Winter 2015-16 RADS

So I talked to the techs again at rads this morning and mentioned how someone had said if the rads "clip" the liver it may be causing my nausea. They checked the films and said it IS "clipping" part of my stomach and they would talk to the RO. Glad to know I'm not going crazy! Of course, now my stomach hurts.........but I've been popping anti-nausea pills for days now.

Sunnyone, hope you enjoyed the champagne! I'm "toasting" your first week completed with my tea!

Barbe, good going on your outstanding sales performance! I'm glad you still have the go-getter attitude! I am really sorry you have a met. Sometimes I think to myself there are two kinds of BC patients, the ones that know they are Stage IV, and the ones wondering every day if they are Stage IV but just don't know it yet. Let's have good days as long as we can, each and every one of us! I hope they will adjust your field to miss your liver.

Congrats to seekingserenity Maggiemae & biscuits! So great to hear you are done!

MissV, health insurance is just another way to say STRESS. Good luck figuring it all out.

Mary, it's good to hear you are healing well. How long has it been since your last chemo? I wonder how long the weak legs will last.

I too am having shoulder issues, I think because of the daily positioning. Before rads I had full range of motion back and no pain in the shoulder. Now I have a terrible impingement in my shoulder and it hurts to lift things above shoulder height. Since I want to build back up to my normal workout, this is not good! I thought maybe they'd change my arm position for boosts, but they told me today it will be the same position

Day 4........12 regular and 2 boosts to go.....feeling tired but I am not sure if it is a bit early for that to set in. Thinking maybe this is just normal tired. Trying to keep up with regular exercise and stretching. Feeling little "twinges" and stuff but maybe I am just being hyper alert to every little thing going on.

Congratulation to Violethope, Seekingserenity, Maggiemae and Biscuits for finishing treatment this week. I hope you all are able to celebrate in your own special way. I am one week out and parts of my skin is starting to heal and parts are still continuing to open and have very sensitive skin. I have been using the Silvadine cream and it is helping but I am amazed how tight my skin is. It is getting better but it just takes time. Keep up with the creams.

Moondust I have the same issue with my shoulder. I had really good range of motion before rads and know that I have been starting to do my stretches again it is getting better but I have one spot that is really sore and tender to the touch. I hope it gets better with stretching. This is also helping with the tightness on my side.

MissV The insurance can always though such a turmoil in our treatment process. Mine switch during my chemo and luckily all of my other doctors still participated I just had to turn in new cards but had to get a new primary doctor which was a pain during that time.

I hope for everyone else new and in the middle of treatment you take time for yourself and rest and use creams. It does catch up with you. I worked through my treatment and last Saturday 2 days after I finished I think I slept for like 10 hours and still felt tired all day. Been going into work late this week just like when I had treatment but sleeping in a little.

Another weekend of great basketball - I still have a good shot with my bracket with 12 out of the 16 teams left in the tournament. Sorry Mary I have N Carolina beating Indiana but should be a great game

Good weekend to chill and enjoy Easter.

Sunnyone
1. I was red within the first 4-5 days.
2. Don't have any...yet. 7 more regular rads to go.
3. I was tired day 2 or 3. I mean fatigued, dog-tired. But I had chemo first and trouble recovering from surgery. That seems to have an effect.
4. I was told boosts are a different type of treatment--electrons vs. x-rays.

Hi ladies! I'm off now to my second to last boost...I have one at 10am and one at 4:30pm...doing two today because I wanted to be done before the weekend. I am doing a driving trip next week to Pittsburgh to look at Carnegie Mellon with my son, so I wanted to be free before then. My skin is so red and itchy but so far no broken skin. I was hoping to be able to wear normal clothes next week while traveling, but I think I'm still going to have to wear baggy shirts and hoodies so that as little clothing touches my skin as possible.

I don't have such warm fuzzies for my techs (except for one), and I don't think they do anything special when someone finishes...honestly, I'll just be happy not to have to go every day. I have connected more with some other patients in the waiting rooms than my actual techs.

Anyway, I'm celebrating by picking up dinner from my favorite restaurant so that I don't have to cook tonight.

Good luck to everyone...hope you all have a lovely weekend!

1. I didn't see any redness until end of week -- just a tiny spot in my armpit (see #2). I started to see pink all over at the end of week 3.

2. That tiny spot turned black last night and is peeling this morning. I have my final whole breast treatment (#25) today.

3. I was exhausted the weekend after week 2, then good energy for another two weeks. This week (week 5) has been rough, mostly because I am uncomfortable.

4. I start boosts next week.

The two ladies before me finished today, so I won't recognize any faces next week. Today was day 22 for me. It was a long week, weird stuff each day so no quick in and outs. My breast is more tender than usual and has hurt more the past three days, but I do think it is getting better, so maybe it was just the hour long session I had Tuesday holding that really uncomfortable position. Came home today and caked on lotion--Frankenboob is so hot the lotion melted like butter and bubbled up like sweat. It's still really greasy and I have been laying here for about an hour. I am kinda freaked out by my own body...

