Radiation February 2019

HPFULL looks like we are on similar schedule, yesterday was day 8 for me. I'm beginning to feel some burning underneath my TE and under my arm but no redness, just uncomfortable. I'm also using miaderm and Ecream that my nurse recommended.

OTMom: I also have some nausea about 30 min. after my treatment and find that I'm not very hungry for dinner (I have my appts at 3:15). I am tired and finding that I have a difficult time concentrating at work. I am also trying to continue working but may end up working a shortened week if my fatigue worsens. I sometimes think Radiation side effects are completly diminished...I have so many people say "at least its not chemo" and although I never want to have to endure that this treatment is not a walk in the park!

As expected, my RO says dizziness, nausea, and the degree of fatigue that I have are not radiation side effects. She says maybe dehydration, so I'll work on that, though I really have been trying to already. I do know that I'm starting from a place of some chronic fatigue though, so it could just be that since my baseline is somewhat low energy it's just elevating that. Talking with my boss tomorrow about adjusting my schedule, though I still have no idea what I actually want/need to do. While I'm sorry that you guys are also experiencing dizziness and nausea along with the fatigue, it also makes me feel a little less insane to know that it can happen no matter what my RO says.

Hpfull, I'm not taking hormone meds yet. My MO wanted to wait until after I finished rads and had some time to recover before introducing something new.

Of course, since I said yesterday that I had no redness, I looked down today after treatment and was stunned to see a bright pink boob. I guess it just took longer on me.

HPFULL: I will start tamoxifen after rads, my MO wanted me to have one treatment at a time to rule out side effects. I am def hurting a little more tonight, my husband went to hug me and I jumped back in pain and it also hurts alot around my drain sites.

I am so exhausted today!!! I did way too much yesterday, skipped lunch and I am paying for it today. Thank goodness my students are pretty low key today and we are going to do a movie day this afternoon. I am going to try to catch up on rest this weekend but I am busy with a prospective pastor visiting our church (and I'm on the pastor search team) so I am going to catch naps when I can. This fatigue is the real deal and I am only finishing week 2!

Jumping over here from the January thread. I'll be done with rads Feb 12th. Only 3 more regular session and then 4 boosts. This week I've gotten really red, more swelling and my rash & itching has gotten worse too. This week I've also noticed that my skin has gotten extremely tight feeling. Oh, and I'm getting headaches now too. The most bothersome SE is the fatigue. It's really kicking in now. I've been doing all the preventative measures faithfully - from upping my protein to slathering the creams to drinking what feels like oceans of water. I think our bodies can only hold up to radiation for so long then we just have to do the best we can. Today my RO asked me how my breast was feeling. I said, "hot and heavy." Then I realized how that might sound to him so I quickly added, "But not in the good way". Then crickets chirped. Then we looked at each other and we both had a good laugh. My awkward moment of the week. 😉

so my movie afternoon didn't go as planned. The kids were watching the movie (Hotel Transylvania 3, highly educational) my para was with them and I was in the side roim ugly crying because I'm exhausted and highly emotional today and in walks the director of maintenance to see if my heat was working and poor guy didn't know what to do and then walks in our school superintendent! I was ugly crying telling him I was sorry it's just been a hard week. He was sympathetic and said to take care of myself and at least it was Friday. I'm sure he thought I was crazy and went to my principal and said get this chick some help. Session 10/30 has kicked my butt and I'm ready for some rest!

Well, it's still fairly early in the day here around Seattle, and so far I've cleaned up the kitchen and done last night's dishes, pots & pans that I was too tired to even look at last night. I have a load of laundry in and I've mopped the mud room & kitchen. I'm taking a break now but still want to get a peach/pineapple dump cake in the oven and a batch of chicken salad made. Both of those are easy-peasy. I've found if I put my early bursts of energy to good use, I'm able to let myself mentally relax for the rest of the day. I can rest without feeling so guilty about it. I'm one of those people who just can't sit down & relax if there's too much stuff to be done. A couple more easy chores and I'm officially considering myself "off" for the weekend. Maybe I'll take a walk, or read, or re-watch Outlander. Whatever I do, it's going to be me-time. For my protein needs, Hubby will be grilling salmon tonight and tomorrow morning he's making a quiche for me. Then it'll be chicken salad croissants, snacks & dump cake for the Super Bowl. If I'm awake for any of it. LOL!

I hope you all take time for yourselves this weekend and pamper yourselves just a little bit extra. It's taken me a while to realize that for me, it makes a HUGE improvement in my emotions. I'm also able to cope with the SE's much better. In reading all your posts, it seems we all have a difficult time with guilt, letting go, saying no, etc. I've learned that commitments can be cancelled, that others will step up and are usually eager to do so. How arrogant I've been to think I need to plow forward and not hand things off. Other people are just as capable, if not more so, than I am. Once I got the hang of letting go, of cancelling, of just saying sorry, I'm not up to that after all, it's gotten much easier. My job, my volunteer work, my family and my friends have all been completely understanding and often wondered why I was pushing myself so hard thru this. I was trying to cram a potentially devastating disease into my already full life. I think that pushing somehow felt like I was fighting this disease. I wasn't. That was only me trying to retain some part of my normal life and trying to control this new place I've found myself dumped into. The world keeps turning whether or not I'm on the scene. The way to fight this is by taking this time to care for me. That's truly the only job that no one else can do. Now I feel like I'm doing my one most singularly important job. I'm doing it the right way (For me). And, I'm making sure I step back into the spinning world whole and healthy.

