preferable to use an agent with less potent or no inhibition of CYP2D6. Sertraline (zoloft), citalopram, venlafaxine, and escitalopram are considered mild inhibitors...in an analysis of CYP2D6 inhibitors, the following order of inhibitory potency was observed in descending order: paroxetine, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram and venlafaxine." This MO said he was glad I had weaned myself off the Zoloft so Tamoxifen can fully do its thing. Zoloft is in the middle of the above list so he tries to prescribe something that is even less inhibiting. He said one of the side effects of T can be mood changes, and if I needed to go back on Zoloft because something else didn't work it wouldn't be the worst thing to do. He had a printout from Clinical Pharmacology (I can't access the site) in regard to a trial of 1298 patients, women taking T and antidepressant had higher rate of cancer recurrence (13.9% v 7.5%) An observational study was also cited where 215 of 1990 patients showed no clinically significant difference between the two groups. Since Zoloft is considered a mild inhibitor that's probably why your doctor said you can stay on it.

You're welcome. I would feel better about remaining on it after speaking to him.