Radiation February 2019

OTMom: Thanks for the update...Nice to know that things do kinda get back to normal!

this is my last week...I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and not a moment too soon! This week is 5 boosts so hopefully my underarm will begin to heal, it has opened up over the weekend! I am looking for something to do for my radiation team...I see like 6 techs that have rotated through the weeks I've been there and they are all so nice, does anyone have any ideas of small gifts of appreciation?

OTMom, your post brightened up my day. Thank you for the update.

Prissy, congratulations you've made it!

HPFULL, you are a few days ahead of me. I appreciate your posts very much. I also have that tight feeling under my arm. LE exercises seem to help. But I do not know if this is something temporary or permanent. Have you asked your doctor about it? Would they know if they are radiating a muscle in that area? Do muscles regenerate after radiation? How soon?

Has anyone else experienced this?

Santabarbarian, I am glad that your natural products have worked well for you.

UpstateNY, I don't think they can tell if the margins are clear during the surgery. My surgeon told me that once they are in, they go by feeling--apparently tumor feels different to touch then the healthy tissue. There is something called wire localization (if I remember the name right), though, where the radiologist put tinny wires through your skin to point the exact place of the tumor. That helps guide the surgeon. It hurts to be pierced but you may want to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of it with your surgeon. My tumor was small and I asked my surgeon to request it.

Today was day 14 of my rads. My boob has begun to get angry about these daily radiation showers. Some parts of it are red and some are getting a tanned look. The tissue under the skin feels heavy, achy all over. It doesn't like anything touching it or any jiggling motions. Slow-Motion-Topless days at home have begun....

OT Mom - I think you & I are on the same timeline.  My 2 weeks post rads is tomorrow, the 26th.  I know exactly what you mean by feeling "much more like myself than I have in months".  Most of my skin has peeled with the exception of my boost area and some small areas still left in my underarm and the bottom side of my breast.  That boost area is still much redder than the rest and more tender.  This weekend we went to the Seattle Home Show and I walked a lot.  It felt really good to do that even if I did take a nap when I got home.  Exactly as you mentioned, I'm also dreading starting hormone therapy.  I suspect this clear headedness and energy I have might be a fleeting feeling.  One thing my MO told me that I'm hanging onto is: "Just because you swallow that first pill, doesn't commit you to it for 5 years."  I'm going into this with high hopes but if the SE's outweigh the risk, I know can change the plan if I need to.  My medical team (Surgeon, RO, MO) all told me that most patients don't have side effects.  I think they really mean that most don't have debilitating SE's. All of the actual AI users I have talked to still have to deal with some type of SE's.  Plus, I'll have to also be on a bisphosphonate which carries it's own set of SE's. Sigh...

Here's to moving forward!

Upstate, why are your doctors doing your wire localization 5 days before your surgery? Wouldn't that increase the risk of spreading cancer through blood stream? May be I am overly imaginative person, but this made me worried for you.

Also it is not painless to have the wires in. I began getting sore after an hr. Are you sure you want to walk around with wires in your breast for 5 days?

I had sentinel node injection (the tracer injection) the afternoon of the day prior to my surgery, and the wire placement was the morning of surgery day. Maybe you can ask for that?

How’s everyone doing? 6 down, 15 to go. So far so good, haven’t noticed any change.

kec1972: I am 8 down and 13 to go and so far I also have not noticed any changes.

Interesting to hear that there are so many different protocols for the same procedures. On the day of my surgery, I checked in and got changed into a gown. They wheeled me into radiology to place my wire. They then wheeled me right back to my surgery cubicle and I waited there until it was my turn in the OR. I received my tracer dye 1st thing during surgery, then lumpectomy, then they did my sentinel nodes. I didn't even have to walk anywhere with the wire in, let alone travel or sleep. 😳

hello Vivian, HPFULL, Santabarbarian, & others, I made that phone call today, and the surgeon's nurse spoke at length to me about needle localization. I will not be getting an actual wire, as many of you had done. Apparently, I will be having the Savi Scout placed. There will be no actual wire placed in my breast. What happens is a needle goes in and places a reflective marker about the size of a dime around the tumor site. This marker allows the surgeon with a scanner to locate the exact tumor location in the operating room. The marker has a reflective characteristic to it and really helps the surgeon to get to the precise cancerous area and tissue it needs. It can even be placed months before the actual surgery, so my getting it 5 days before surgery is no big deal. They told me that they have been doing it this way instead of using the wire for about a year now in the hospital where I will be having my surgery. It will be one less thing to think about on the day of surgery. I will get the sentinel node injection the day before surgery. So when I check in to the hospital at 6:00am Mar. 20th., I will be all prepared and ready to go for surgery and IORT. Thanks to all of you for your input and concern.

Just an update, I'm 27 out of 30. I'm def burning and peeling this week. Very uncomfortable and I'm going to take off work tomorrow bc I was so grouchy today. The dr prescribed silverdine and hopefully that will give some relief!

Still 3 to go on the whole breast + 4 boosts after that.

Got super pink today. Some itching but doable.

Applying calendula on top of Eucerin.

kec1972 I'm 5 down and 15 to go. I seem a little pinker after yesterday's treatment but not bad. Still have some sensitivity but I think that is healing from surgery not a reaction to the radiation (yet). I'm applying a lot of aloe at least 3 times a day.

Great to hear from all of you! KerLyn congrats on being done! Hope healing continues to go well. MrsEO-I had my lumpectomy on 1/7, just had my 7th treatment(out of 21) today. So far no pinkness but I do feel pain at my scar site(upper outer quadrant). Doing lots of pure aloe and lotion, staying hydrated. We got this

Thanks Vivian. I will post after meeting for consult with RO next week. I still have many questions regarding IORT procedure. I am now looking forward to just getting it all done and behind me. Waiting is tough. How did everyone cope with your wait before having surgery? I try to take walks, exercise, doing my "honey-do" chores, etc. My doctor prescribed Xanax for me too, but I only take it when I can't sleep now. I had to take it right after dx, as it was before MRI was done, and before I knew full biopsy report. MRI did not indicate nodal involvement, but won't know for sure until surgery and lymph nodes are checked then. Prayers to those going through surgery, radiation and the challenges that go along with it. God Bless.