November 2018 Starting Radiation

Hi Everyone,

To all the women starting out, discuss concerns with your RO so they are aware of anything that may need to be addressed early in radiation treatments.

Spoonie77 - I am sorry you are going through a rough time right now. I hope the Physical Therapy sessions continue to be very helpful to you. I agree that all of us should ensure we get the care we need after radiation. If there is swelling, cording, loss of shoulder range of motion, nerve pain notify the RO so they can get you started with PT. Thank you for sharing your experience with us and take good care of yourself.

CarolAnnieLumpLump and MLghten - We have similar schedules with me starting boosts next week - 5 total and then I should be done with rads on Nov 30th. My skin is red now with 2 small areas of concern. I have directions for saline soak mix to help with moist peeling skin. I may need to start this if the skin starts to peel and becomes itchy. Every one is different as far as side effects and reactions to rads so you should discuss skin treatment with your RO.

PebblesV - I posted the pic of Domino on my frig to give me a smile while I'm in the kitchen cooking tomorrow.

Wishing wellness to all and Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Fall Y'All (yes, I'm down south...and I love it!)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.. laugh, love and feeling blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! One thing I am thankful for in this crazy unexpected journey we are on is this thread, all of you ladies. Just being able to share our stories as we go through this together and knowing I'm not alone in this has been super helpful. Much love and healing to you all and hope we can all enjoy this long weekend “break" from rads and heal a little!

Spoonie - I’m SO impressed with how you stay positive through everything. Extra healing vibes being sent your way, and Domino put a couple extra cuddles in there as well.

LucyRed - For as positive as I appear, I have had plenty of good cries. I cried when I learned the lump I also found myself was cancer. I cried when I found out there was cancer in my lymph nodes. I cried when I told some co-workers and realized I couldn’t talk about it without crying. It’s good to get the cries out. Today I’m feeling fine, I think I got the cries out and now I’m at the “face this with optimism and knowledge” stage so I’ve been feeling strong but maybe cuz I had the good cries!

Also re: lotions, I would suggest as long as you need them, maybe at least a month post treatment. The radiation therapist told me the reason some of us only get the side effects towards the end of treatment is because we are constantly shedding skin and skin further down that gets hit with rads gets damaged and is already that way when it surfaces. So that skin could still surface after rads area done and should get TLC with lotions and aloe. Good news is fresh undamaged skin will eventually surface too.

CarolAnnie - I think ELLAment of surprise was meant to be rescued by you! And now she can provide the caring back.

Journeyforward - I posted another pic of Domino dorbrhe fridge, and one of Tucker! I love that she brings smiles.

All ladies - I’m 18 out of 30 treatments done! Breast looks the same although feels stiffer and more tender. I have decided to up the Miaderm to be as preventative as possible.

Wishing a happy and healing Thanksgiving to you all!

LucyRed --> These were my basic discharge instructions from my RO. Maybe they will be helpful as far as what others were told to do following RADs? Hope so.

Hang in there. I'm 4 weeks out almost and still healing. And will be for a long time due to the Radiation Fibrosis and Breast Lymphadema. Wishing you smooth sailing as the days become weeks.

(forgive me, as I copied & pasted from my post in the Oct RADs thread)

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So my rehab doc explained a few things to be on the look out for -- like extreme tightening in the rib area, which can onset as much as 6 months down the road. Also to be on the look out for shortness of breath, chest pain when breathing, or dry cough -- all of which can be signs of Post RADs Pneumonitis.

I was discharged from Radiation with the following directions --->

• to continue to hold off on my antioxidant related supplements for another 2 weeks
• finish the antibiotics I was put on to minimize risk of infection due to SEs
• to see RO in 6 weeks or sooner, if SEs are not healing
• to REST when needed and to not push myself to much, that can and will slow healing if I do
• to continue to apply the Calendula/Aloe Vesta/Miaderm 3 x daily until the redness/inflammation I've experienced is gone and/or the creams are gone
• once redness/open skin areas have healed, moisturize 2 x daily, using (Lubriderm, Eucerin, Cocoa Butter, etc) for AT LEAST 6 months after treatment
• if there is any sun exposure be sure to use SPF 30 or higher

Spoonie, thank you for sharing your list and your experience. It's terrible that you've had such a rough time with this and I despise that it gave you a new diagnosis. I didn't even know that breast lymphadema was a thing. I'm so sorry you have this and the fibrosis. I am watching out for this bc you shared.

