Starting 36 Rads on Monday 7/2

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Comments

  • Hennie
    Hennie Member Posts: 11
    Alexis F said:

    We will all be waiting to
    We will all be waiting to RING the bell for your graduation! And, be sure and still get lots of rest when you are done as rads are cumulative.


    Hugs, Lex

    Not too far
    from ending your treatments I hope. I, too had them and must say I did great! No blistering at all. It's true that we don't all react the same, but hope that all comes out ok. I did peel a little, but didn't feel any fatigue like others. Good luck with the remaining rads and keep us posted.

    XOXOXOXO
    Hennie
  • Noel
    Noel Member Posts: 3,095 Member
    Hennie said:

    Not too far
    from ending your treatments I hope. I, too had them and must say I did great! No blistering at all. It's true that we don't all react the same, but hope that all comes out ok. I did peel a little, but didn't feel any fatigue like others. Good luck with the remaining rads and keep us posted.

    XOXOXOXO
    Hennie

    While you have the boosters,
    While you have the boosters, the rest of the area that had been getting rads will start to heal. You will be surprised, I think, how fast it happens. When are you done?

    Best of luck and keep us updated.


    Hugs, Noel
  • Attygirl
    Attygirl Member Posts: 121
    A new update
    Hello all. Thanks for your encouraging words. My rad onc put me on a break a week ago because my skin was open and raw. Used the Domeboro soaks and Silvadine cream. Went back today and he said my skin was still too raw in some spots. He gave me two more days to heal and will finish all of the boosts straight through, finishing next Wednesday.

    Dealing with the burns has been so tough for me. Very painful and very uncomfortable. Reached a breaking point on Sunday, but thanks to a pep talk from my husband and the news from rad onc today, I am feeling like I can get through this.
  • DoodleLover
    DoodleLover Member Posts: 3
    Attygirl said:

    A new update
    Hello all. Thanks for your encouraging words. My rad onc put me on a break a week ago because my skin was open and raw. Used the Domeboro soaks and Silvadine cream. Went back today and he said my skin was still too raw in some spots. He gave me two more days to heal and will finish all of the boosts straight through, finishing next Wednesday.

    Dealing with the burns has been so tough for me. Very painful and very uncomfortable. Reached a breaking point on Sunday, but thanks to a pep talk from my husband and the news from rad onc today, I am feeling like I can get through this.

    Getting Ready to Start Radiation
    Hi. I just signed up on this website today. I had a lumpectomy 4 weeks ago and will be starting radiation in the next week or so. I am really scared. I have very sensitive skin and I already suffer from fatigue. I'm trying not to get worked up about something that may or may not happen, but it's hard not to think about it.

    I am wishing you the best with your remaining treatments. I am praying that your skin will heal quickly and that you can start moving to the other side of this.
  • Attygirl
    Attygirl Member Posts: 121

    Getting Ready to Start Radiation
    Hi. I just signed up on this website today. I had a lumpectomy 4 weeks ago and will be starting radiation in the next week or so. I am really scared. I have very sensitive skin and I already suffer from fatigue. I'm trying not to get worked up about something that may or may not happen, but it's hard not to think about it.

    I am wishing you the best with your remaining treatments. I am praying that your skin will heal quickly and that you can start moving to the other side of this.

    Welcome DoodleLover
    Sorry you have to be here, but glad you came!

    I appreciate your kind words...and your fears. I was gripped by them. Rads are intimidating. But they are totally doable. Allow yourself to feel whatever fears come up and find good ways to cope each day. Whether that be coming here or talking to your doctors or keeping a journal or praying (all things I did to cope), find ways to address your concerns. I also read a few good books in the early weeks which distracted me for a bit and took my mind off of treatment.

    Most important for me was to speak up the moment I felt something because the team is there everyday to address/assess your needs. for example, about a dozen treatments in I started having anxiety/panic attacks when I woke up each day. I was prescribed an anti-anxiety med called Ativan and that helped me deal.

    Follow the instructions you are given at the outset very closely, ie how to bathe, the soap to use, what to avoid, eat lots of protein, use your creams several times a day, etc. And if you ever have a question, concern, or just want to vent, come right back here to this thread or start another...we will be here for you!

    Good luck and God's speed...
  • Attygirl
    Attygirl Member Posts: 121

    Getting Ready to Start Radiation
    Hi. I just signed up on this website today. I had a lumpectomy 4 weeks ago and will be starting radiation in the next week or so. I am really scared. I have very sensitive skin and I already suffer from fatigue. I'm trying not to get worked up about something that may or may not happen, but it's hard not to think about it.

    I am wishing you the best with your remaining treatments. I am praying that your skin will heal quickly and that you can start moving to the other side of this.

    Oh yeah...
    Drink lots of water and get lots of REST! You will get through this...WE will get through this! (borrowed my husband's mantra)
  • DoodleLover
    DoodleLover Member Posts: 3
    Attygirl said:

    Oh yeah...
    Drink lots of water and get lots of REST! You will get through this...WE will get through this! (borrowed my husband's mantra)

    Thank you
    Thank you so much for taking the time to write back and for the advice. I appreciate it so very much. I also appreciate you saying to feel what I feel, because I have been having trouble with that. I don't want to complain or have a pity party going on, but at the same time, sometimes I just need to vent or I feel so depressed or angry and I just want someone to hear me. I think the important thing is to not let myself stay in that scary place.
  • Attygirl
    Attygirl Member Posts: 121

    Thank you
    Thank you so much for taking the time to write back and for the advice. I appreciate it so very much. I also appreciate you saying to feel what I feel, because I have been having trouble with that. I don't want to complain or have a pity party going on, but at the same time, sometimes I just need to vent or I feel so depressed or angry and I just want someone to hear me. I think the important thing is to not let myself stay in that scary place.

