Just wanted to hello

Spirit-Harmony

Hi lovely ladies.. I just felt I wanted to say hi to everyone and send love... Its been almost a month since my lumpectomy and things have settled down for now. It seems surreal that over a month ago my life turned upside down and at the moment all is calm.. Everything happens so quickly in the beginning, and then the wait for the next lot of treatment.. I feel lucky so far being on the femara for the last 10 and no sign of the dreaded hot flushes rearing their ugly head (touch wood) or is that still to come? I am having some niggly twinges in my breast, I explained it to my GP it like, a cripple nipple but inside, he laughed...  also on my bra line occasionally like a stitch type grab... I haven't started my radiation as yet, the initial appointment is on the 9th, I must admit though I am a bit scared of the burns that may happen... but compared to some I am very lucky... and it's this lovely forum and support system that has helped me so much, so thank you all so much..   

Romla

@Spirit-Harmony many of the people on here have had great success using MooGoo during radiotherapy. I bought Dermaveen which worked well for me .

Only thing I didn’t like was Sorbolene and noticed few others at my clinic used it either as was supplied in the change rooms for after treatment. The clinic also supplied as an alternative a herbal cream which I and everyone else liked as it was always running out .The clinic in fact stopped supplying Sorbolene and replaced it with Cetaphil.You will need to cream 3 times per day and more if you need it and I was told for 3 months after radiation ended.

Be aware UV seems to activate the region - we went to Cairns a month after treatment and I had to be very careful in the sun.

I also wore front opening Target postop bras during treatment which made things a bit easier.

I had 16 rounds of radiotherapy, am very fair and my skin came thru ok.

Romla

@Spirit-Harmony the radiotherapy clinic at St Andrews hospital supplied Calendula cream.

Some ladies on here have had much success with Mepitel film to protect against burns - you could do a search on here to see their experiences and hopefully someone who has used it will come on here to chat.

Just a quick caution - radiotherapy in public and private system is the same except there can be a huge gap in the private system as it is not considered a hospital treatment by private insurers and thus is only covered by Medicare. .  My excess was $2000.I have learnt that you can blend private surgery with public radiotherapy .The excess can be very high if you have a lengthy course of radiation.

kezmusc

Hey @Spirit-Harmony,

Glad to hear you are doing ok.  (Nipple cripple excluded:)).  Moo goo is the bomb for radiation even if it does smell a bit yuk.   Take it with you and put it on straight after your treatment.  I used it about 5 times a day throughout.

I had 30 rounds of rads and didn't really have any skin problems till the last week and a half.

I used a bit of solosite and manuka gold honey cream in the last week on the ouchy bits and flamazene after I finished which cleared it up within the week. I had no problems with the dreaded fatigue factor either.   Definitely keep that area covered and away from the sun.  

All the best.

xoxoxo

kmakm

My hot flushes ramped up round the three week mark on Letrozole (which is the non-branded Femara). Hope you stay free of them! Longer, stronger, more frequent and sweatier now. 

Spirit-Harmony

kmakm said:

My hot flushes ramped up round the three week mark on Letrozole (which is the non-branded Femara). Hope you stay free of them! Longer, stronger, more frequent and sweatier now. 

Haha thanks for that.. 

Spirit-Harmony

kezmusc said:

Hey @Spirit-Harmony,

Glad to hear you are doing ok.  (Nipple cripple excluded:)).  Moo goo is the bomb for radiation even if it does smell a bit yuk.   Take it with you and put it on straight after your treatment.  I used it about 5 times a day throughout.

I had 30 rounds of rads and didn't really have any skin problems till the last week and a half.

I used a bit of solosite and manuka gold honey cream in the last week on the ouchy bits and flamazene after I finished which cleared it up within the week. I had no problems with the dreaded fatigue factor either.   Definitely keep that area covered and away from the sun.  

All the best.

xoxoxo

Thanks kezmusc.. a friend had mentioned the moo goo to me last week.. and the manuka gold honey cream sounds nice.. xx

kmakm

Sorry!

Spirit-Harmony

no need to be sorry.. I was just meaning thank you for saying so, that just confirms that the moo goo is good, and I hadn't heard of the Manuka honey cream.. xx

beccabecca

My hot flushes started on day 1 of femara so you cld b lucky, but people react differently. 
I used sorbolene cream twice a day for my 25 rounds of radiation & didn't start to burn until the last week. But my skin healed well. It's hard to know how your skin will react, they say it's hard to predict, eg u may tan well normally but burn from radiation & vice versa. 
Best of luck, just make sure you take the time to apply whichever cream you decide a few times a day. I had also heard moo goo was good but after my treatment was over 

JoeyLiz

Hi @Spirit-Harmony the Radiation Therapists will monitor your skin daily and the nurses are available if you need something extra. Mepitel Film is great if your Centre offers it, as ss Moo Goo and several of the others people have mentioned. The skin reaction builds up and usually appears around wk 3 and peaks a wk after finishing. Everyone is different some ladies barely go pink while others suffer badly unfortunately you just can’t predict it. Best wishes and sing out if you have any Radiation questions I can help with xx

Spirit-Harmony

JoeyLiz said:

Hi @Spirit-Harmony the Radiation Therapists will monitor your skin daily and the nurses are available if you need something extra. Mepitel Film is great if your Centre offers it, as ss Moo Goo and several of the others people have mentioned. The skin reaction builds up and usually appears around wk 3 and peaks a wk after finishing. Everyone is different some ladies barely go pink while others suffer badly unfortunately you just can’t predict it. Best wishes and sing out if you have any Radiation questions I can help with xx

Thanks so much @JoeyLiz x

Spirit-Harmony

beccabecca said:

My hot flushes started on day 1 of femara so you cld b lucky, but people react differently. 
I used sorbolene cream twice a day for my 25 rounds of radiation & didn't start to burn until the last week. But my skin healed well. It's hard to know how your skin will react, they say it's hard to predict, eg u may tan well normally but burn from radiation & vice versa. 
Best of luck, just make sure you take the time to apply whichever cream you decide a few times a day. I had also heard moo goo was good but after my treatment was over 

Thanks @b@beccabecca, heres hoping they don't come back xx