April 2018- Starting Radiation

Interesting how different our experiences are - no bolus warm or cold for me - just me hanging out there for the world to see. I fear that I've gotten so used to being topless that I'll forget to get dressed some day and just walk out!

Paco - today is the end for you -congratulations!!

I am 20/30 complete, the redness seemed to increase under my arm this weekend, more little stinging pains and plenty of itching- as Paco said, finally some warm weather and I worked out in the yard a bit so maybe I over did it. I still know this has gone more smoothly and has been easier than I expected and you are right Kaywrite - it is going faster than expected too. 5 more full breast then 5 boosts - almost there!

Have a good week ladies!

This afternoon I will hit double digits #10/30.  Went in at 4pm yesterday and I waited 2 minutes!  It was glorious!  Then saw the nurse, RO, and a dietician gave me a handout. I was out of there by 4:40pm.  I hope today goes as well.  Feeling good, less stress, BP is back down. Only worry is that I lost a couple of pounds.  They want you to maintain your weight of course to avoid not lining up according to plan. I brought pizza for lunch!

Have a great day everyone!

Yay Paco! So happy for you! Congratulations.

Today was 7/20 for me, and tomorrow I get my simulation for boosts. It's all moving much faster than I expected, which is a huge relief. Slight pink starting to show, but only the doc can see it. Here's to an easy day of rads for all of you!

Way to go, Paco! Amazing how it flies by...

I'm so glad to hear everyone so upbeat and involved with their treatments, sharing info and having a laugh. This is a wonderful place to be and I'm glad to be here with you.

Five days out the whole breast area continues to turn past tan to brown. The boost area, subjected to the last 5 treatments, continues to turn more and more red - the area of boost now clearly shows me that the entire anterior area was covered (where the positive margin would have been). This makes me feel better.

I'm still not in pain, blistering or peeling. Still not wearing an underwire bra.

Have a wonderful week!

Rad #1 done. I was surprised that it was a different room and machine from the set up day. Not sure who designs this equipment, but someone needs to tell them that we are not all 8" wide, and lying on the thin metal table for 45 min without moving or breathing requires using muscles that are worn out from 3 months of chemo. The head nurse with the loud voice seemed bothered by my asthma and my need to cough from time to time with the scuba gear in my mouth. After reading here, I asked for no more stickers, so they drew a map on my chest instead. The one good part of the afternoon was that one of my nurses had just moved over to radiation oncology from the infusion center. She was a calming presence and said I could take an Ativan before each appointment. 18 more to go!

I may be the first person to fail at radiation. This was day 2 out of 19, and I couldn't hold my breath long enough. If I only would have to do it a few times, I could manage to get through it, but as someone with asthma who just came off of chemo treatments, doing this 7 or 8 times in a row was too hard. The nurse didn't let me have much time between breath holds to recover, and each one got successively harder.

So I talked to my wonderful RO who said not to worry, there are other ways to do this.They have a machine where I lie flat on my stomach, but at least there is no having to hold my breath. Tomorrow we start over with another CT scan, then pick back up at #3. So I will only be a few days behind the schedule, and still be done by Memorial Day weekend.

Yes Princess you didn't fail. I was also set up for supine with doing the breath holds and Doc scraped that plan.  I'm surprised they set you up that way with you having asthma.  I really think that way is the fastest for them to set up-get you in and out.

I am on my stomach for treatments now.  I actually think this is much safer and I hope all goes well for you.

Tonight is #11 of 30. They did call today and move me from 4 to 5:30 said they're running behind.  At least they were honest and called an hour before I would have left.   I am much less anxious with this now.  I try my best to get on that table as close to remembering where I should be so they don't have to take more time adjusting me.  Haven't hit it right the 1st time just yet, but close.

You didn't fail, Princess! I'm glad you are switching positions. I'm prone as well, and its harder for them but easier on our bodies. You'll ride right over this speed bump.

