Radiation after lumpectomy

@Anne65  I'm guessing you're heading home today if you've not already gone and that rads are done.  Woohoo!  I hope your skin has held out until the end!

@arpie I’d not recommend Sorbolene - the Radiotherapy clinic I went to supplied it and Calendula cream in the change rooms - the latter always ran out whilst the other was barely used.By the end of my treatment they had replaced Sorbolene with Cetaphil.I used at home Dermaveen which is colloidal oatmeal which I found worked well whilst many others on here swear by Moo Goo.

@Romla, @sandramj, @JoeyLiz, @Anne65, 

Many thanks for your kind responses.  I’d never read/heard that itchiness would ever be an issue, so am glad (sort of) that I haven’t imagined it!  LOL

When I mentioned it today to one of the nurses, they knew about it and recommended I put the Sorbelene cream in the fridge to cool it down!  MORE than happy to suss out some of that cream, Anne!

Hehe, I’ve been rubbing it more than scratching it .... I don’t normally wear the bra, but did as I spent the weekend salt water fly fishing with buddies and thought I’d need the extra ‘support’ given the extra physical exertion (a cast of thousands for NO FISH. :( ) I wore one!

There is no pain or discomfort, so I am not too concerned .... just glad to know that it is ‘normal’!!

All the best with your final week of treatment, @Anne65 ... Congratulations on your handling of your journey to date .. the odd hiccup, but a commanding finish!!  xx Lots of hugs and xxx coming your way. :smiley:

@arpie just thought i'd let you know that the rad nurse at the hospital gave me Cortic -DS 1% cream for my itchiness during rad treatment. It is especially for redness, itching & inflammation of the skin during treatment. It has hydrocortisone acetate 10mg/g in it. She even said i could use it over the Mepitel if i get itchy which i have started to do. Hope this helps & ask your nurse at the treatment centre as i'm sure she will have a free sample of something for you. I was given this one. Hope it helps & good luck for the rest of treatment. I'm off for my last week in the morning. I will have to get up at 4.30am to get to Adelaide in time so not a good start to the week but i sleep better in my own bed. Good luck my friend. Always thinking of you. Hugs xxxx 

@arpie solugel kept in the fridge should help with the itch or a corticosteroid cream. Try not to scratch but I can only imagine how hard that must be! :)

Yep itchy at times, sore nipple and boob like I used to get before a period. Now at 67 I’m hoping to not start up periods again.  Although that’s possible to be a side effect of the hormone tablets they didn’t tell us about in case we talked ourselves into it.  Weird nipple & orange peel look of boob and my boob was red and hotter than the other one soon after surgery and before radiation. But at least yhexbc was cut out & radiated. 

I did have dry skin  and a hot boob on and off for months - tbh still nearly 10 months later is hotter than other side. Would something like Moo Goo or Calendula cream etc help with the irritation ?

Has anyone had their boob go extremely itchy?  It happened on the weekend!  I seemed to be 'rubbing it' constantly!  Having the soft bra on made it easier to rub!  Weird!  I'd not heard of itchy boobs before!!

All is good with the other half  -  I reckon we've got his pain control down pat now!  I just need to go back to the Drs and convince them he needs some more Panadeine Forte as we run out tomorrow!  grrr

@sandramj
Thank you so much for your comforting words ..... I am SO glad that you have found your Angel numerous times & it appears to be playing hide and seek with you!   Sadly my Angel pendant hasn't turned up.  I went back to all the places I'd visited during the day & left my name & number in the vain hope it would be found by someone & handed in .... but sadly, no.

@Anne65
WELL DONE on your final week of treatment .... how wonderful is that?  It is Great that you aren't 'too pink' - I hope it doesn't blister .... and that the Mepitel is basically doing its job.  Make sure you DO take it easy this week, as that 'flat feeling' may well stay with you - as well as the lack of sleep .... just make sure you are really concentrating when on the road home again - or maybe have a couple of days extra in Adelaide before heading home.  I hope the pain isn't too much & that it doesn't increase.  I hope you DO crawl into bed & get some badly needed quality sleep. xx

Thank you so much for your kind words re my stress ..... no, the pendant never reappeared - it must have fallen off when I was walking somewhere away from where the chain fell.  :(  I've reconciled myself to that face now - but am still sad.

Yes, I am planning to travel up to Qld to spend some time with her when this is all over - last time we met in happier circumstances, at my sister's wedding (before this was diagnosed.) She was gutted when I told her - but has  been my rock ever since.

That weekend we went to Coffs Harbour & my husband did his triathlon & won his age group, NSW champ & qualified for the Tri World Champs in Qld in Sept!  

