JUNE 2018 starting RADIATION

Wanted to let everyone know I found a pack of no-wires bras at Sam's that are super soft, have a great band and offer some support. They are Bali brand and were around $24 for a 2-pack. I'm still not having any of the skin irritation (I'm on 8 of 20), but my RO told me to go ahead and quit wearing an underwire bra. I'm not not small-busted and could not go bra-less in public without causing a big scene lol.

3 boosts to go! Tomorrow, Fri then a break & last one Monday. I finally got to remove all those stickers yesterday. They had one on my nipple (yuck!) the past 3 weeks and now that it is gone, it is very sore. I don’t know if the intermittent jolts of pain I’m getting are from the regular treatments, the boosts from today and yesterday, or maybe my nerves are just growing back in that area post surgery? I was super fatigued yesterday but not sleeping well because of the sore/achy pain, still very emotional, at all and actually called out of work today for the first time since diagnosis. This morning I was able to sit outside and pray/meditate and I felt much better mentally! I actually have more energy and have had a productive day so far preparing for our upcoming move.

-Caroline

One more to go!!! ONE!!

Saw the doctor today and asked about my skin. It looks gross and is on fire! Seems like it progressed over night! I resorted to putting a cold water bottle under my arm earlier today to ease the burning! Glad no one at work saw that LOL! He still is not concerned about the skin, doesn't think it will break open or "weep" as he called it. Doesn't even expect it to peel? It's dark purple in some patches :-/ I had my last full breast treatment on 7/5 so one week ago. I have a cruise I'm leaving for in one week so I asked him am I going to be hiking or lounging? He said hiking! So by the time I leave he expects my skin to be mostly recovered and feeling good enough to sweat out a hike with out rubbing the skin off. I am really hoping he is right! That would be roughly 2 weeks from my last full treatment. So maybe I am at that magic turning point where it will start to get better now instead of worse. My boosts don't seem to be do anything at all to the skin so I'm hoping that stays true. He said drink LOTS AND LOTS of water and keep eating all the healthy foods to help it along. Best part of the appt was seeing the scale go down 5lbs :-)

Sweetcaro79 - I'm glad the day off has helped! Sometimes we really need a little Vitamin D to boost our spirits :-)

PattyMills2017 - I hope you get those scheduled and get to head out on the 27th!

Greeneyes - Honestly I've thought about skipping tomorrows last one over and over LOL! You are almost there!

Thank you Caroline!

Today was ruff but I made it thru work. We are on summer hours (I'm in marketing for a private school) so it's not a long day and I have Fridays off. I feel better being at my office and focusing on work. I have 2 more full breast treatments and then 5 boosts.

I'm feeling really tired and having stomach issues. Could be a little tummy bug I guess.

Big hugs to you and prayers for all of us thru the week and weekend.

We've got this!

1 more to go, to glad!!! my shirt was stuck to my chest this morning from leakage...so ready for it to heal.

Sweetcaro79 I have wondered how they decide who gets what. I have had a total of 4 tumors and dx 2x's in 10 months. Guessing that is the reason I got the slege hammer. lol

Ya for being done soon for all of us!

Congrats on making it to the end!

What are the stickers everyone is talking about? I don't have any.

Congrats to everyone finishing! You deserve to feel great about that. 😊

I promised to check in when I was 10 days post-last treatment (20 total for me). I will need to describe in two parts:

1: the radiation “scarring" itself: almost entirely gone. The only thing left is how awful the area around the nipple looks, but the dr nurse and rad techs said it looks normal and healing now, so hopefully that will return to normal too!

2: the allergic reaction I had to the last week of stickers: still pretty bad, but I have a pain management and recovery plan that is letting me get back to my life. I see the dr to check up on this on Monday July 23.

I wanted to be clear that I think I'd be pretty much back to normal at this point if I hadn't had those reactions. If I ever have to do this again, I'm asking for the tattoos with this hindsight knowledge!

Hugs to all!

Puzzlewoman - You made my day hearing that the "scarring" is almost gone! That gives me just enough time before our first day off the ship exploring :-) I hope the reaction to the stickers ends for you soon!

RobinJ3024 - you absolutely can get through this!

I started to attempt to remove my leftover stickers and no way, not happening! I got one off but I still have 4 that I can't even get to lift up at the edge and well they hurt like heck when I even think about picking at them. They can stay put for a while! I noticed this morning I have dark circles on my skin where others were even outside of the "rads zone"! Any suggestions on how to loosen them up? I've been slathering them in lotion, aloe, Dove... Nothing seems to affect them.

Kelligirl - great, happy to help!

As for the leftover stickers, my office suggested aquaphor or even nail polish remover. Since I had such issues I let them remove the rest of mine!

ONE MORE BOOSTS ON MONDAY!!!!

I am already starting the party! I am still taking Tylenol & Motrin round the clock, but on that it feels very manageable. I too am hoping I am over the hump and onto healing. The boost area (and deeper) is still sore but the rest of my skin is less red, more tan. I am looking forward to wearing a bra again soon! Hahaha

Have fun on your cruises ladies and HUGS to everyone else!

-Caroline

Sweetcaro79 - YAY for one more!!! Today was awesome not having to be anywhere!

I have stickers that haven't budged in over 5 weeks, swimming, showering, lotions, sweat! When I say they are stuck I mean they are STUCK!! I got one off this morning and you can see almost where its like the glue has just melted into my skin YUCK! Maybe now that it can start to heal the dead skin cells will help it slough off.

Hi Rad Ladies,

I'm done! I had my last treatment today. They gave me a Certificate of Completion, which was a nice gesture. Now hoping the coming weeks won't be too bad. I'm still dealing with fatigue and nausea. I'm also having trouble sleeping, having hot flashes and intermittent pain in the boob that has not been treated. Are any of you experiencing those things

I don’t really know how different or better the treatment place may be, but I did learn that some places do breath hold and some don’t. I’m treating left side so this was important to me. That being said, it does seem there may be differences between treatment facilities. I would visit with local place again and ask lots of questions about what you were told in NYC

Congrats on your journey,,,I have done 4 of 21 so far and the revisiting of these hot flashes was a little surprise (post Menopausal). Cant wait to get to the end...hope the nausea is better...so encouraged by everyone here.

LiveWellToday, Wow that is a hard one. My surgeon (who is absolutely fabulous and top notch) gave me advice about finding follow up care when I move. He said, just make sure you find a complete breast care center. When you have a group of highly trained doctors of different specialties looking at your case together, you get the best care. I would agree to check out both, try and find out as much information about each (google may even help with what specific questions to ask) and then go with your gut. Being away from your kids for 5 weeks is a huge deal. But if you find out it means a significant improvement in care, then that could benefit your children more inthe long run. We are fighting for our lives but it is a long game.

-Caroline