Wishing you all peaceful napping.

I re-read this and realized it turned into some kind of self-analysis. I was going to delete it but writing it all out has helped solidify my thoughts and my determination so, I'm leaving it here for now. Please forgive the ramblings as it was not my intent to bore anyone. You've certainly been muchcheaper for me than a therapist would have been. LOL!

Hello Ladies! I will start my rads this wednesday. I have serious concerns about the dosage and length of my proposed treatment. Do you mind sharing the information about the length of your radiation therapy and its dosage? How many sessions of Rads will you be receiving and what is the dosage? My doc proposes 33 sessions. The dosage for the first 28 will be 180, and last 5 will be 200. I had chemo (TC), my tumor was small, and there was no node involvement.

HPFULL-- thank you for your reply. It makes me feel better that my RO did not pull this number and dosage out of thin air. My RO is kind of hard to talk to. Maybe it is just me feeling this way... but I feel totally unprepared for this treatment. I still would like to talk to him about his plan before I start the treatment though and ask why he is putting me thorough a full-length treatment as I had no node involvement.

Faceforward--I am glad you did not delete your post as well. Thanks for sharing.

FaceForward-- I need to figure out how the math works. I thought the max was 50 gray as well but when I added the numbers my nurse navigator gave me (assuming 180 centi-gray=1.8 gray as you mentioned) the total dosage adds up to more than 60 Grays. That scares me. It really bothers me that I have not seen my RO since he came up with the plan. Don't we get a say in it after they come up with a treatment plan and before they start treating us?. We are supposed to have a "dry run" in two days and then start the rads the next day. I wonder if the RO will be there for the dry run.

I had 33 radiation treatments in 2011. To be honest I was never informed about the “grays” or any such math equations. However, I didn’t have any unmanageable side effects other than a little burning and fatigue halfway through the treatments and I didn’t have chemo either because I had a low Oncotype score. The treatments weren’t bad at all and the techs were awesome.

I know what treatments long term effects can be but I was determined to do the treatments. I didn’t think I really had a choice especially since I dodged chemo.

You guys have done your homework and I think if you have reservations you should discuss them with your doctors. Doctors definitely have the attitude that their decision is gospel sothey schedule the treatments and you comply with no questions asked.

The fact of the matter is it’s your life and your body and your call.

Good luck!

Diane

HPFULL the drive hasn't been too bad. We missed most of the snow but we did get the cold. My hubby was home for 2 days so he took care of the driving those days. I'm now on afternoons from here on out which I think is better because I can get some work done and then head out early afternoon. With the morning sessions after the close to 3 hours round trip I didn't feel much like working. I have 7 treatments down and 8 more to go. Went out with a girlfriend on Friday as a little almost half way celebration.

When I saw my RO on Wednesday he said things were looking really good and he has a recommendation of a new MO, so looking forward to that. So far my breast has started to darken a little, I expected that verses red since I have more of an olive complexion. My shoulder is tight so I've been stretching and today I really feel my breast bone area, just lying on a hard surface with my arms stretched out is helping with that. I keep applying the Aquaphor and hoping for the best.

Vivian4 I know I've seen a lot of people with 33 sessions, it seemed like many of them had lymph nodes involved though. I know I was going to have 25-27 if I went the regular route with no lymph nodes. I noticed you had chemo first and was wondering if you mind sharing the reason, it looks like you were a pretty standard Stage 1. It won't hurt to ask you doctor, I know you said you had a verification coming up and might only see the techs, I would advise calling your ROs office, then maybe they can see you when you go in or if they have a nurse that can help answer some questions. Remember you are your best advocate. I'm now interested in what numbers I'm having done, I'll need to ask (I'm a math geek at heart).

Jen2Mom hang in there. I can't imagine teaching while going through this (I was a teacher at one time). It is a performance 100% of the time which is exhausting in itself. I think one of the only reasons I'm working is because I get to work from home and my job can be very flexible on how I get the work done and fortunately I lead a team of amazing people and they've been a big help. Maybe you can work out an adjusted schedule like MWF with a sub on TTH or is it possible to get a sub to come in an help for part of the day. Remember you come first and unfortunately you were dealt this hand. Sending good vibes your way.

Vivian4 - Sorry, I had used 20 instead of 28 @ 1.8 grays so yes, you are just over 60 grays. In any case, it's best to ask, RO, your nurse, one of your techs. Just be persistent until you get any info you want. I had to ask my RO to find out. He almost seemed surprised that I wanted to know the details and I think a lot of people really don't. I want to know before I consent to any medical procedures but I know people who get totally stressed if they know too many details. Everybody has their own comfort level but patients should be made aware the info is available if they want it. Sometimes it's hard to even know what questions we should be asking. Let us know what you find out