Winter 2015-16 RADS

Catfurr...soooo, sounds like tonight was better....take care and get the cold checked out if you have any fever AT ALL...please....only because it is flu season and you just do not want to take any chances with the suppressed immune system and all....

HappyHammer: Having a hard time keeping up with this thread, just busy at work and such, so apologies if someone answered this...regarding the area under my breast: they sort of shrugged and said it was normal and to keep applying 100% aloe. It doesn't hurt much, FWIW, so maybe the shrugging is appropriate.

Someone gifted me my 'cool cloth' but my understanding is that you can find them in sporting good stores (supposed to be to cool off your face and such after a workout, I think?). There is something soothing, cool and soft about the material, and it is thin, so doesn't create bulges under my bra. I wore it all day today at work...

Hugs to all

Octogirl

Peachy, I am definitely looking forward to it. My skin isn't holding up too well this week. Hope everyone enjoys their two day rads vacation. Patty

TGIF, 2 days off! I'm on the home stretch now. Three more days next week and I'm done. My skin is holding up ok. I have an itchy nipple, starting to see some red spots under my arm , and my upper area has a blush going on. I don't think I have any fatigue. I've been exercising often to keep fatigue at bay. Id like to think it's helping anyway. It's part of the control freak in me. Not much on this journey that I have control over.

I started my boost. I have blue sharpie circle on my breast. It's about 3.5 " wide which is a lot for a .8 cm lump I think. I'm really small breasted so this covers a large area on me! The techs said not to take the marks off, however my cream makes a big smeary blue mess of it!

Happy Healing this weekend!

Kim, it sounds like we're doing sim and getting started at about the same time. I put a call in today: I asked to do the sim (and therefore know exactly how much of my heart and lung we'll be hitting) before making a definite decision on the rads. We'll see what the doc says. He's a good guy, so I'm hopeful that my plan will work for him.

lindab142, I sometimes feel a little dizzy getting up from the table too. I contribute it to my high blood pressure. I would agree that the last 5 treatments to the lumpectomy bed will be your boost. I had to have a new CT scan, set-up, and sim. It doesn't take very long to do. The treatment is very close to the breast. I love my techs, but I will be so glad to have this over!

Haha! Suz-Q, I also have a nice blue Sharpie amoeba shape around my lumpectomy scar. Mine might be about 4" at the widest point? I put a tissue on top of it the first day to keep it from rubbing off on my bra, but because the tissue was a Puffs with lotion it ended up making a nice tie-dyed effect on my skin. It had to be re-traced.

I half-joking asked if I could have the metal template as a souvenir when I'm done, since it has my name on it. The tech said yes.

Suz-Q, I have two more days to go on Monday and Tuesday. I'm thinking the template could be a nice paperweight, or painted and used as an art piece... but seriously if nothing else, it's a trophy! The tech said that they melt them down but have so many of them that they won't miss one.

Peachy-how's the metal template used? I had tx #12 today. Is that for the boosts?

Hi Fearless! Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Shopgal-I have to buy mine at the gift shop in the cancer center. I like it a lot because I can pronounce everything in it! And it smells really good. Been using it on my face too. Can't hurt!

Tshire-yep, random shooting pain and general achy feeling in BooBoo. (That's what my RO calls them. Sally and BooBoo. Love him!)

Lindab-my PS said I never had to wear a bra again it I don't want to, so I'm not! Besides, the strap runs right over my port so nope, not doing it. They look really good, better than when I was 18!

HappyHammer-went to Primary dr today for strep test since my throat looks kinda blistery and hurts. It was neg, but tested positive for the flu. Cause cancer isn't enough... Since I think I've been dealing with this for more than 48 hrs, tamilflu won't help. He suggested elderberry extract, but also wrote script for keflex, just in case.

Read lots of good stuff on line about Elderberry extract, boosts immune system, helps cholesterol etc. Anyone have any experience with it?

TGIF!!!!

Okay girls....going in for my simulation this coming Tuesday.