Hi everyone
1.) I didn't get pink until about midway through
2.) I got small open areas where the skin peeled off. they looked like of like the skin under a blister. They were under my arm, around my nipple and underboob area. they got bad in the last week.
3) Fatigue came and went. I kept up my exercising throughout. Somedays it was hard to get through. I found if I worked through it I would actually feel better. I did take breaks throughout the day.
4.) I had 5,000 centigrays whole breast of photons and 1,400 of boost electrons. Total 6,400.
I hope this is helpful. Congrats to all who finished!

Good Morning Everyone: Congratulation to everyone who finished this week...and keep fighting for those who are still in treatment.

1. I didnt start turning pink till after 2 weeks .......

2. Never had any open sores...I attribute that to the Aquaphor at night and Miaderm during the day every day...

3. The fatigue started after 3 or 4 treatments, you must rest when you can....

4. I had 33 treatments totaling 6080cGy....the last 7 were boosts....

Now over 2 weeks out....my breast is fine.... I am still using Miaderm 2 x day till I run out and that will be it....I wont order anymore....

Good luck, hang in there....it will end.....

I have just one more whole breast and then 5 boosts to go. My nipple and dark spots under my breast gradually got darker, but it was a few weeks before I could tell any difference in color between treated and untreated breast skin. My underarm is slightly pink. I have no sores. I haven't had any discomfort to speak of, maybe mild itching a couple of times but I itched in other places too, so who knows. I do not feel fatigued. After rads yesterday, I hiked 12 miles up steep hills and felt normal. Not sure if my boosts are more gY per treatment, but I will ask on Monday. Total gYs are around 6000.

My main complaint about all of this is that my shoulder muscles and tendons seem to be inflamed from the arm position. I still have all my range of motion, however it has become painful to extend my arm in front of me with any weight in my hand, and also overhead. But If I gently support my elbow with my other hand, I can move the arm without pain. I hope this will resolve once rads are over!

Barbe, bursitis is a thought! Thanks. I will ask my physical therapist friend about that. I'm also going to get his recommendations for any exercises I can do, or whether heat might help. So far I haven't taken any meds for it, and maybe I should try an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen (I call it Vitamin I). I have a whole bottle of the good 800 mg pills, but I take it only if pain might impact my sleep. Sometimes my knee gets bad from hiking up and down hills, and that's why I have the Rx. I haven't taken any in months.

A couple of weeks ago I asked whether my back was in the field, and the tech told me to put Miaderm along my scapula as well, so I guess it is. So far no symptoms, and with only one more whole breast to go, I hope I'm not jinxing myself to think I won't get any there. I hope you are lucky too!

Birdysmom, so did you have both chemo and radiation before surgery? How long after the radiation did the surgeon operate?

Mary, thanks for the information about your bursitis. I bet that's what I have. It feels somewhat better today, probably because of the break from rads. I will consider a cortisone shot if it doesn't get better soon after I'm done. I won't know my chemo regimen until I see my MO after rads are done. My husband is going to Korea for 10 days on April 15, so I imagine they won't want to start me until he returns, because he's the only one who can drive me, etc. I am thinking the MO will say four rounds of TC, since that is what many ER+ women seem to get. You sure went through a tough chemo regimen! I'm already in menopause, and I have CRS, which is another version of chemo brain I hope it doesn't get much worse or I'll be wandering around without a clue!

I had a crazy radiation dream last night:

When I checked in for treatment, I was directed to talk to a doctor sitting at a desk (which was a golf cart). He told me that the radiation departent had been boughtby another company, but don't worry, they are going to follow my original treatment plan.

I sat down in the waiting room and a woman sat down next to me and I noticed that we have the same wallet. I turned to tell her that and it was my mother who came to surprise me. (Because the hospital was part of the airport )

They told me to go back and change and i got lost in a maze of hallways and food courts of all junk food. I finally found the dressing room, which was full of kid's toys and had no lockers, I was supposed to just leave my purse and clothes in there. This is when I started getting nervous.

They take me back to the radiation room, which has two conveyor belts of tables with patients on them sliding into little tunnels where they get zapped. The patient in front of me is a naked Asian man (Mr. Chow from the Hangover ??!!) and when he slides into the treatment tunnel he bursts into flames!! At this point I am crying and run out of there!

Who wants to analyze that???

The open blister in my arm pit and my clavicle are super sore. I did too much yesterday, so I am spending today resting. I have been taking the leftover pain pills from my surgery, which are almost gone. Thank goodness I see my RO tomorrow. (Oh, yeah ... in my dream they wouldn't give me any meds. Boo.)

Happy Easter!