Starting Radiation April 2017

I asked too. My team takes an x-ray every time. They told me the same thing to ensure correct positioning. I asked them about the danger of thisand was told not to worry. Jeeze I better not start glowing in the dark!

Butterfly1234 I know just what you mean about glowing in the dark. And to think that I avoided getting mammograms as often as I should have because I wanted to avoid radiation. I have had more radiation in the last 10 weeks than I ever dreamed possible and more coming in the next several weeks. I guess these x-rays for positioning should not concern us.

butterfly12 - You are so right. Time to stop sweating the small stuff!

Guys

One of my tattoos seems to have disappeared over the weekend. Could this be possible? I got 5 tattoos - 4 that look like thick black dots and one black line (about 1cm) on my ribs. The line has disappeared but the others are still visible. Does this mean I have to go through the whole positioning experience again to re mark me??? They told me I could shower swim etc and they wouldn't come off.

butterfly, I have a question for you: Your surgery was a month before mine. Has your underarm pain subsided? I'm only two weeks out and having a lot of discomfort.

MJ

I've been kinda M.I.A. from this thread (just go too busy), but I'm glad I popped back in. I had my 11th treatment today and they've never mentioned anything about a special breathing technique and I'm being treated on my left side. My lump was close to my chest wall and I mentioned to my RO, before treatment started, that I was concerned about that. I'm supposed to see her tomorrow, so I'm going to ask her about that.

Also, I feel like I can see some darkening in my skin (I have dark skin already). It's hard to tell in some places because I had a reaction to the dye used during my lumpectomy and SNB and my skin turned faintly bluish and has been slow to clear up. I'm using aloe vera gel on my skin, Aquaphor and a butter mixture (mango butter, avocado butter, mixed with various oils).

I felt like I had gotten a little bit of a breather after chemo. But since surgery (and having complications) and now with daily radiation, I feel like I'm back in the gauntlet.

Fightingthefight - You're not alone. I feel the same way I'm just over a month PFC and have been feeling good, not so tired, gardening, competing with my dogs, etc. Rads start this morning for me so I'm anxious about how it will affect me.....

Gail

Rwrighty- the treatments we decide to do or not do area very personal decision. My advice is to gather all of that facts that are specific to your situation . Ask questions of your medical team. Take someone with you if you can. I'm on my 6th rad with no side effects. A little redness and a little itching that comes and goes. It's an overwhelming time for us. We are here for you.

Rwrighty, Butterfly is absolutely right. There's so much info out there with all different types of treatments etc. If you can add your diagnosis/surgery info to your posts people with similar diagnoses can see it and help with some of your questions. It's all very confusing. Have you checked the other threads for those with a similar diagnosis? That really helped me when I joined last year. I've added you to my prayer list.

I have my first radiation consultation on Thursday and I'm definitely nervous about the whole process. Is anyone doing radiation in the morning and then going to work afterwards? Are there any drawbacks to before vs after work?

Rwrighty: I don't want radiation either and I asked about whether I really needed it or not and the doctors convinced me. They explained why based on my particular diagnosis so definitely ask what your personal risk would be if you didn't have radiation so you can make an informed choice. I spent some time on here trying to find people that had lumpectomy but didn't have radiation and couldn't. But it seems that recurrence risks are very individualized based on exact diagnosis, age, and family history.

Thanks, Lyn. One down, 28 more to go! It wasn't as bad as I thought this morning though I didn't realize that my back would be radiated as well. Good thing I bought lots of Glaxal base!

Thank you. I am new to this site . Sooooo much information! How do I add the diagnosis to the post. I added it in my profile

Law193, I just finished five weeks of rad. Some people get very tired with rad. I was ok. Towards the the end of treatment my skin got very red and sore. I ended up getting a blister under my armpit. I used a couple of creams afterwards not before rad that the doc recommended to help. Hasn't really helped. In fact I'm on here to see what other people have tried to get rid of the tightness and something that is not greasy. Hope this helps.

I have been using Fruit of the Earth 100% Aloe Vera Gel (Walmart) a few times per day. At night I use Cetaphil cream from a white jar with a green lid (Sam's Club). Both are soothing and non-greasy. No skin issues right now.

Trooper2 - you might want to ask your RO for a prescription for Mometasone Furoate cream. I've been using that and a green tea spray for 3.5 weeks and don't have any skin issues other than a little tenderness.