Is there anything that I need to know about rads that I may not already know?? (Would love to go into this as prepared as possible!)
When I had my consult with my RO, she mentioned using Aquaphor and 100% Aloe as needed. She told me that she would give me samples of Aquaphor once I start, but I wanted to have everything I might need already on hand, (I can be anal like that!), and already bought them. They are sitting on my dresser all ready for me to use them!
Can anyone tell me when I should start using them? Before I even begin rads or during the first week? I'm pretty fair and sunburn SO easily....I'm pretty nervous about how my skin will react.

I'm done!!! Woohoo!!!

My report back on side effects: skin doesn't look great and is peeling just a little in one spot under my breast, where the breast rubs against chest (being large chested). Area under my arm near SNB looks quite tan, but not peeling. Neither spot hurts other than occasional twinges. I am not feeling too much fatigue, but am definitely glad I had the 16 day protocol, much less driving (which I think would really add to the fatigue given that it is 45 minutes each way)...

They did a little congrats song for me and gave me a balloon when I finished. Here it is...

Hooray, Octogirl!!!

Nice to meet you Fearless! Excellent name.

HappyHammer and Catfurr, the customized metal plate is used for boosts to target the tumor cavity. It is about 5" x 6" and has a specialized cut-out in the middle designed by your RO, and slides into a bracket on the machine. You get a coordinating sharpie outline around your scar to go with it!

Etnasgirl, it sounds like you are well prepared to get started. I used regular Aveeno lotion for the first week or so, until I started getting flushed in the treatment area. Then I switched to a combination of Aquafor and some cream that a friend gave samples of, My Girls, which has calendula in it. (http://mygirlscream.com/)

Creativevintage, this may be a tad late but instead of using cotton gauze to cushion against the underwire, I would use cotton pads or even cotton batting--the warp & weft of the gauze is coarse and can be scratchy. I found that underwires were less irritating than lace trim or that nonwoven interfacing stuff that many wire-free bras use as a “support sling” on the inside of the cup. I would advise that if you wear a bra, that the inner surface be as smooth as possible, seamless if you can get it.

As to when to use skin-soothers, I used to put on Aquaphor in the dressing room immediately after each session before putting my bra on (I could carry those little sample tubes in my purse), and at bedtime first put on the aloe gel or calendula cream, followed with a little more Aquaphor. Because I was advised not to use anything on my skin w/in 4 hrs. of treatment, I would shower first thing in the morning with gentle (Basis) soap.

Marijen, I also didn't gain weight during the holidays, might have lost a pound. Like Peachy, that's unusual for me. The radiation definitely affected my appetite, not chemically the way chemo did, but just by affecting my overall energy level. I didn't feel like cooking. And I was spending so much time commuting that I didn't do as much snacking--that was a silver lining for sure!

Sorry I haven't been around more folks, work has been crazy, and I've been doing a lot of reading before my next MO appointment. I had the stupidest thing happen - I had an allergic reaction to some Bath and Bodyworks soap I got over Christmas, and I have this rash in my armpit. At first we though it as just the radiation, but then the rash started to show up in other places, and I realized it was the soap. I talked to the nurse yesterday, and she has me using hydrocortisone over the weekend. If it hasn't healed enough when she sees me again on Monday, she says they'll have to prescribe something for it. Can you believe it? I've never had an allergic reaction to one of those soaps before.

I also got my tattoos this week - just three. One of them is just above and to the right of my left armpit, and if you are ever considering getting tattooed for fun, I recommend not getting tattooed in that spot. Man, that hurt!

Marijen, I haven't lost weight, but with the holidays that wasn't likely to happen. I have had some days when I haven't felt like eating anything, but it's more due to the stress of the situation, than the treatment itself.

Etnasgirl, I sunburn super easily, and I've been doing OK up until the soap incident, pink and itchy, but not painful. I'm about halfway through. You can start using the products your RO recommended the first week, and I've even seen people say they started a few days before.