Hi, this is my first post. I was hoping to get some advice on the radiation. I was diagnosed with stage 2 bc and had surgery last July then went on to 6 sessions of FEC chemo. I am meant to begin radiation tommorow and just feel really uncertain about it. I would greatly appreciate anyones advice or opinions on how to get through this stage of treatment.
hi karen, glad to here you are getting on with the radio, and also seeing a councellor, i know this will be a great help to you, unfortunately i didnt have access to one, as i live in a rural area, maye thats why i ended up with depression, (maybe not),l either way i say take every bit of support you can get, i am lucky to be all over that now, and fingers crossed the demon doesnt return, i have learned live life to the full, and be happy and content, we are the lucky ones, we are here to tell the story, so good luck, thinking of you keep up the creaming lol
Thank you for your advice, I had my third radio today. going to see a counceller tommorow to help me with my mind set although reading through this site and hearing how strong and positive people are is inspiring. As with Moira it is nice to hear from someone who has been there. Best wishes for you
Hi Karen,
I too was feeling the same when I when through my course of Radiation treatment. However, let me assure you it is must easier then Chemo!!! Think of it as a 10min of tanning, time to rest your mind while you are receiving the treatment. It is a BREEZE.
Here's what I found useful during my Radiation treatment:
* Have a routine (especially if you have young children) - Radiation is a daily treatement, so try to schedule it around the same time each day.
* Find something nice to do before or afterwards : Treat it like a Time-Out session for you.
* Wear something nice - Look good feel good. You now have more time to take care of your look, because you no longer feel sick from chemo!
* Make sure you get some rest during the day, especially before school pick up. Towards the last half of radiation, you will get tired.
=> e.g. drop of kids, then a coffee, then Radiation - a nice lunch with a friend once a week after radiation. home, sleep, kids, dinner, more face washer etc etc.
Also, don't feel afraid to ask the nurse there to dress your skin with cream and cool wash cloth straigh after your treatment, especial if you start to feel discomfort.
You will be fine ...& all the best
please check out my blog on free berlei bras from bcna Regards Moira
I too was terrified because it was an unknown. However I found it to be really easy. Just a few tips - go straight home once you have the treatment. I actually put face washers in the freezer before treatment each day and went straight home and put the cold pack on my breast, after this I lathered myself in cream. I now read that it is not good to have extreme temperatures on the area. It did work for me though as I never had any blisters - I had been told this by a bc survivor who had it work for her as well. I was superwoman and did too much. It is best to treat it like a holiday. I too had to be away from home for 7 weeks but always had a family member with me. During this time I gave myself very good nutrition - it cost me an absolute fortune = organic food. Each day I made myself a concoction of vege juice. No one wanted to share it!!!!! Anyway it is good to do everything possible for your body to assist it during the radiation treatment. ie do some basic exercise each day, eat well, rest and sit back and enjoy life......get yourself some good books and some funny dvd's. As Moira said take showers with very gentle "soap", use lots of moisturiser (no perfumes etc) and be kind to the area. It is best not to swim in chlorine pools as these dry out your skin. I was told it was okay to have a short swim in the ocean or saltwater pool. Remember not too much sunshine either. I actually searched everywhere to find nice cotton bras and had cotton t-shirts for bed. All about comfort and minimal abrasion to the area. Good luck with it all. I will also start radiation mid February for the second time = up under the armpit to counteract lymph node cancer. Not sure how I will keep this area cool. I will probably have to get around looking like a bird with a broken wing sticking out!!!!!!! CheersXLeonie
I too was terrified because it was an unknown. However I found it to be really easy. Just a few tips - go straight home once you have the treatment. I actually put face washers in the freezer before treatment each day and went straight home and put the cold pack on my breast, after this I lathered myself in cream. I now read that it is not good to have extreme temperatures on the area. It did work for me though as I never had any blisters - I had been told this by a bc survivor who had it work for her as well. I was superwoman and did too much. It is best to treat it like a holiday. I too had to be away from home for 7 weeks but always had a family member with me. During this time I gave myself very good nutrition - it cost me an absolute fortune = organic food. Each day I made myself a concoction of vege juice. No one wanted to share it!!!!! Anyway it is good to do everything possible for your body to assist it during the radiation treatment. ie do some basic exercise each day, eat well, rest and sit back and enjoy life......get yourself some good books and some funny dvd's. As Moira said take showers with very gentle "soap", use lots of moisturiser (no perfumes etc) and be kind to the area. It is best not to swim in chlorine pools as these dry out your skin. I was told it was okay to have a short swim in the ocean or saltwater pool. Remember not too much sunshine either. I actually searched everywhere to find nice cotton bras and had cotton t-shirts for bed. All about comfort and minimal abrasion to the area. Good luck with it all. I will also start radiation mid February for the second time = up under the armpit to counteract lymph node cancer. Not sure how I will keep this area cool. I will probably have to get around looking like a bird with a broken wing sticking out!!!!!!! CheersXLeonie
I too was worried when i started radiotherapy as didnt have too good a time with chemo, but i didnt have any problems with radio, around the 3 week i started getting tired easily, but i learnt to have a lie down for 1/2 hour and all was well, i also was told by my radio team to only shower and slather on sorbolene cream and all was good, the down side of it was, i had to live 600 k's away for 6 weeks to have it, but my husband tried to be there as much as possible, good luck with your treatment, and let us know how you go with it, Regards Moira