Today was 8/20, and I'm starting to see a little pink. My nipple is feeling pretty irritated, and my rad onc gave me some burn gel that I hope will help. I also did my sim for boosts--it's all moving so fast!

I hope y'all have a good day on the tables. Thanks for being here.

Congratulations to Kaywrite and Paco! And your are almost there Metoo2018! I had my very first treatment today.

F.R.O.G.

Princess Buttercup - if you think you failed at radiation then I'm a titanic catastrophe!

It sounds to me like your team lacked a bit in trying to help you through it successfully. You did absolutely nothing wrong. Good luck with the new position.

I just finished #7 of 16 in the prone position and this was the first time I wasn't in a lot of pain. I have Mondor's Cords under my treated breast from my lumpectomy and they are making right under the breast and the adjacent rib area very tender. The edge of the table presses in to the just the right spot to cause maximum pain :-P Finally the team decided to give me Percocet so that I can get through treatment without moving (crying makes you move a lot apparently.) Tomorrow will be the half-way mark, not counting 4 boosts. I'm so relieved the second half will be pain free. So far no skin reaction. I'm hoping all the calendula and aloe will keep it at bay.

As I was in the outside waiting room I saw the greatest thing today. An elderly gentleman in a wheelchair was taken over to the "end of treatment" bell and he was able to stand up to ring it. Three strong, clear peals of the bells - he looked so happy. God bless him.

Agatha, I'm sorry that you are in so much pain.

Ctmbsikia, hooray for prone position boosts! I'm hopeful that I can do that, too.

I've been reading this morning about prone vs supine positions for radiation. I can understand why they want to do supine more often (consistent positioning, less set-up time, etc), but I seem to fit the criteria for prone, especially with my larger breast size and difficulty in breath-holding due to asthma.

- I am doing 30 sessions too. Had hoped for 20 but no such luck. The national standards just recently changed to 3 weeks plus boosts if needed. It was changed just before I started and I honestly don't know why I didn't get the shorter treatment - never got a great explanation and I was 5 treatments in before they told me it was 30 and not 20 and by then it was too late so I didn't push. I had 23/30 today, have 2 more full breast then 5 boosts. I have not had any simulation or drawing for the boosts - when they said they were going to a week or so ago there was some confusion, the RO said he would go back and re-look at my scans to make sure he knew the exact site of the tumor bed - my incision covered 2 spots and only one was cancer so it was a little more centrally located I guess.

Anyway - when I saw him this week he explained there are two ways to do boosts -one with photons and the other maybe was electrons? Too much physics for me. I didn't fully understand and was too tired to push that day but fully expected I'd be drawn sometime this week and nothing has happened yet. I see him on Monday, boosts start Tuesday - am completely unsure how they can start without any new measurements etc.

Not a fan of my RO and I should push more for sure.

#12 went quick today.  I'm already back at work.

kate-I wanted to ask about the new hypo. way but  was too stressed.  Good for Hopkins being on the ball.  With all the people needing treatment the lesser amount of days/patients being treated, it should make these larger hospitals/centers more efficient.

Best of luck metoo with your remaining.  I'm sure they have a plan for the boosts.  It is too much physics for me to comprehend as well.  I just let them know, hey, you're driving!

Hello all,

Not starting radiation until May 4th, but since there is no May group (yet) I thought I would join here. I’ve already been reading all of your posts and they have been very helpful.

Already had my simulation session, was tattooed, and told generally to expect six weeks of daily treatment (breast plus collarbone area for lymph nodes) plus some number of boosts. Have a very early am appointment which should not change, but traffic should be less and I can get on with my day afterward. RO and I had a good discussion; he seems intelligent and detail oriented. Gave me confidence that he is looking out for me. Advised me to start with aloe vera, mentioned aquaphor, will add other products as needed. The breath holding technique and equipment made me a little nervous, but am now practicing holding my breath and hope it becomes a non-issue. Already stepped up my exercise to ward off fatigue and think it will help.

Thanks to all for your contributions. Courage and strength to all of you