anyone starting radiation in September

Hi Kim,

I'll be starting rads in Sept. I had my last chemo on Tuesday and meet with the rad onc this coming Tuesday. I'm told I'll start rads a week or two after that. I thought I'd get more of a chance to recover, too. When was your last chemo?

How are you holding up? I'm feeling rather vulnerable again. Not looking forward to the CT Scan my onc is scheduling or waiting for the results. Worried about how my body will handle the rads. I'm hoping I'll feel more optimistic the further from my last chemo I get.

I do get to have my rads at a brand new facility just down the road from my house instead of 15 miles away in the next town over. So relieved they take my insurance and the staff has been so nice and helpful. I so need helpful right now! lol

i start aug 27th. had a PET scan the 15th, and simulation on the 13th.
does that count?
i finished chemo 7/11. it's been nice to have a few weeks of feeling good.
hey, cynthia.

Terri, that definitely counts!! Welcome... the way I figure it, the more the merrier in terms of support
They called me again this morn as they need to take some blood before they can put in the picc line as you cannot draw blood from it like a port...one more, one more, my mantra!!
Have a good wkd. gals
Cath

How many are you doing Watersprite?? Looks like our dx was very similar. Where is Dixie??

does anyone have their list of do's and don'ts? i lost mine and i start tmrw.

Looks like I too will be in the Sept. group. I had thought Aug. but they called today and I will start Sept 6th. I finished 7 months of chemo in May, had left breast mast. with no reconstruction on June 25th and now I think 35 treatments.
It has been a long wait, dr. on holidays...am anxious to get this over with.I had my tattoes and simulation last week.

Terri how did the first day go?

Congrats to you all on being ready to start radiation. I finished 33 tx on May 17 and it was so easy for me. My skin got a little red at the end but no blistering and then I started to peel one day and that was all. The dr said my skin held up well. You will do great. The actual tx only takes a few minutes and you will meet some really great people, whether they be techs or other patients waiting on their tx. I wish you all the best. It gets easier from here on out. Just take the worrying about everything else one day at a time and find your new normal. You;re going to make it. WE are all here for each other and we will get through it. Bonny

if you need a smile, click on this link: http://www.mommasaid.net/wackywigcontest.aspx

the founder of this site finishes chemo in a few weeks, and she had her family members send her the worst wigs they could find. if you click on the link, you can vote for the worst wig. there's a mullet, a Las Vegas hooker one, a Cruella DeVille one....

cynthia, have u met yr new rad onc yet? do u like him.her? mine wants me to meet with him or his partner weekly. he looks like Saul Rubinek with a beard.

p.s. you have far more hair than me. this is not fair. i have little wispy WHITE hairs that no one can see.

Terri - I have not met the new onc who will replace mine who is retiring. He isn't due to start for 60 days, so I may not meet him until my 3 month follow-up after finishing rads.

That photo of me was taken right after I shaved my head the first time. I'm reluctant to tell you this, but I actually have more hair than that. My hair started to grow back after my 3rd AC, so I guess I have about 15 wks of growth now. It isn't fair, I agree!

I'll try to attach a photo when I feel up to figuring out how to do it. lol

Kim - so glad you had a great appt. I was so relieved after my appt also.

Cynthia

Hi everyone,

I had my simulation today and they're do a dry-run next Thurs. I'm looking forward to getting started. The only thing I didn't like today was when he did my tatoos. The one in the center of my chest hurt like nobody's business. lol Guess I won't be getting any fun tatoos in my life.

Cynthia

I am actually seriously considering getting a tattoo. You can get this cream that you put on beforehand to gel the area What the heck...can't be worse than the chemo which I finally finished Tuesday...Yahoo!!
Cynthia,my tatts did not hurt at all. They must have been rough with you.
Kim, my hair is growing but very unevenly so I shaved it. I had a mohawk which is not exactly my fav. hairstyle...sheesh
I, too, am looking forward to getting this party started and over... but will it ever be over?? Scary...
take care all!!
Cath

Hi all,

I just got a call from the Imaging place and my CT Scan is ordered for Nov. I had just assumed when my onc said let's do a CT Scan that he meant now. Is anyone else not getting any scans prior to starting rads? I hate being the odd person out. lol

Cynthia

Cath - I had that, too, but did you have another CT Scan, also (like with the contrast medium)? Maybe, I'm just misunderstanding everyone who says they're having a CT Scan prior to rads and they just mean the one we get during the simulation? I hadn't thought of that until just now. lol

My onc hasn't said anything about another MUGA. I wouldn't mind having another for comparison purposes, either.

Cynthia

I had a CAT scan, Mugga, Bone Scan, CAT Cardiology Stress Test, and another CAT after finding broken bones, spurs, cysts, and rib break on the Bone Scan. Assume they were checking for mets. pre-chemo. Had a PET after chemo.

I was told the CAT Scans in the Radiology are a different imaging process designed for mapping and assuring the beams are correct as the treatment continued.

Tattoo lady was "fresh" out of tech school; poked some nerves and even forgot to put one of the tatoos on. She was sweet, but it hurt like heck.

Glad to hear you are doing well; Seemed like my 32 treatments flew by; but I have lost all sense of time since chemo A/C x 4, then 12 weekly Taxol.

I used 100% lilly-of the-desert aloe gel and kept it in the frige, used it as soon as I got home (after taking a shower using neutragena liquid frangrance free soap). Applied it before bed, as well. Used it on my arms, neck, back, stomach, everywhere. Brought the "drink" jug at a health food store, but only used it on my skin. Ingredients the same, a little watery, but lots of it and less expensive. Also bought the gel in a tube, used that on the radiated areas.

It was, overall, a painless procedure. I was spooking myself, afterall; last rad was Halloween, 06. The pains I encountered occurred 3 months after the treatment. The chemo onc. and surgeon said it was due to nerves growing back, hematoma, taxol, and cummulative effects of radiation combined with everything else.

My Rads Oncologist gave me my portfolio and said goodbye.
He had no plans to follow up, and leaves that to the other doctors. I suppose it's good, meaning the treatment was successful(hoping); no burns, no discoloration, not even shrinkage. Exercising and physicial therapy are worth looking into; I have shoulder and back/neck/shoulder blad pains which crept up after 4 or 5 months. Nobody's talking as to what or why, but found out I'm anemic and suspect it's one of the culprits.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you all!
Be well, be loved, and today is another beautiful moment in time!

Indi