Radiation Burn Treatment

Jodpri

Hi 
Can anyone recommend anything to treat my severe radiation burns on my Breast . 

JoeyLiz

Hi @Jodpri so sorry your radiation skin reaction has gotten severe. How far through your treatment are you? As that will impact what you can do. I would contact your radiation nurses for an appointment and let them see your skin, they are specifically trained for it. In the meantime you could try some aloe Vera to sooth, or lay cold cabbage leaves on your skin. Avoid wearing a bra or any tight fitting clothes that may rub the area. 
I hope the nurses can help x

Jodpri

Thanks JoeyLiz
My last one tomorrow,Yahoooo. I am in a lot of pain and my boob is red roar all over but the nurses have given me this Gelinet gauze which seems to take the pain away but I just thought i would put it out there in case someone new of some trick or product for it to heal ASAP. Lol

JoeyLiz

Oh congrats on finishing tomorrow! The nurses tommorow should be able to give you something different once you have finished, unfortunately it may get worse before it gets better. But remember you can go back to the nurses for dressings etc. Best wishes!

Michele B

Hi @Jodpri,
I burnt quite badly thru radiation too. My oncologist would only allow sorbolene, howevwr just before o finished my gp, who is also a herbalist gave me some calendula cream. It was a godsend, helped burns heal really quickly. I had aome.bad ones under my arm which were really painful.  
Hope you find some relief soon.
Michele xxx

strongtogether

Just had our first radiation therapy today. Using the mepitel film. How well do they last? Five weeks seems like a long time to not get them wet!

Sister

@strongtogether It seems that every clinic has their own protocol with this.  At mine, they suggested that it come off each weekend and they reapplied on Mondays before treatment (as well as fixing any problems during the week if the film started to lift).  So, on the weekends I was able to wash properly and apply moisturiser.  I only did 15 session (higher intensity) but I had very little burning.  A small area was very tender about 3 weeks after the treatment finished but that was it.

Jodpri

thank you

Anne65

@strongtogether I am a HUGE advocate of the mepitel film. My rad onc & the private facility where I had the treatment were very much in favor of using this film & knew a lot about it. It was relatively new 2 yrs ago when I had my treatment which was 15 doses. You are supposed to leave it on the entire time. Once it is removed, it loses its value & use to your skin as when you remove it, it can also damage to the upper layer of your skin. I was seen by a nurse every day before my treatment to check it out as if there are any tears or bubbles, they have to be fixed so yes, some daily patching may be required. Yes, you do feel like a cryovac chicken for a few weeks but it is worth it. I did not have any redness, burning, peeling or skin irritation at all. You would not have even known i had rad treatment so it is worth persevering & you do get used to it. You can certainly get it wet. Just shower carefully & the nurse will repair any damage to the film each day. You DO NOT use any moisturizers while wearing the film. That is another advantage of using it. You have to keep it on around 3 weeks after you finish the treatment as the rad peaks at that time so you must keep it on. i was allowed to remove the film myself after this time & then I used moisturizers not because I was red, just because my skin had been wrapped up for so long so it felt nice! My 2 y.o. great niece called it my "invisible skin" & it did make me feel very protected after I got used to it. Good luck & just make sure you continually get checked out for any tears etc so it works efficiently. if you dont, you may as well not be using it as it loses its efficiency. Good luck xx 

Beryl C.

I had 15 'zaps' last year and used MooGoo Udder Cream (a moisturiser) every day - I had no discomfort. Stocked by chemists.