Anyone else have pain after first whole breast radiation?

Hi there,

I wanted to apologize for not showing back up. I got a chance to house sit while finishing radiation and needed that chance to get away. The place is old, no wifi, not great phone signal. I was worried at first, but it turned out to be great- I just focused on the property and my treatments, and simply needed that time.

I did have ups and downs, I think I my perfectly fine lymph nodes were irradiated, exactly as I clearly begged all involved not to do. I am probably going to have to take legal action on that- as they had in writing (a form they gave me, btw) that I did not give permission to involve any lymph nodes that were not in the breast tissue.

Otherwise, I used every suggestion I could find from this forum. I put lotion on immediately after each session, and reapplied several times a day- even when I wasn't burnt. As a result, thanks to you all, I only had burns along the inside of my breast, where I think sunlight got in (it was July/August and I was naively wearing my light, wide neckline summer shirts). The blisters were bad, I'm not gonna lie, and I still have them more than a month later).

I had problems with raw throat and hiccups in my first few treatments, but they went away as soon as I started breathing correctly. Even though it was my right breast, I found myself for my initial few treatments, tensing up and basically hyperventilating out of fear. Once I got myself to calm down, use my stomach area to pull breath in and out, and breathe shallowly, the throat pain and hiccups went away.

For weeks after I finished treatment, the area where I got the boost got more and more burnt everyday. My nipple hasn't recovered. It is swollen and never calms down. It hurts. I worry that it will never be okay. The skin around the nipple is darker than any of my skin has ever been, and under my arm, where I should not be burnt, it's tan too, but not as bad.

I bought some glutathione to help support healing and lighten the skin. I am supposed to take it orally, but I'd read that that is not a good idea, as it also gives cancer a boost and helps it proliferate. So I am only using it topically. For me, it seems to really help with pain. But, I don't think it's lightening a thing.

Thank you, everyone, for your kind support. Despite my being unexpectedly without internet so I didn't even realize what was happening, I am grateful for you wonderful advice and kind words.