Radiation February 2019

Tomorrow is my 25th of 28!! My boob is very red, bordering on neon. Some of it is dry/peeling, just like from a bad sunburn. But my skin is intact and all in all, it is totally tolerable. I just went out for lunch w two friends and didn't think about my boob once. Throughout I have used the right creams (Camwell was my favorite for soothingness, but the steroid ointment my RO prescribed has been the best for reducing the burn). Domeboro is an astringent you can use as a compress that was very relieving and it helps the peeling process turn over new skin.

I was very afraid of having horrible skin reactions because my skin is extremely sensitive and fair, but it is definitely not worse than a couple of bad sunburns I remember from my teen years. Lately I do have some nerves-hooking-up pain that I I assume is rads-related, due to inflamed tissue. But it may also be plain old post surgical nerve zingers. Either way I have only taken anything once (benadryl for itch relief/ to sleep - worked perfectly).

Mostly I can just ignore it, and if it's ignorable I consider myself very lucky!

Thanks for the reassurance... I am seeing the RO today and will mention it, but I am pretty sure it's normal.

So question for my radiation buddies, it has been almost 5 weeks since I wrapped up. The redness was gone after about 1-2 weeks, but interestingly enough it has turned into a tan...lol. I have gotten sunburned in the past and it has turned into a tan, this issue is when I tan it lasts for months. Anyone having their lines fade? Also I've noticed several freckles pop up (or maybe they are age spots) in that area and some have raised up a little bit. I was going to email the nurse that works with my RO and ask her but I thought I would throw it out there.

Hello all, and thanks for sharing in this thread. Congratulations and quick healing to all who have finished already!

I started rads in late Feb, and have now had 17/25. I'm now getting to the sorry-for-myself not-just-red, getting-pretty-sore-and-itchy stage. Today I'm working from home, topless, and it is so much more comfortable. Just a couple of months ago, topless meant going without a head covering! Lucky it's warm early autumn here. A real problem, though is keeping the radiated area which includes my clavicle area, out of the sun. I has become really sensitive and I just need to cover it completely. With something super soft. That's a huge reduction in wardrobe options right there:-) It's the detail that gets you, isn't it? The car seatbelt now rubs in the wrong place, so I'll arrange something soft to shield that. And my beautiful grandchildren who are small and express their love very physically! I am so in awe of people who managed to teach through this.

The whole radiation treatment process is remarkably hard emotionally. That came as something of a shock - I'm pretty resilient normally and I really did not expect it to hit me so hard. It didn't help that a couple of mis and poor communications early on undermined my trust in the process. I am so grateful for a couple of ladies on similar schedules who I see in the waiting room most days. We've been a great encouragement for each other.

Thanks again to all of you for sharing so much of your advice and experience! [Back to drafting this risk management policy]

28/28, and I am done with rads. I am very, very happy to be finished. My rads experience has been very good, but I am definitely ready to stop! I have been at a dead run since being diagnosed last July, so its very nice to be finished with treatment!!! AT LAST!!

My rads center plays the "Rocky" music when you leave the treatment wing and go back out into the lobby, after the last treatment! Everyone hugs you, from the nurses to the techs to the front desk people. It was so sweet! My boob is red and sore, my skin peeling, but I feel wonderful!

Thank you! - you know, funnily enough, I really appreciated that Rocky music! It was sweet and so validating. We walk such a hard road during treatment -- it's nice to get some triumphant music when we get to the end!

The "Seven" cream someone at Rads told me about is providing a ton of relief. My scaly redness already looking better and I bet in 2 weeks it will be gone.

Courage to all of you still on the road -- and realize that triumphant music will be playing soon!

Misha I am sorry to hear that! I think there is something called post radiation fibrosis, could that be a match? If so there is a drug you can take to lessen it. Pentoxifylline. I'd call your RO. and ask about it.... I hope you find an answer soon.

Yeah, I feel like things have gotten tighter recently too, despite stretching and yoga. I'm seeing a PT tomorrow for unrelated issues but plan to ask her about that too.

I think that I should have started seeing a PT far earlier in this process because every treatment has had some side effect that could have benefitted from some physical therapy starting with surgery. Just in the past month I've been diagnosed with lymphedema though I had developed cording in my armpit and down my arm very soon after surgery in mid-December. It was not made clear to me that cording and lymphedema are related. Otherwise I would definitely have seen a PT when it was first mentioned rather than just doing the stretching on my own to get rid of the cording. By seeing a PT at that point, perhaps I could have addressed the lymphedema earlier and avoided the swelling in my arm.

I didn't think I was likely to get lymphedema given only a few nodes were removed, but then I was recently reminded that those nodes were unusually large. This suggests that even though they were few in number, they probably did the work of many more.

And to know now that radiation aggravates and even causes lymphedema makes it even more important to get to a PT at the earliest opportunity to make sure it doesn't get worse. Of course even without lymphedema, radiation affects the muscles directly, causing that tightness.

So I would say that PT should be recommended or at least discussed thoroughly from the outset, even before surgery if that's your first intervention like it was for me. Before any intervention, probably. My two cents.

HPFULL-Shingles! That sounds horrible. Not what you were expecting I’m sure. Definitely agree that p/t from the start would be beneficial.

PiperKay-thanks for sharing your story! I had cording in my armpit too, but it, thankfully, didn’t go down my arm as well.

OTMom-Thanks for passing on what your p/t said. I will do a better job of being consistent. I think I’m going to try some moist heat to relax the muscles as well.

Prayers for us all and continued healing!

Mymomsgirl-Thanks for your reply! I think you all are right that it’s time for some p/t. I am the type who wants to fix everything on my own and this seems to not be working. I’m really surprised at how tight it got after rads was over. I’m so done with side effects!!

Hugs to all!