Recommended lotions

Hi, Nachout. I used EXACTLY those products every night at bedtime. Boiron was the brand of calendula cream. And immediately after each treatment (as in while putting my clothes back on), Aquaphor from the stash of sample tubes the radiation oncology nurses gave me. Some women swear by using (washed and chilled) cabbage leaves or cooling towels (I never needed them, as I didn’t have any pain or irritation, just the redness and enlargement of my mammary seroma). If you notice ANY effects, tell your RO and the nurses & techs to make sure they’re par for the course. If you can avoid wearing a bra, go braless or wear the softest ones you can find. Above all, avoid skin-on-skin contact (the underside of your breast against your belly)--keep a well-washed soft schmatta (piece of an old cotton T-shirt or high thread-count pillowcase tucked beneath your breast. If you would rather wear a shelf-bra camisole, Amoena makes great ones (albeit pricy). Because I didn’t have my armpit radiated, I was allowed to apply antiperspirant after treatments (shower before your treatments so there is NOTHING on your skin to interfere with or amplify the effects of the radiation). You will spend more time stripping, getting on & off the table, and getting re-dressed than you will during the actual treatments.

Some women get prescribed Miaderm cream. Some use coconut oil (but I found it even greasier than Aquaphor). Just make sure whatever you use has no alcohol, dyes or fragrances---you might not currently be sensitive to any of these substances, but you will be for awhile. My RO told me if I had any soreness or painful irritation he could prescribe a steroid ointment, but I didn’t need it. It was my dermatologist who prescribed it a couple of months later when I visited her for an unrelated issue. The stuff was triamcinolone ointment, and it cleared up residual pinkness and even helped soften the hardened skin under my incision that covered my seroma.

Calendula cream is excellent. So is Emu Oil. I used the latter after a fellow rads patient shared with me that our rad onc had recommended it to her because of her extremely fair skin. So I bought some and I sailed through rad's w/out any damage.

My rad onc said to use only aloe vera. The trouble was, every bottle of "pure aloe vera" at the store had additional ingredients. So in order to avoid possible irritants, I used a real, potted aloe vera plant. Cut off and wash one or two succulent leaves. Slice off the flat side. Scoop out the gel with a spoon. Mix in the blender with a little distilled water. Put it in a little bottle in the fridge, and take it to put on right after treatment each day. It feels soothing.

I second ChiSandy's advice to go braless when possible, and use a soft cotton cloth on the underside of the breast.