Hi There. I am awaiting the date that my Radiation Therapy will start and was wondering if anyone had any experience with Mepitel that they would like to share - Good or Bad...Does it really work? It is ever offered as part of the treatment and what type should be used? Thanks a lot !

@Lallaby I had 16 doses of rad back in Feb/March & had the Mepitel on for the entire treatment plus I had it on for 2 weeks after finishing treatment. The rad symptoms peak at 2 weeks after finishing so your skin is still reacting to the rad so it is important to keep the film on to protect your skin from clothing/sun & it also helps it heal. I thought the mepitel was FANTASTIC & i would recommend it to anyone but you do have to take care of it & make sure you visit the nurse every day like I did so she can check to see if there is any bubbles or peeling & if so, they trim/repair/replace it. You do feel like an imposition having to see them every day but they are lovely & used to dealing with Mepitel & realise that is what has to be done. I didn't have ANY reddening/peeling/blistering in fact when I took the Mepitel off you wouldn't even know I had rad treatment! Once the film came off I did start moisturising my skin with calendula just to keep it supple but there was no signs of any damage & while the film is on, you don't use any creams as the Mepitel protects your skin. At the start, you do feel like a "mummy" as you are taped up but please stick it out & you do get used to it. My little niece called it my "plastic skin" & she kept gently rubbing it when I saw her. You can shower with it on but try not to let the water pour over the film & keep the water temp warm as it is important not to have too hot or too cold temp on that area of your skin. Use a fragrance free body wash, I used Aveeno & keep it up for a few months after you finish treatment. I'm not sure where you live but I do know that some women who live in humid areas like Qld do have trouble with the Mepitel as when you sweat it can make it bubble so you have to ensure you keep getting it checked by the nurse as bubbling can actually make your skin reaction worse. I have seen a lot of pics of skin after rad treatment where the women have only used moisturisers throughout & the skin looks horribly dry, red, blistering & peeling & so sore. I really felt for them as if they were able to use the Mepitel, they wouldn't have had to go through that pain. I do hope you try it & it works for you as I would recommend it to anyone but just look after it & it will look after you!! Hugs xxxx

@Sister SO lovely to hear from you & so sorry to everyone for not being online for sooooo long! So much going on in my life at the moment, nothing bad, just too busy. We're selling an investment property that my hubbie was living in while he was working away so moving all the furniture & crap that he has accumulated over 4 years & trying to fit it all back in one house!! Two houses into one really doesn't fit so we are living with twice as much furniture as we need! Also working full time so today & tomorrow are my last days off for the next year or so, so I'm busy doing as many jobs as I can. I am really well, running, walking & exercising daily & I am also doing a "Healthy Living After Cancer " program through Cancer Council SA which is great & takes around 6 months to complete with weekly/fortnightly/monthly phone calls. I am booked in to see my breast surgeon next month for a check up & then it won't be long before we are both due for our annual mammo...so that will be a tough day for us both!! My skin is really good but I am still just rubbing my rad area & surgery site with a good Vit E cream twice a day just to keep it supple as I am finding the area a bit "tight" when I stretch which I guess is due to the rad that has gone on underneath the skin!! I'll check it out with my surgeon when I see her. While in Adelaide seeing my surgeon, I am also getting a bone density test, checkup pelvic ultrasound (following my operation to remove my ovaries & tubes) & also a skin cancer check so I am certainly getting the once over!!It's quite ironic that this morning I was thinking of you too & wondering about your rad treatment. Funny how we have this sixth sense with each other!! I thought you must be into it at the moment so sorry I have missed the start of your treatment but hope it is all going well. SO GREAT to hear that you are using the Mepitel & keep onto the nurses about getting it checked EVERY day as you dont want any bubbles or lifted areas. What clinic/hospital are you going to? I hope my info as I wrote above to @Lallaby has helped you & I would love to hear how you are going & if you have any questions I may be able to help you with. Do you have to do the breath hold? I hope you are staying strong throughout & I'm sure your family & friends are being supportive through this treatment as they have been at the start. Please keep in touch & I promise to check-in more often to see what everyone is up to. I should be grateful that i am back working & feeling healthy again & that life is pretty normal. I just wish it wasn't so busy!! Take care & thanks so much for your thoughts. Even though I haven't been online for so long, I think of you often & pray that you are remaining strong & your treatment is going well. Love & Hugs xxxx

Hi Macca I got the red itchy pimply skin too. Quite early on too about 8/25 sessions I think. I use a cortisone cream which really helps. It absorbs through the Mepitel which is kind of awesome

