What R Side effects of Radiation

Hi, Onyx,

Side effects of radiation - fatigue and burning.

It wasn't until my 21st radiation treatment that I woke up in the morning with a burn. It literally appeared overnight! My radiation oncologist said that was normal. I did not experience the fatigue as much as many others do. I just got tired of going every day for 33 days.
But the burning was relieved with pure aloe gel and the doctor also prescribed a burn creme called Biafine. Most insurance companies do not cover it, but it is only about $25 to $30 a tube and it has a decent amount of applications in it. I finished radiation on Sept.19th and took about 3 weeks for all the peeling to quit and the healed skin to appear.

I made the treatments go better by getting to know the radiation techs on a personal level. It made the monotony of every day treatments seem more fun. Also, I tried to get to know my fellow patients and that made a huge difference. I still think of them fondly to this day.

However, I continue to have some swelling and pain in my breast. All of my doctors said this was normal.

I didn't have any apetite issues with radiation, only with chemo. However, I heard one of my radiation techs tell another patient to drink hight calorie milk shakes...MMMM! Never in my life did I think I would ever hear one of my doctors tell me not to worry about calories! Unfortunately, now I have to control them again!

Hope this helps and before you know it, you will be all done with treatment!

Loretta