Then the Tale of Woe continues ...... 
So we were over the moon .... then on Monday (when he should have been resting after the race) the silly old bugger got onto his training bike - and fell off, landing on a Parking Bollard ... damaging his ribs.  He managed to 'turn' mid fall, to avoid landing on his shoulder .... so the ambos were rung & he was taken to Emergency & Xrayed - they couldn't find any apparent damage and gave strong pain killers for a few days, tho it will take 6 weeks (prob more) for the pain to recede.  He HATES taking tablets!  :(  Then on Tues afternoon, the pain came back acutely - so the ambos were called again & we were told to take the meds every 4hrs instead of 6hrs .... so I had to get up at Midnight & 4am to make sure he took them as he has mild dementia (and is in his 80s.)  Did this the following night too.  Then he ran out of the tough meds & had to go back to just paracetamol as they wouldn't give him strong stuff again!  :(  

Up at Port Macquarie - I went back to Uke this Wed & had a great time.  My group has also been asked to perform at the Relay for Life Cancer Fundraising the weekend before Easter back at home - so I hope to be able to lead them in the playing!  

Came back home yesterday & early this morning, he was in acute pain again and I called the ambos again as it was way worse than the other times!  At home, I had found some panadeine forte & ibuprofen & thought they'd be better than just paracetamol .... and the ambos agreed.  Pain management is SO tricky .... he has to take them 6hrly with food .....  so another 1am call tomorrow morning then the next at 7am.

I got him settled after the ambos left - and after arranging 2 buddies to drop in on him during the day - I left to go fly fishing with a heap of buddies in town this week - and will go again tomorrow.  Didn't catch anything today tho!  :(  (All Catch & Release, of course!)

One of my Uke buddies dropped off 3 lovely cooked meals this afternoon, for our stay at home this weekend!  SUCH a sweetie!

My Treatment is actually going really well - so far .... like you - I am a little pink but no real pain .... the boob has been very itchy tho!!  Weird!  The nursing staff are all so wonderful - as is the lady Manager of the Rotary Lodge in Port.  She has been a real support for me and is just a lovely human being.

Some days are better than others - but most are just fine! .... I am sure that if I hadn't had any of these dramas, that I'd be sailing thru it!  :neutral:  I was quite upset this morning with the ambos & they just said to 'let it all out'!   

Wishing you well for your final week - do you get to ring a bell at the end of treatment down there??   Maybe a glass or two of some of your best wine? :smiley:

Take care, my friends, stay safe, - I am thinking of everyone who is still going thru treatment or about to start - especially those who are doing it 'tough' xxx ...... it IS ok to get upset now & then .... cos there is a very real chance of the wheels falling off at ANY time ..... 

@Sister @Janny54 @arpie @sandramj How lovely to receive your wonderful posts when I got home! Thankyou for your love & support. My rad treatment is going well & I am doing the breath hold around 6 times each treatment. My last treatment is Thursday so 3 to go!! I am only a little pink so the Mepitel film which covers half my chest & back, is doing the job but i do visit the nurse every day to get it trimmed, replaced or just checked out. I have started to feel a bit of pain this week so I think i am doing too much even though my family are constantly telling me to slow down. I am not sleeping very much at all & since my 2 1/2 hr drive home yesterday, I am felling so very tired & flat & feel a bit "off" today so i reckon the wheels are starting to fall off which i have be warned about! The staff said the fatigue can hit you very suddenly so i will have to slow down next week i think. i have so much I wanted to do this weekend but just feel like crawling into bed!!!!!!!!!!! @Janny54 Sounds like you know exactly how i feel having gone through it as well with the Mepitel & at the same hospital! You did have to endure 6 weeks of it which would have been hard as I only have to have 16 treatments. I agree with you, the staff are just wonderful there & can't do enough for you. i will actually miss them when it is all finished!! @Sister Thanks my friend, for always thinking of me as i am of you. Don't ever apologise for not posting as you are going through so much more than me! I hope your chemo is going OK & you are not feeling too unwell. It must be so hard to stay positive all the time but you are a strong women & as each treatment passes, you are closer to the end. i wish you courage, strength & much love. @sandramj Thanks for the beautiful words & pictures you posted. You are a constant source of inspiration & this forum is so lucky to have someone with your wisdom & strength on it. @arpie hello, my little uke friend! How is your rad going? I have been thinking of you as we are both going through this together. Sounds like you have had some rough days you poor thing. I wonder if you have found your pendant yet? You have received some beautiful words from this forum & your uke friend & i hope this has comforted you. i totally understand why it upset you so much as i would have done the same thing but try to think of the bigger picture of what the pendant represented from your friend. If your friend had the choice, she would rather see your smiling face & for you to be cancer free & healthy, than seeing her pendant around your neck. Try not to beat yourself up about it as you need all your strength to play your uke & put smiles on other peoples faces! I wish you courage as you continue through treatment & try to stay positive as you tick off each day. You have so much to look forward to with a busy Easter with family & friends & they need you to be blasting out those tunes & kicking up your heels.    To all of you wonderful ladies i call my friends, please keep smiling, stay positive & keep strong & courageous through your treatment. i wish you so much love, hugs & strength. I will check back next weekend when i am all finished. xxxxxxxxx