@anne65 How wonderful that you've got all of that energy! I dream of being able to go at that level again! I know what you mean about the houseloads of stuff - when my husband and I first moved in together, we each had a houseful of furniture, then my Mum died and I had a lot of her stuff that I just couldn't deal with sorting out - then, we moved down to the suburbs for a couple of years and collected more furniture. I'd like a skip and a bonfire!I've been doing an rehab exercise programme but that will finish in a few weeks, and I've signed up for the Y's Encore next term, but I'll check out that programme you've mentioned as well.Radiation is going okay. I'm doing it through the RAH and they've been pretty nice there. Mine's on the right so I don't have to worry about breath holds.It just occurred to me yesterday that it's getting close to the end of the year and the scans. I guess I will have them at that time. I had the bone density test a couple of days ago as I've started on Letrozole for the next 5 years and the onc wanted a baseline.I don't know whether it would help, but you may want to ring the Lymphoedema and Laser Therapy Clinic at Stepney to ask about treatment for the tight areas. I think that would fit with what they do but you'd want to make an appointment well in advance given that you're coming from so far away. Unfortunately, they're not cheap but they are good. If you do, try to book in with Sharon.I'm hoping to be back at work next term - I went there yesterday for something else and managed to get around to see lot's of my colleagues.Good luck with all the stuff you have on!

Radiotherapy and mepitel | BCNA Online Network

29 Replies

StarGirl
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7 years ago
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Hi Macca I got the red itchy pimply skin too. Quite early on too about 8/25 sessions I think. I use a cortisone cream which really helps. It absorbs through the Mepitel which is kind of awesome
Lallaby
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7 years ago
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I had the very angry red pimply skin too. Not sure if it was caused by the Mepitel or rads. They gave me burn gel and dressing and it cleared up within a few weeks. After that I used calendula oil from the herbal gardener and my skin repaired very nicely.
Sister
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7 years ago
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I didn't get anything like that but I believe you can get a pimply type rash from rads. Never hurts to check it out, though.
macca
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7 years ago
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Also very itchy and worried it might need some kind of treatment. Maybe I will give the breast care nurse a ring in the morning.
macca
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7 years ago
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Has anyone developed red pimply looking skin where the Mepitel covered part
of the chest. ?
Sister
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7 years ago
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@Anne65 I've felt really guilty - you send me a lovely long message and I reply with 2 brief comments. Bah! The problem is that I'm going through one of those non-word phases. I'd like to be chatty but my brain refuses to co-operate and my fingers agree. It doesn't help when I'm using the phone to reply, either.
Sister
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7 years ago
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Doing well. I finished on Wednesday!!
Anne65
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7 years ago
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@Sister Just checking in to see how you have gone with your rad treatment & wondering how your skin has coped with the Mepitel. I reckon you should be finished now so I do hope you are going OK & have got on well & not suffered any symptoms from the treatment. I guess you are still "taped up" with the Mepitel as you are supposed to have it on for 2 weeks after which is when the rad peaks. Hang in there as you are nearly over this hurdle so have another box ticked off!! I pray you have remained strong throughout & will come out the other end with supple skin & no reaction!

Also, I forgot which hospital you had your op in & couldn't remember if it was St Andrews like me. If it was, did you get an invite in the mail this week about a Breast Cancer luncheon at PAC college on Oct 4th for all the St Andrews patients & Breast Care nurses? I am going & will be taking my niece (as my sister will be in new Zealand).

Take care my friend & hope you are well & staying strong. You are a fighter & I know you will continue to be & we are all here for you!! Love & Hugs xxxx
Lallaby
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7 years ago
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Hi. Just thought I should share my radiation experience with the Mepitel.
I had to have 25 sessions (with bolus because I had a mastectomy) After about 22 sessions everything seemed OK. My skin was a bit pinkish. Some places more severe than others but no visible blistering or pain. The Mepitel seemed to be doing its job with a little bit of patching up here and there throughout the treatment
Then the nurse thought it was a good idea to remove all the Mepitel and put a fresh layer on so that no patching would need to be done for the 2 weeks after radiation . When the Mepitel was removed some skin under my arm actually came off with it.!. Then on recommendation of one of the other nurses they put Mepitel back on over the damaged skin.
2 weeks later I was admitted to hospital for 10 days with a Strep C infection

Although we will never know if the bacteria got into my blood through the damaged skin I thought I should share this so that anyone else using Mepitel is very cautious about letting the nurses pull it off during treatment or putting Mepitel back on damaged skin.

I would still recommend using Mepitel . I just think some incorrect procedures were used on me.

I have lots of Mepitel left as I didn't need anywhere near the recommended quantity. So if anyone is thinking of buying it send me a message and we can work something out.
Michellebella
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7 years ago
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Thanks ,skin looks a lot better now ...used Bio - oil at a later date ...Help with the skin repair .