After only ONE treatment!

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etnasgrl
etnasgrl Member Posts: 650
edited February 2016 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

I'm getting nervous....

I had my very first radiation treatment today. Everything went well and once I made it back into the dressing room, I applied Aloe to my breast, got dressed, and went about my day.
The rest of the day passed normally, no pain or discomfort, but I did notice that my breast was HOT to the touch. I didn't really think anything of it until I got undressed tonight. My breast is VERY pink and hot to the touch. You can absolutely tell a big difference between the radiated breast and the "normal" one.

This is only my first treatment! I'm scared to think what's going to happen as the days and weeks go by. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm applying Aloe after my treatments and Aquaphor (sp?) in the evenings, before bedtime. Anything else that I can do to prevent further damage?

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  • CAMommy
    CAMommy Member Posts: 437
    edited January 2016

    I burned very badly. But the good news is I healed pretty quickly too. Hang in there.

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  • queenmomcat
    queenmomcat Member Posts: 3,039
    edited January 2016

    Cooling towel (this is a specific item--it came up on the fall rads list, but may be mentioned elsewhere.)

    Until you get one (if you do. I have no vested interest in the outcome), simply a wet hand towel, wrung out, or one of those gel packs from a drugstore (if you still have feeling in the area. This isn't appropriate if you've had reconstruction.)

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  • etnasgrl
    etnasgrl Member Posts: 650
    edited January 2016

    No reconstruction, just a lumpectomy. I did buy a cooling towel as I saw that on the list of things to have to prepare for Rads. Thank you for the tip!

    I'm just nervous to see such a reaction after only the first treatment!

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  • Sjacobs146
    Sjacobs146 Member Posts: 770
    edited January 2016

    etnasgrl, I would mention it to the nurse or doctor when you go in today. It took a couple of weeks of treatment before I noticed any difference.

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  • etnasgrl
    etnasgrl Member Posts: 650
    edited January 2016

    I have an appointment after my treatment today with the RO. I will absolutely let her know!

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  • BrooksideVT
    BrooksideVT Member Posts: 2,211
    edited January 2016

    I had the same experience on my Day 1. The next day I insisted on seeing the RO before treatment. She explained that my breast was reacting to the rads, and that all would still be fine. She gave me the day off. It happened to be a Friday, so I had a three-day weekend. On Monday I resumed rads. The breast stayed pink, but got no pinker until two weeks later, when pinkness was expected. I then progressed exactly normally, with pinkness and, eventually itchiness, but no skin issues.

    I was in an absolute panic, of course, and it took a while to climb down from teeth-clenching fear, but really, the heat and pinkness were just a normal abnormality.

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  • etnasgrl
    etnasgrl Member Posts: 650
    edited January 2016

    Brookside.....thank you SO much for your reply!
    I was nervous going into Rads because I'm so fair skinned and burn very easily. Then, when I saw how pick and hot my breast was last night, I almost went into a full blown panic! LOL!

    I'm so glad to hear that your experience went well and it gives me hope that mine will go just as well.

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  • tgtg
    tgtg Member Posts: 266
    edited January 2016

    Make sure the aloe you are using is pure aloe--no additives like alcohol, scents, or anything else. Read the ingredients list, not just the label, which may say "all natural"--alcohol is a natural product, after all, so technically the label isn't lying. Also, my rad onc told me to use the Aquaphor 3 or 4 times a day, and that is actually all I used for 7 weeks and had no problems.

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  • etnasgrl
    etnasgrl Member Posts: 650
    edited January 2016

    Yes, the Aloe is 100% pure Aloe, no alcohol, scents, etc. It was given to me by my RO as she had tons of free samples along with the Aquaphor.

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  • BrooksideVT
    BrooksideVT Member Posts: 2,211
    edited January 2016

    I'm also extremely fair skinned, but that is apparently a factor in who gets burned and who does not. As I said, I had no problems, other than terror. I used emu oil in the morning (rads four hours later), then whatever cream the facility handed out after treatment, then emu oil again at night. I wore a white cotton man's Tshirt under everything, which absorbed some of the goo and just plain felt protective.

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  • nonetheless
    nonetheless Member Posts: 14
    edited January 2016

    etnasgrl,

    I posted a similar concern a few days ago. But my redness occurred after 3 days of rad. Since then I've had 3 more sessions and the redness has not worsened. I did speak with the RO about it and he said the redness was not unusual. Also, the rad tech who has been doing this for 28 years reassured me that where the redness occurred on me was the usual place to see it first. I'm sticking with the aloe gel for now as that feels the best. I use it 3 to 4 times a day.

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  • etnasgrl
    etnasgrl Member Posts: 650
    edited January 2016

    I saw my RO today after my treatment. She told me that the redness was totally normal and that actually my skin looked "quite good". She was not concerned at all, as of right now.

    She told me to continue with what I'm doing....Aloe right after the treatment and Aquaphor in the evening, before bed.
    Now that I'm home and had a chance to check myself out in the mirror, my breast is still hot to the touch and it's still pink, but after today's treatment is not any worse than yesterday, so I'll consider that good!

    2 down, 18 to go!

    Loopy


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  • JuniperCat
    JuniperCat Member Posts: 658
    edited March 2016

    Yesterday was my first treatment (the "prone" position to avoid damage to heart & lungs). All seemed to go fine, however, I am noticing that the entire lower half of my breast is hot andbright pink. Is this normal for the very first treatment?

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  • BrooksideVT
    BrooksideVT Member Posts: 2,211
    edited February 2016

    It seems to be a normal abnormality. Do see your RO today (or whichever one is seeing patients if your doc is scheduled to be elsewhere). If you are concerned, show up early and ask to be seen before treatment, as I did (see my post above). In my case, my breast stayed the same shade of pink until a couple of weeks later when the expected pinkness appeared throughout the radiation field. From then on, it was textbook.

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  • MomOfTwins98
    MomOfTwins98 Member Posts: 69
    edited February 2016

    Hi

    I recently finished IMRT whole breast radiation. My RO gave me a prescription for Mometasone Cream before I started and they told me to use right after each treatment. I brought it with me and, in the dressing room, applied sparingly over entire breast and chest area. It was GREAT! I had 28 treatments and was not really affected until the last week. Then, honestly, it got pretty bad but only where my tumor bed is...the rest of my breast, while quite red and burned, was not painful - I was told that the Mometasone, if used daily, makes a big difference. It is by script though - very inexpensive. Once my treatments ended, I continued to use it until empty and now use Aquafore, just to keep it moist. I also still only use Dove as a body wash, which was recommended during treatment and only Tom's deodorant/anti-perspirant. The tumor bed was raw so had to do Domeboro soaks for several weeks but, now, almost 5 weeks out, healing nicely.

    I wish you well

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