April 2018- Starting Radiation

Today was treatment #10. At the end of last week I was definitely feeling fatigued. Lots of water and exercise helped with that. The treatments are painless so far with minimal skin effects. The hardest part for me is being reminded every day of cancer. It’s definitely taken an emotional toll. Trying to take it easy.

1 down 29 to go!!  Simulation went ok so received my 1st treatment last night.

Okkate-Do I ever hear you!  When I left last night they said come at 12:45 today.  I barely got out of the parking lot my phone rang and they said they were looking at the wrong day.  They can see me at 9:15pm tonight.  They are still working on my schedule  It's obvious to me now that these folks are overworked, and when things don't go right the machine will shut down, further backing things up, so we are at their beck n call.

They should just tell you all of this, in detail, at the consult but they don't.  I was very close to forgoing this whole deal,  I have never felt so stressed in my entire life over phone calls, schedules, and a machine!!  At this point I will take whatever they give me, and being versed in this operation now I will stay prepared for a phone call each and every day as it is bound to change many times before it's over.  I was following the doctor out last night and overheard him tell the desk guy he had just worked 13 hrs.  It' concerning to me, but I am a little less tense today and I will be better  accepting of what may come with this treatment.

And right on cue, as soon as I posted that my phone rang.  They have a cancellation, I'm in @ 8:30pm for tonight.

Schedule= Beck n call.   LOL

Waiting is hard, but I feel like I am in the right place. At the end of the CT scan and positioning appointment, I sort of lost it from all of the built-up stress and started crying. The nurse immediately came over and asked me if they did anything to hurt or upset me. I said no, this was just a release of stress from a long winter of surgery, chemo, and now radiation. But I felt it was really nice that she asked about it and made sure that I was ok before I left. Heading into the home stretch now...we can do this.

Wow -all the schedule changes are crazy. I have had a few but generally know several days in advance. I was prepared at the consult that it could happen if a doctor wasn't available or the machines needed fixing. So far fortunately that has not happened. I am 13 down now and had 4 changed appointments -but always well in advance. Not sure how well I would handle all the last minute changes you ladies are dealing with!

ctmbsikia - that's too much. hopefully they save all their focus and energy for the treatments :-)

Hi, Hopeful. What's IMDR (i'm really behind in learning about radiation!) Good luck on your simulation.

I got an appointment slot that works! 8:15am--I can get to with on time! Today's appointment was a little rough--40 minutes in the same position made everything seize up and I started to panic a bit. But then it ended, they got the pictures they needed, and we are off and running. Can't wait to ring that bell!

ctmbsikia - wow, those are some crazy schedules. I had to take 2:00 p.m. for my first half of treatment, then was able to switch to 10:00 a.m. for this week and next. I hope you can get a routine down - the anxiety of when would weigh on me, too.

In other news - I had my first boost today - four to go next week and I'm done. I have a cool new magic marker circle on my boob. Yeah.

Okkate - so sorry to hear about your frustration. I can only imagine - the waiting and wanting to get started is a tough time. Try to rest on the weekend and pamper yourself with something you love. Monday will come soon enough. Will be thinking of you and hoping you get what you need on Monday. Sometimes I don't think they realize how long we've waited to get to this point and how devastating even small delays can be.

I’ll be brand new to radiation (I haven’t started radiation yet but set up for next week). I have a question,I keep seeing posts about “boosts”....what is that?

I was just searching for "boost" as well. lol Thanks!

dodgerick,

Regards to boost radiation, it is a lot shorter than reg radiation. I know bc i had 5 weeks of regular zapping followed by 5 boosts. Another two cents i would like to add is anything you apply to radiated area should be cold. Have those refridgerated. I used to have multiple bottles of organic aloe gel in my fridge. Some swear by green tea dabbing.

I'm starting radiation on Tuesday. I thought it would be so nice to have two weeks with no appointments before radiation started but really I'm just anxious for it to start so it can get finished. Terrible weather here....ice storm. Good luck to everyone in the week ahead. We've got this!!!

Hi Gloria - I'm in Atlanta, too - treatment at Emory, but live near Northside - how are you doing? I'm starting 2 of 5 boosts tomorrow and will be DONE on Thursday. 21 treatments in all. Same back, breath hold, stickers and no tats. I'm starting to burn a bit, but nothing compared to some I've seen. I post mostly in the March Rads group, since that's when I started, but wanted to repost something in here for the April ladies who had lumpectomies or non-reconstruction mastectomies, and are undergoing rads, can wear a soft bra and need to keep the breast lubricated after treatment.

Lumpectomy ladies who will start rads soon: this may be old news, but was news to me - how to keep my sore, radiated, lumpectomied boob stationary and moisturized. First off, I kept my breast stationary 24/7 the first few days after lumpectomy and always at night by wearing a sports bra of some kind. With radiation I wear small men's Hanes tees at night to keep the Aquaphor in check, but did not know what to wear when out during the day without a grease spot. Then, duh, breastfeeding pads (note stickers on the outside for interior of bra) are just the right size for my boost area and fit perfectly inside this soft bra. Skinny Girl smoother and shaper + pads + calendula ointment (or whatever you are using for rads burns) = just right. Hope this helps - it's been a saving grace for me.

I finally got my first session in this morning, after two false alarms last week. Here's to easier sailing ahead! Getting this started has me much more emotional than I was expecting, but it is what it is. Thanks for being here, everybody!