Spring 2016 Rads

Lovingg - that tendon thing you mentioned might be a surgery side effect. I can't remember what my BS called it, but she told me that it's something that some BC patients get after surgery and I think it goes away on its own. Still, it wouldn't hurt for you to let your BS know about it if it becomes bothersome.

Congrats to all who are finished. I feel like I'm behind the curve--going in for #6 today. :-)

CC--sorry for the long bad news train but I can't imagine there could be anything left in the treatment portfolio for your mom. Re: the boosts, if you trust your RO, I'd say go with his advice. The rads are all about reducing the probability of recurrence, yes? I mean, most of us did not actually need them--we would not have had a recurrence without them--but looking forward we can't know who will and who will not have have it show up again. Your medical team is giving you their best advice in order to reduce the probability your mom's cancer will return.

Re: skin SEs, I ordered two creams based on recommendations from the Winter 2015-2016 Rads group but (1) have not needed them yet and (2) my RO stressed they don't want me to use anything they don't give me. Guess we shall see. . .

(And re: the shooting pains--I feel like I've had a few already, but not bad, right? I mean not terribly painful, and gone quickly. Does that sound familiar?)

Are we all feeling #radiant today??

But what a great reason to feel weird, Disneygirl. :-)

Saw the nurse/RO today after rads and I'm starting to show some pink/tan (today was #6). I'm to put on the aloe gel they gave me twice a day. They asked about fatigue and headaches, so I guess I know what to expect. . . ;-) (I swear I wouldn't notice most of the SEs if I didn't already know they were coming. Who isn't tired and headachy occasionally?)

And they were giving out roses today. I came home with three lovely apricot-colored ones. :-D #withcanceryougetflowers

Just had my 4 week follow up today....although it has actually been 5 weeks! I totally forgot my appt last week, which I guess means it is not constantly on my mind. Everything looked good today...skin back to normal, just a slight trace of tan remaining and some scar tissue over the lumpectomy site. I was able to ask a few crazy questions that have lingered on my mind. For follow up, I'll be alternating seeing the rad onc and breast surgeon every 3 months for the next 2 years. And I am going to a post treatment group that discusses nutrition, exercise, and some other topics for 6 weeks. Other than that I hope to leave "cancerland" forever.

Hang in there ladies....and congrats to those who are done!

I've had 14 treatments and so far not a hint of a side effect that I can tell--even when I'm tired it seems like normal tired and not the type of evil fatigue chemo brought on. This is probably a stupid question but I seem to have a higher number of treatments than most of you--36 total, with I think 5 boosts at the end--and I'm wondering if more treatments mean the dosage per treatment is lower? And of course they're radiating my chest wall since I had a BMX so that also makes me a bit unusual around here. Just wondering if either of those things plays a role in side effects or lack thereof.

Ingerp, I don't hear zaps!! Huh... There's a very low key noise like a soft whirring sound. I guess different linear accelerators make different sounds!

One of my rad therapists did mention that if women have large breasts they tend to receive more treatments than our standard 16 (+ boosts). 28 treatments plus 5 boosts totaling 33 happens occasionally here, I think, but seems to be the norm for a lot of American treatment centers, although some of the larger US centers/teaching hospitals are beginning to do the "Canadian/UK protocol" from what I understand. It's all the same and yet it's so different!

Hey ladies. I'm new to the rads group... Just had #3 of 33 today and do farso good. Nice to see you Jill. Looks like we are on the sand schedule. Looking good!

hey char!! Nice to see you too!

I get six zaps ( spots where it buzzes), I don't think it's because of my breast size though, I think it's because I had lymph node involvement, so they zap my lymph nodes too. That's three extra spots, one in the underarm, one of the collarbone from the front, and one of the collarbone from the back. Then there's three spots around my actual breast.

I'm having 25 sessions, instead of doing boost afterwards the boosts are during my normal sessions, it's called simultaneous boost. I can tell when they are doing them because the buzzing is twice there.

Iasked why I am doing 25 instead of the typical 20 in Canada, I was told it's because of the lymph node involvement. My breast size has never been brought up with regards to this, however I am quite large!

I had number two today, 23 to go, no problem so far but I know it is still early.

Hmmm ... my tissue expanders are roughly the same size as my dearly departed breasts, which is to say, B cup-ish. But since I have no breast tissue I wouldn't think the size of the TEs would matter. Also I had no node involvement so .... I guess I could ask my RO if I can think of a way without sounding accusatory, or dumb for not bringing it up earlier.

The jelly-shield thingy is called "bolus." They use it on me every other time. They lay it on my legs until they need it, which helps warm it up; otherwise it's cold and I really try not to flinch off the table.

They wrap my bolus in a sheet and it is actually nice to lay on my chest so I don't feel so exposed.  Over hump day and on Friday I will have finished an entire week!  No issues yet but I am putting expensive body butter on every night as per a friend who said it was wonderful and kept her from having issues with her skin.

Hi there!

I'm waiting for my post-op on June 2nd to find out my next steps. The BS said radiation is definite. I'm fortunate that right across my neighborhood there is a medical building owned by Baycare and I can do radiation there. In theory I could walk there but I doubt I will because we live in FL and are going into the 100 degree days soon.

What questions should I ask on the 2nd? I had clear margins on a 6 millimeter lump and the one node they removed was clear. I was told to expect around 6 weeks of radiation after my breasts heal up which would be 4 weeks from the lumpectomy date, right? They are healing well, just the site where they took the node feels lumpy. It is my left breast and I'm a little worried about heart damage. Did anyone see their cardiologist before starting treatment?

LG--re: the BS, you were told you'll be getting mammos every six months for 3-5 years, right? I like the close attention following this ordeal. And everybody I know who's had a hysterectomy was up and around in a few days.

LTF--that makes total sense with the lymph nodes. I chose not to have any looked at.

ejmann--sounds like you have a good idea of what to expect. My rads started three weeks after surgery and you'll probably get either four or six weeks of treatment. And google "deep inspiration breath hold." It's a technique that's typically used when it's the left breast and you're on your back for treatment. It moves the breast even farther away from the heart to avoid that area while you're getting zapped. I've been doing it and it's no big deal and gives me another level of comfort.

sunny--just re: visual inspection, my BS told me several times that DCIS is kind of squirrely--you can't feel it, you can't see it visually. I have a feeling it has a higher second-surgery rate than some others where there's a definite lump. FWIW--I still have three clips in me. :-)

Hi friends,

Thankfully, my mom has finished her last session of chemo (Taxol weekly for 12 wks) this week. Since she chose to go with BCS, she will need to undergo RT. Today, we had the appointment with radiation oncologist. Doctor mentioned about various treatment methods that are available in the hospital - IGRT, IMRT, RapidArc etc. IGRT is coming out to be the most expensive option. I am now in a fix which one to go for. Can someone throw some light on the advantages/disadvantages for each of these options?

Thanks,

Sid

One month today since my last rads! My skin is completely healed, and I had two bad areas of burn on my upper chest and underarm. They are only slightly pink now and tender, but that is something I can live with easily. I will be starting anastrozole as soon as I get through my colonoscopy tomorrow (had diverticulitis during chemo plus it's been 10 years.) I will be moving over to that thread. Good luck to all those in radiation - this too will pass!

igay1ord - oh my gosh, what a terrible ordeal you went through!! So glad you came through it okay, finished up treatment and rang that bell. Congratulations on finishing!