Hello lovely ladies 🙂. I was wondering if someone could give me some info about Mepitel film. My oncologist said she doesn’t usually use it and they didn’t have any, so I ordered it myself. I got 10x7.5cm films. Today was my first session, and when I pulled the films out, the other onco and his helper didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. They thought it was a dressing. He said in 25 yrs experience he’d never heard of it. The nurse put the 4 films on me and I got the radiation, but afterwards they told me to take it off so I could apply the cream. I mentioned that I’d read that it usually stays on throughout treatment, but they thought it was strange as the cream wouldn’t be able to get to the skin. So my question is what do I do now?? Do I keep the film on and apply cream over the top? Do I take it off as they said and reapply it every day? Also are the dimensions correct? I used 4 pieces and it’s very expensive, so not much stock in Aus at the moment. If I leave it on, how do I apply the cream? How much of my chest area is it supposed to cover? I’m having both breasts irradiated. Also someone mentioned needing to readjust the settings on the machine? I’m very confused 😳. Any help would be appreciated. Mon Xx

You don't use the cream while it's on. The pieces should but up against each other and not overlap. Different places do different things but my hospital would put it on on the Monday, fix any bits during the week, and then I would take it off for the weekend so I could wash the area and moisturise. I think others have had it on the entire time. It wouldn't be hard for yours to find out because many places, private and public use it. I think mine was a different brand - Mepitex??+/ - but same thing.

@Louise64 hello again 🙂. I finished my rads yesterday. At the beginning, my onc told me she doesn’t really work with Mepitel, and a lot of the therapists and nurses weren’t familiar with it. Yesterday, they were all commenting on how good my skin looked and told me they were actually starting to recommend and use it regularly due to the great result on me. So I’d definitely recommend you use it and try to stick with it. It wasn’t easy at all, and I’m still wearing mine for another week, but it’s so worth it. It’s very fiddly, and comes off quite quickly at certain places, like the chest and armpits. But they can always patch those places up. Showering is not easy either and you have to try to avoid getting it wet as much as possible. I also sweat a great deal, even from just walking, and that didn’t help either. I was not very optimistic during my first week ghat it would succeed but I was persistent and it paid off. The sections under my armpits weren’t covered well and now they’re very red and painful. My breasts, which were always covered, are still mostly white and no pain or itching. Just a bit tight from the radiation which you can’t avoid. Hope you can make it work! Good luck 🍀😘

I used strata gel because I felt that I sweat too much (jogging) to keep it on properly and I wanted to be able to wash properly. Maybe mepital would have been a better choice because I ended up with a large broken mess around my collarbone/ neck area which has been very painful and difficult to deal with. It depends on your skin type too I think - others on here will have good advice I am sure.

I found the Strata XRT good. After applying it’s like a very fine film. It will wear off, or wash off, so the manufacturer suggests applying it twice daily. I used a moisturizer about an hour before due to reapply. I got quite pink, but the staff all said it went very well.

My oncology use it and they apply it and leave it on, just patching it if necessary. It stays on the whole time, no need for any cream apparently. They don’t put it on until the 2nd week. If it peels off they reapply it but If you aren’t in a humid area if can stay on the whole time.

Help on mepitel film | BCNA Online Network

42 Replies

ChezaH
Member
5 years ago

FLClover said:

Good luck @ChezaH! That’s my daughter’s birthday 😊. Best prep is practising the deep breath hold. And that mepitel is a miracle worker so do your best with it. All the best 🍀 Xx

Hi FLClover Thanks for all the information it really is very helpful Hugs xx
FLClover
Member
5 years ago
Good luck @ChezaH! That’s my daughter’s birthday 😊. Best prep is practising the deep breath hold. And that mepitel is a miracle worker so do your best with it. All the best 🍀 Xx
ChezaH
Member
5 years ago
Thank you everyone, I have my Radiotherapy Planning session booked in for the 15/9 at the Gold Coast University Hospital not sure if there is anybody that has had it there? Trying to get myself prepared 😉
Sister
Member
5 years ago
You do get used to it @abbydog and I think it makes a massive difference. So pleased to hear that they have offered it to you.
FLClover
Member
5 years ago
Anytime 😊
Abbydog
Member
5 years ago
Thanks FLClover.
FLClover
Member
5 years ago
Hi @Abbydog, that’s great news! 😃. It really doesn’t look like anything special, and you won’t see a difference either til you’ve almost completed the whole treatment, but believe me it does wonders. I finished a week ago and had a follow up yesterday, and the nurse told me I converted my onco to using it. They couldn’t believe how good my skin looked. And there is a difference, cos my armpits are quite burnt, red and very sore since the film didn’t stay on there. My breasts are almost unaffected, since they were always covered. I only noticed the difference towards week 4, cos that’s when armpits started going red. It’s annoying but stick with it, because it really is amazing. Good luck! ☺️😘
Abbydog
Member
5 years ago
Today I had my Radiotherapy Planning session at LMH in SA.
They will supply Mepitel, and apply it for me. Great news.
The nurse put a sample on my hand to see if I was allergic.
Seems I'm not allergic. It doesn't look like anything special.
But I'm grateful in advance, since it is supposed to be great.
Sister
Member
5 years ago
Before going out and buying the film, please ask your treating clinic if they supply it. I went to RAH in Adelaide and it was not offered. I asked about it and the response was "oh yeah, we have that but never use it - we can do it if you want". Of course, I did want and it worked really well.
ddon
Member
5 years ago
That’s good - treatment close to home takes all the stress out of it. I hope the gel works well for you - I don’t know how well it worked for me because I have nothing to compare it to. I just assume it would have been much worse if I hadn’t used it. As others have said, I used Moo Goo udder cream 4 times daily also and it’s a beautiful cream.