I have been feeling punky the last few days w a sore throat and headache. I have an appt w my GP in an hour and I'm pretty sure I have a sinus infection. Has anyone else gotten something while on rads? Will I be allowed to have rads on antibiotics?

Hello all! Thank you for the helpful posts-I will be starting RT in less than 2 days. Woohoo! 7:30 a.m. Monday morning! The doc and team were helpful, and it’s good to know that every Tuesday, I’ll be seen by the doctor.

I’m very lucky, I can walk to treatment from my work. And, based on the wisdom from all of you, I’m looking forward to getting this part of my treatment behind me. I’ll finish on December 21, if there are no issues

😊 None yet...Miaderm has been ordered.I have been using a Neutrogena “butter” on the incision site. It has healed well

Hey rileycat,

Welcome!

I'm starting daily rads next Thursday, nice to know someone else is at the same stage of treatment. Sweet that you can finish before Christmas.

I just tried Miaderm for the first time this morning. It's smooth, didn't get oil on my clothes, no scent. Kind of $$$ but other people say it works well.

Hope things go well for you!

Congrats Misstic on finishing up your treatments!

Dwiseley, omg I never thought about keeping my Miaderm in the fridge! I sooooo wish I had thought of that while I was still in txt. It always felt soooo good and brought immediate relief when applying it so I can only imagine how much more so it would've felt going on cold! Great thinking!

Welp, I'm worried.

My left armpit area is swollen, tender, and feels hot to me. (just above my node biopsy incision and above, nothing below it)

Trying not to panic and think the worst.

Will be calling my triage on-call team in a bit. Gave it the past 24 hours to see if it would fade, it's only increasing. Le Sigh.

I'll keep ya'll posted.

Dwiseley --> Thanks. I didn't know Breast Lymphadema was thing either until they told me a few weeks ago when I first saw PT. Plus, no one ever said Radiation Fibrosis was a risk either. IDK, wish they would have said something, but I guess in the big scheme of things nothing would have changed re treatment. Still had to be done. Sure hope you aren't coming down with something. Hang in there. Drink your weight in orange juice and sleep when you can. (((hugs))) Oh, ETA, as far as antibiotics, I was given them to prevent skin infections when mine was "disappearing" during RADs. Not sure if that is typical or just used case-by-case basis. Either way hope your GP was able to give you some idea of what you may have.

Thanks DW, Uggh I wish they had been more helpful. They were not concerned. Go figure...as long as there are not red streaks or such showing up around the incision/scar site and I'm not running a fever. They told me to keep ice on it regularly, to elevate it/extend it as much as I can, and to continue to Advil/ibuprofen. I see my Cancer Rehab PT on Friday so hopefully things will not get worse over the week. If things haven't improved by Monday morning, I'll give her a call and see what she says. Fingers crossed it goes away on its own.

Sorry to hear about your bronchitis/sinus infection! Those are no fun at all. Hope some rest and the zpack will have you feeling better sooner than later!

Spoonie, lots of hugs for you, dear! Well, gentle, virtual hugs so I don't smoosh anything sensitive. Keep us updated and I hope it resolves very soon.

Urdrago, I really thought my sinuses were irritated by the Anastrazole, so I let my symptoms slide for awhile. I chalked the fatigue up to radiation and just coping mentally and emotionally with this diagnosis. When I couldn't hardly eat anything for Thanksgiving, and I LOVE food, I had to admit that perhaps my self diagnosis of bc treatment SE's was incorrect. The antibiotics and Prednisone are starting to work and I am feeling better.

Ok, so now I have a new issue, if the others weren't already enough. Ugggh.

Has anyone that's finished RADs developed any kind of rash that seems to only be following around the edge of the radiation field?

I've been watching this for the past 4 days and it's only progressing.

(basically pink/red single bumps that do not hurt, itch, nor look/act like acne, not fluid/pus filled, but feel "solid")

Guess I'll be placing 2 calls tomorrow - to PT and to my RO.

I'm sooooo over all this. But hey, we got to see a cute puppy and that made me smile!!! Thanks Pebbles!

Spoonie, not finished, just posting my support.