radiation!
mg2
Member Posts: 16 ✭
feeling concerned that my radiation is not happening soon enough , my surgery was on 17th dec and my first radiation is not starting till 27 January ,is it usually this long??
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my understanding is that they do,allow 6-8 weeks,on average before they start radiation , in order for any wounds to heal properly . You’re having yours in a ok timeframe I believe . I had my lumpectomy and sentinel ‘lymph node excisions on 4th jan and am now waiting for,radiation referral,and first appointment to plan and discuss .I’d originally been told,4,weeks but breast care nurse amended that when I enquired again at surgery1
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the waiting is the worse part , it does your head in, im scared its going to come back as i have been told after my surgery that i was always high risk2
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I had a lumpectomy early March followed by a re- excision to get clear margins 2 weeks later.My radiotherapy started mid April so sounds about right.
Radiotherapy in our cases is a mop up exercise for any stray cancer cells.For others it can be used to shrink the tumour.
Given you are LHS and on chest wall you’ll be taught how to lift the breast away from the heart at the mapping session. 16 rounds of radiotherapy is quite light so skin damage will be minimal if you cream up 3-4 times daily with a good emollient. I liked Calendula cream but many on here liked moo goo.You will be given instructions about this. A front opening bra will help the process. Amoena bras are great but I didn’t know about so bought 2 from Target - they do get grubby.
The worst thing about radiotherapy for me was finding a park .The mapping session takes around 45 mins and each round takes about 15 mins - mostly getting changed and redressed.
After it’s all finished expect a few days of engulfing tiredness so plan ahead for it with meals and your activities.
Finally heat and UV will activate the radiated breast even with a rashie.Probably best to stay out of the sun until things settle down - a few weeks.
PS I am a very fair red head and had same cycle as you - all went well and my skin held up fine.4 -
thank you so much for all your advise, did you have the hormone tabs after as well for 5 years , if so how are you going with that???0
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ps do you get the creams at the chemist??
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The calendula cream you can get at chemist. Look up Moo Goo online to find stockists. There is a Cetaphil product and Dermaveen also at supermarkets too. There are a lot of good emollients but avoid Sorbolene as it’s smelly and sticky. If you are small chested you may be offered Mepitel film to protect your skin and I believe creaming is unnecessary.I am on Letrozole and have been for 3 and half years. It’s doable but there are side effects you need to work around. Walking daily for an hour helps with joint stiffness which lasted a few months until my body adapted. I ‘ve had a few tendon/ muscle issues needing physio and time.Did you see the responses yet to your post called Lobular cancer. Also look on RHS there is a group specifically for those of us with Lobular breast cancer that may be useful.
Hope the above helps.1 -
with luck you may find you get offered a product called mepitel
. Sorta like a,heavy plastic wrap which by all accounts wraps around chest/breast and protects skin from burning. There’s a few pros and cons to,it but I’m certainly going to,ask for it when i see my radiation consultants .Do a google search on it , plus search here for others comments .
I have seen pics of patients radiation burns without it . I know here on Sunshine Coast they use it . It may not be readily available where you are but do some research and ask.I’ll,also be starting hormone treatment soon but to be honest I haven’t discussed it with oncologist as it’s almost the last step in my treatment and I’m only now even thinking of it ( before it was getting through step 1 chemo, then the side effects with PN and heart issues with herceptin , then step 2 surgery).0 -
@noosa_blue150 good on you for doing the Mepitel 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻0
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hi Mg2 I had lumpectomy 14 December my radiotherapy starting 27 Jan. Similar to you. I live remotely 500km from treatment so had all appointments at once last week & have already had the Tatt markers also was told about the plastic shield (metaphil ? Couldn’t remember the name) they put a sample on my inner wrist as a test to ensure no reaction to it. So plan to have that.Hope yours all goes well. Thanks for the rad tips everyone. xx2
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@SIro I think the plastic shield is different. They make it from the form of your actual chest, and you wear it when you’re irradiated. From what I understood (and was quite confusing) it acts as extra tissue for radiation to be more effective.Mepitel is a prophylactic dressing, very similar to cling wrap, that you also wear during treatment, but it stays on you 24/7. It’s a lot thinner and lighter than the plastic shield.I had both breasts done, so I took my shields home when treatment finished. They look like Wonder Woman’s top 😆😄🥰1
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Hi FL Clover, Thanks I don’t think I described it very well but mine will be the cling wrap one Mepitel which is replaced often. So no wonder women shield for me. 😄 Has been good to to read the tips from others on getting it patched & replaced regularly.I understand you can’t swim during radiotherapy so having lots of last swims this week at home with 40+c weather. Travelling to Canberra for treatment so will be lot cooler there won’t need to have a dip.3
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I’ve also read recommendations by others here of a cream called strataXRT for radiation skin.1
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@mg2 I had a lumpectomy in December 2017 & started radiation treatment in Feb/March the following year. The main reason it was that late is that I had to have genetic testing done beforehand & my rad onc wanted the results before he started the rad treatment as if I came back positive, it may have effected my treatment plan & whether I was to go ahead with it or not. Luckily, I was negative so the treatment went ahead as planned.
As mentioned above by others, I used Mepitel film through the course of my treatment & cant speak highly enough of it. I had NO redness, irritation, peeling or burning & would recommend it to anyone who is able to have it. One of the many benefits is when you use it, you dont have to use ANY creams with it as the mepitel film covers your entire radiation area. Once i removed the film, 3 weeks after treatment, I used calendula cream just to soothe it as it had been wrapped up for 5 weeks, not because I was burnt. Good luck with your treatment xx1
