starting rads feb 2017

Fightinggirl - congratulations on completing the rads. Are you done with treatment?

Elem and Mamasha - 2 different opinions and you both make compelling arguments.

I don't agree with not searching the internet. You have to be your own health advocate. These drs see you 15 min per week at the most and we live with our disease and side effects 24 hrs a day. As long as you are using reputable websites and find many studies to back up claims, I think the internet is a very useful tool. My rad nurse today wondered why I was asking of Eucerine, which was one of the lotions they recommend, was paraben free. She didn't know why I was concerned with parabens. I had to tell her that studies have shown that some can mimic the activity of the hormone estrogen in the body's cells so since I have estrogen positive BC, I'm not comfortable rubbing that on my breast. How did she not know that?

My point is, there are so many different ways of helping ourselves through traditional as well as natural and holistic ways, why not explore them all and choose whats best for us? Knowledge is power!!

Hello ladies,

Anyone else getting more pink? Starting to notice it today-not sore but noticeable. My tumor was at the 1:00 position and I noticed it's a little indented under the incision. Im afraid what it's going to look like after boosts. Not looking forward to full week of treatments. I like the 3 day weekend last week.

Have a great night. Feb vacation is over so kids go to bed early!!!

Thanks Annoyingb and Mamasha ,

Yes halfway through and feeling good about that. I see the RO during my tx's every Tues. today on the skin check he noted a little pink which is normal 2 weeks in he said. Just hoping it is not going to progress to burn or anything more. I should not anticipate what hasn't happened ! Lol The bone scan was ordered by the MO in evaluation of my osteo condition prior to AI therapy . I am post menopausal so Tamox is not on the table for me . I have to go with aromatase inhibitors if I decide on that after rads. Ugh .. head spin! We read so much and learn so much going through this that after a while , you don't know if you're coming or going! I hope your back ache starts to feel better Mamasha because it is hard enough to cope with this without additional stressors. I use this acupressure mat for tension backaches and it is for stress relief . But it is spikey and has to be used bare back . But for me it works wonders . If I have knotted back pressure i use a back buddy on pressure points and press , hold and release techniques. It helps too. Wishing you all a wonderful evening .. tomorrow bone scan and rads! Love you all

ab,

I know you are finishing your rads this week. Lucky you!!!! Do you get boost, too?

Annoyingb, I am taking Tamoxifen in the morning.

Best wishes to all with your decisions and treatment programs. I hope it's ok to pop into your thread as I'm starting to consult about radiation now having completed chemo and surgery.

My radiation oncologist earlier today suggested a 5-week program of external radiation done twice daily. Has anyone else done that or heard of it? I tried to look it up online (lol), and found short courses of 2x/day radiation, and long courses of 1x/day radiation. But not 2x/day for 5+ weeks so I'm a little confused.

Because I am a peculiar case to evaluate, it will be another appointment or two before we get to a definite decision to go/no go, and if go, what program to undertake. If the final decision is to go forward, guessing the treatments will start in late March or more likely April.

had to check in before bed:)

Ab,

Sorry today hit u out hard.....but just think how happy you will feel Friday! !!! Go to bed eay, get your rest and have sweet dreams of being DONE this week!

ELem,

I ordered a acupressure mat. Thanks for the suggestion.

Thank you Elem. Possibly he misspoke as he was discussing several different ideas, but that seemed to be what he was recommending.

"Misslil - are you sure he said 5 weeks, not 5 days?"

Yes, he definitely said 5 weeks when I asked him about duration of treatment, assuming the decision is to proceed at all.

When he was talking about 2x or 1x daily, the context was his thinking through implications of re-irradiating this area where I was treated with radiation once before in 2008, and am now recovering from a wide excision done on top of the prior mastectomy. He was thinking 2x/daily might be easier (in terms of SEs? if I'm reading the online info correctly, it doesn't appear to be a lesser overall rad exposure).

If 2x day for 5 weeks wasn't a garble and is what he meant, and it's not a standard protocol, perhaps it's something he was thinking to tailor since my case is unusual.

Oasis2016, not silly at all. My case has some odd/confusing factors, no doubt.

When I had the mastectomy (skin-sparing type), there was an unusual amount of breast tissue left under the skin. That was a big reason why they decided I should do radiation which was quite rare with DCIS treated with mastectomy. A lot of the 'excess' was removed during a second surgery in 2008; but some remained. The development of my new issue in that area was picked up on mammogram last summer.

I owe a big thanks to the Dr. in the imaging center where I go. She insisted a couple of years ago on trying to do mammograms on my L side despite the mastectomy - due to this lingering question about residual tissue. She actually overrode the mammogram Rx that I was given by my regular team, who asked for diagnostic screening on the R side only per standard practice.

Mammograms can be done after mastectomy in certain cases. It was workable for me despite my mastectomy and implant reconstruction; my insurance paid for it with no questions. For future though - I'm doubting that mammograms will work for me again on that side after my latest surgery. May need to look at MRIs for regular follow-on screening?

One of the planning questions now is how much 'excess' tissue could still be in place after surgery last month. If there's more than a minimal amount, it may argue for trying radiation again.