Radiotherapy (5 weeks)
If you haven't been through it yet and are worried, please don't. It sounds much worse than it is. The receptionists, nurses and radiographers are really lovely. It doesn't hurt. It doesn't take long. I was in and out within an hour or less. My boob was a bit itchy throughout the treatment and became redder as the treatment progressed. But it wasn't sore. I felt tired for about 30 minutes after the treatment. The first week after finishing radiotherapy, you could clearly see the area and a clear line where the radio was targeted, it was a bit bumpy but not blisters. From the beginning I put sorbelene on twice a day until my friend told me about Tallow cream, I alternated them at first but after a while just used tallow because I found the sorbelene made me more itchy. Second week after finishing; there where a few changes to my skin. It was the same as the after ejects of sun burn without feeling the burn. My skin turned a darker brown, then peeled back to a nice tan colour. I've had quite a few headaches since finishing radiotherapy but I get migraines anyway so it could just be normal for me. I wish you all the best throughout your journey with breast cancer. I hope I have helped to take some worry out of the whole experience. Think happy thoughts, love Becky
Negative impact of radiation on Flap (autologous) reconstruction??
Hi all, will have mastectomy in a couple of months time, am considering to have an immediate breast reconstruction (IBC) using my own tissues/ flap (autologous). Unfortunately, I will have a series of radiation after the IBC. I am worried the radiotherapy will kill/destroy/ causing complications on the flaps. I did some research at my end. However the comments were conflicting. Therefore would appreciate your advice. Please..no advice is too silly. Thanks heaps!
Radiation Fibrosis Syndrome
Hi everyone!!!! I was diagnosed with BC last year. I had DCIS and IDC......I had conserving surgery partial mastectomy with a flap reconstruction done......I had my yearly follow up in June this year and the mammogram and ultrasound picked up a mass....I had the biopsy straight away and it didn't contain any cancer cells......It was necrotic tissue. So I had to go back to Breast surgeon 3mths later which was last week....She said I was fine....I saw my radiation oncologist the day later for my routine check up......He told me I have radiation fibrosis syndrome.......I have pain daily and have trouble with the tendon at the front of my arm pit and pain in my arm, breast and left side of my breast. He told me it wont get better but will probably get worse and if I can't handle the pain he will give me medication which settle down the inflammation in the under lying cells which were damaged through the radiation. I was wondering if anyone out there has had this and if anyone knows if I should just have the whole breast removed.....I would be grateful to hear from you.....I don't like the idea of living the rest of my life with daily pain and restricted movement in my arm. Thank you :)Radiotherapy burns
Hi everyone. I’m new here & wondering if someone has gone through something similar. I was diagnosed with grade 1 breast cancer & had a lumpectomy in June 2024. I finished 15 sessions of radiotherapy two & a half weeks ago. I’m quite shocked how severe my burns are near my arm pit. The burns peaked around 5 days ago. I’ve seen the nurse twice in the last week & she has assured me it all looks normal. She suggested applying solugel & keeping it bandaged. The problem is every bandage I’ve tried either slips off or the sticky part irritates my breast. I’m not sure how to get it to stay in place. Not even the bandage that the nurse put on lasted more than 2 hours. Any ideas? Also how long before your burns started to heal? Thanks
Best skin repair products for chemo and radiotherapy
A friend of mine bought me some Rich Glen Olive balm as part of a lovely Chemo care pack. My hands and nails held up so well during AC does dense and 12 rounds of taxol chemotherapy. I also used this undergoing radiotherapy to both breasts along with Moo Goo Soothing cream and my care team were amazed even with double dose of radio I had no burns no blisters and minimal redness. Links below if you want to add them to your kit... https://moogoo.com.au/collections/moisturise/products/soothing-msm-moisturiser https://richglenoliveoil.com/collections/body/products/rough-hand-balm-100gm
1/2 through radiation, and I'm Knackered,
so here I am on week 3 of 6 of this radiation treatment, and I'm so over it! After my last post on tips and tricks on how to get through and all the updates about my horrible radiation team, like that horrible Dr and Nurse, I found the courage to put in a formal written complaint to the manager of said clinic. It was dealt with immediately and with in under 12 hours I had a new Dr and now only see the nurse manager, and the centre manager makes a point of saying hello and being super helpful Good out come all round. But it should have never needed to get to that in the first place. But now I have discovered I have folliculitis on my chest and neck :neutral: thanks to the radiation - my skin is holding up thank goodness, its only slightly pink, I hope I have not just gone and jinx myself. My throat is now sore and swallowing is fun, not! But this fatigue is killing me, All the things I could do pre cancer, pre chemo and now pre radiation, is like a distance memory, well not really, my mind say yeah we can do this, the body clearly has other ideas. 3 more weeks to go (including this week) then just, maybe just - I can start putting my life back into MY hands and not the medical teams hand who seem to be pulling all the strings. that's my update. Happy Hump day everyone :)
Feeling cold all the time
Anyone else feeling cold all the time after treatment? Had surgery and radiotherapy last year & started Letrozole in June. Had a few side effects from the Letrozole - occasional hot flush, big weight gain, occasional trouble sleeping (but that could be because my brain comes up with plot ideas as I'm an author...lol), diarrhea. Continual fatigue since radiotherapy. Anyway now it's autumn and although the temps are around 20 I'm feeling cold all the time. Rugged up, sit wrapped in a blanket, etc. I simply cannot get warm. Never used to feel this cold until the temps were in the low single digits...lol
Where to have radiotherapy?
Hi, I hope to get some feedback about where to have radiotherapy treatment. I live in Melbourne. Was thinking the Austin because its close to home, but now wondering if Peter Mac is better or perhaps a private facility? Are they all the same? I know some public hospitals are training hospitals, so not sure if that effects anything?Radiotherapy and Fatigue
Good morning, I'm only 5 fractions into my 15 day radiation treatment (post BC surgery, no chemo) and i'm feeling like I've been hit by a bus. My skin is holding up well (so far) but even after a short walk yesterday I needed to rest. I realise that the effects are cumulative, so I'm a little worried about the next 2 weeks. Any tips on how best to manage this, on top of gentle exercise and rest? cactusk (Kelly)