Winter 2015-16 RADS

Luzeelu give it some more time to feel better. My mo said 6 weeks and they were right.

Renee I also am really tired. Started last week. I did go back to work and the drivin to and from rads and then to and from work is adding to my tiredness. I felt a bit dizzy last week and upped my water intake to what I was drinking during chemo and felt better.

hey ladies! just wanted to give a skin update. I'm about 3 weeks past full breast rads and one week past booster rads for the treated area. My whole breast area is honestly almost back to complete normal. My cleavage area has already gone back to normal color and matches the non radiated side. Under my boob and by my armpit is a little tan but it honestly just looks like a normal beach vacation tan. The boosted area is definitely a little darker but not red anymore at all. The skin is really dry in the boosted area still but I just slather on the lotion and I'm good to go. I did use an exfoliating brush to lightly scrub over the entire radiated area. The flaking and dry skin was driving me crazy. I'm sure that's not recommended but I didnt see any adverse effects, etc.

Glad to see everyone is holding up well!

I'm at the halfway mark today! Two more weeks of rads and then I'm done! (Well....onto Tamoxifen, but out of active treatment....y'all know what I mean.)

Anyway, I've been thinking about this all weekend. Once rads are finished and life goes back to "normal", what happens? Life will not be the life I knew before cancer came along. I'm a different person now, things are different now. Not a bad different or a good different....just different.

How do you cope when active treatment is finished and you're left to go back to normal?

Hello Ladies! I am in Toronto, Ontario and trying to find out if any of my Canadian sisters were offered the prone position radiation (on your stomach) instead of the supine (on your back)?If yes, which hospital and was it only because you had to agree to be in a clinical trial study? Also, very interested in hearing from any ladies who had the prone about how long was the treatment and the extent of skin damage issues. Thank you all so much!!

Fearless195 - Have you tried antihistamine or allergy pills with antihistamine?

Hello! I am 10 days done, 18 to go. My skin is pink and just that little bit scratchy against my shirt. I try to wear super soft tanks or camis. I have had a couple of days of complete fatigue and then I bounced back. I expect I'll see that SE again. The fatigue is different than the chemo fatigue. Less like I'm living at 16,000 feet and more like my batteries are drained down.

@mdoc- I felt terrified and angry and just generally pissy about starting rads. Now that I am into the rhythm of them, they're not so bad. I have even come to like that I am the first one on the table at 7:30. It's kind of like a job, people are counting on me to warm up the table : )

Here are some of the things I've learned recently that I thought were interesting. My RO and nurse recommend eating a ton of protein to give the body extra to heal from the chemo. I asked if I could eat sushi yet, and the short answer is not yet. Although my immune system is bouncing back (slowly!), it is busy trying to heal the radiation, so don't stress it out. And stay out of the pool and ocean.

@etnasgrl - that is the exact question I have been asking myself! Two months out of chemo, I am finally coming out of the fog. And this is what my peabrain is circling. How do I go back to normal? What parts of normal do I want to do differently? Who am I now and what is normal? I feel a little lost. I have tons of support and the luxury of no real money worries, but I just feel a little lost, or disconnected, or existential angst : )

I have another surgery (ovary removal) scheduled for Mar 2nd so I haven't run out of doctors appointments yet. But I don't feel as focused/all consumed as I did during chemo and my mind is wandering...

Is it better to squash these thoughts or continue to gnaw on them

I ask myself the question, too, of what "out of active treatment" will feel like. I'm working on my rads attitude problem--I hope it goes away once I start (Thursday).

Kim, I got the same impression re: mastectomy/chest wall being a bit harder than whole breast. I'm stocked up on Miaderm, Aloe, and Aquaphor and hoping for the best.

As long as it's not like chemo fatigue, I think I can deal. Chemo fatigue was profound.

I'm trying not to worry about my lung/ribs, which is like saying "don't think about a pink elephant."

KateB79, keep using the Miaderm before and during... I started week 3 this week and the techs even commented on my skin looking amazing.. It isn't even pink! Feels good and is super soft... I'm so thankful the PT specialist recommended it. Breathe deep, it isn't as bad as I made it out in my mind. My arm didn't even fall asleep today, which was great!

Peabrain, I agree with your definition of the fatigue... Chemo fatigue was debilitating for me, this fatigue is definitely more like batteries being drained. I just need to find a good way to recharge, instead of continually running dry...

Fearless, My RO said, "remember, radiation is the gift that keeps on giving... You'll feel fatigue, and skin irritation, at least 2 weeks after it ends..."

etnasgrl, I often wonder what the "life after treatment" is going to be... Personally, I just want to have days of feeling healthy and alive and present in my own life and that of my family... What that will look like, well...

Fearless- I used all generic brands. I do not think our bodies can build up a tolerance for itching so sure hope you get some relief! Hugs.

Thanks for the responses, ladies.
Well....I guess we'll all just have to figure out how life will be once treatment is over. It'll be a learning process, that's for sure!

Yikes this thread moves fast!

Octogirl, I started having the shooting pains last week! 2.5 weeks post rads. I'm going back to my physical therapy stretches and I'm going to massage like crazy. I'm sure my husband thinks I'm really weird since I've been massaging my breast for a half hour or more during movies or Downton Abbey! Our TV room is in the basement away from risking my 21 yr old son seeing me working on my boob! I can just imagine what he would think of his mother if he caught her in the act!

Wow this thread moves so fast it is hard to keep up. Congrats to everyone finishing and hoping for minimal side effects for everyone still going through. So I thought today would be my first treatment but found out when I got there they had to do a dry run the first day and take more pictures. Then they had issues with the pictures left me laying there for about 10 mins before saying they were sending me to meet with a nurse and then come back and start over. Not a great way to start. I am not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling about this cycle of treatments. And I am with the rest of you as to what will the new normal be once this is done. Well first treatment is tomorrow so maybe I will get a better feeling. Nothing to look at in the room and they techs never did any talking through it today. Hope the next 7 weeks go by fast.

Thanks for listening to me rant and now I shall move forward. Hope everyone has a good week

Finished number 8 of 35 today.....skin still pale and no redness at all...Thank God....miaderm all day and tons of aquaphor at night....with a nice white mens tee shirt with short sleeves....so far , so good, good luck to everyone.....I pray for all of us every day.....

Etna- YES! Have been having them of and on since rads and the RO said perfectly normal.

Well my post from 1/28 is incorrect. I will NOT finish radiation tomorrow as the machine that does boosts is broken and needs a part. I have missed two days which hopefully puts me at the finish line this Thursday... I am bummed!!!

In response to stabbing pains that come out of nowhere, Yes I experience them too.