    That place is scary...but it
    That place is scary...but it is real. In the beginning, I thought I always had to be positive and keep smiling because I thought it was the best way to cope. But the reality is that sometimes I can't muster a smile. Sometimes I get really sad, or scared, or pissed about this diagnosis and what it is doing to my life. Fighting those feeling seems the negative thing. Allowing myself to feel them seems like the more loving thing to do. And since where there is life there is hope, the good feelings do come!
  • DebbyM
    DebbyM Member Posts: 3,289 Member

    Getting Ready to Start Radiation
    Hi. I just signed up on this website today. I had a lumpectomy 4 weeks ago and will be starting radiation in the next week or so. I am really scared. I have very sensitive skin and I already suffer from fatigue. I'm trying not to get worked up about something that may or may not happen, but it's hard not to think about it.

    I am wishing you the best with your remaining treatments. I am praying that your skin will heal quickly and that you can start moving to the other side of this.

    Welcome also DoodleLover.
    Welcome also DoodleLover. Wishing you good luck with rads and come back on if you have any questions and we will try and help you. There's a really good thread on here about rads if you'd like for me to bump it up for you. Just let me know.


    Hugs, Debby
  • Attygirl
    Attygirl Member Posts: 121
    Today is THE DAY
    The LAST ONE, that is!!! Late this afternoon, I will be a RAD GRAD!!!
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    Attygirl said:

    Today is THE DAY
    The LAST ONE, that is!!! Late this afternoon, I will be a RAD GRAD!!!

    A HUGE gentle hug for you Attygirl!!!
    Job Done! ... Doing my Hap Hap Happy Dance for you!

    Strength, Courage and HOPE for a Cure.


    Vicki Sam
  • Attygirl
    Attygirl Member Posts: 121
    VickiSam said:

    A HUGE gentle hug for you Attygirl!!!
    Job Done! ... Doing my Hap Hap Happy Dance for you!

    Strength, Courage and HOPE for a Cure.


    Vicki Sam

    Thanks so much, Vicki Sam!
    I love a Happy Dance! My hubby has been doing one for the last few days in anticipation of this day!
  • susie09
    susie09 Member Posts: 2,930
    Attygirl said:

    Thanks so much, Vicki Sam!
    I love a Happy Dance! My hubby has been doing one for the last few days in anticipation of this day!

    Happy dancing for you!
    Happy dancing for you! Congrats!
  • Attygirl
    Attygirl Member Posts: 121
    susie09 said:

    Happy dancing for you!
    Happy dancing for you! Congrats!

    Thanks!
    Up next...Tamoxifen.
  • bluwillo
    bluwillo Member Posts: 113
    Attygirl said:

    Thanks!
    Up next...Tamoxifen.

    You can do this
    Tamoxofin, very doable (some will notice that I misspell a lot of the cancer words. I purposely refused to learn to spell them, it is with that much disdain I feel for cancer).

    About 1 year after I started it, hubby just HAD to go with me to my onc doc with me. "Hmmm" I say to myself, "what's up with that? He knows I like to go alone to these things...I say some rather unflattering things about myself and others during these appts."

    So, hubby opens the conversation with "didn't you say one of the side affects of this drug is she'd get kinda grumpy?" If I wasn't sitting next to him, my size 8 red cowboy boots woulda been covered in brown goo!! We spent the whole appointment sniping at each other! I had to call and apologize the next day. He's banned from my appointments. They are for ME, not him. Other than that, he's great. He makes sure I eat, does most of the shopping, etc. I guess he just wasn't getting the whole "hey, I finished college (in my 50's) and did the whole cancer thing at the same time, then one month after treatment, started a very high stress job (thank God for chemo brain, I was so stupid I didn't know what I was walking into) and now I have to work cos you're MAKING me work and I just want to stay home and lay around all day" vibes I was sending off. LOL, men!

    Be sure to tell your doc about side effects. Really for me, there haven't been any (except I'm looking for new cowboy boots) and weight gain. Greek yogurt really is as good as a Snickers bar. You can do this!
  • Attygirl
    Attygirl Member Posts: 121
    bluwillo said:

    You can do this
    Tamoxofin, very doable (some will notice that I misspell a lot of the cancer words. I purposely refused to learn to spell them, it is with that much disdain I feel for cancer).

    About 1 year after I started it, hubby just HAD to go with me to my onc doc with me. "Hmmm" I say to myself, "what's up with that? He knows I like to go alone to these things...I say some rather unflattering things about myself and others during these appts."

    So, hubby opens the conversation with "didn't you say one of the side affects of this drug is she'd get kinda grumpy?" If I wasn't sitting next to him, my size 8 red cowboy boots woulda been covered in brown goo!! We spent the whole appointment sniping at each other! I had to call and apologize the next day. He's banned from my appointments. They are for ME, not him. Other than that, he's great. He makes sure I eat, does most of the shopping, etc. I guess he just wasn't getting the whole "hey, I finished college (in my 50's) and did the whole cancer thing at the same time, then one month after treatment, started a very high stress job (thank God for chemo brain, I was so stupid I didn't know what I was walking into) and now I have to work cos you're MAKING me work and I just want to stay home and lay around all day" vibes I was sending off. LOL, men!

    Be sure to tell your doc about side effects. Really for me, there haven't been any (except I'm looking for new cowboy boots) and weight gain. Greek yogurt really is as good as a Snickers bar. You can do this!

    Once again today...
    ...you have made me chuckle!

    My hubby has gone to almost all of my appointments, but I am going alone to MO appt. on Monday to get on with the next step...Tamoxifen (spelled correctly, cause I'm anal like that...but I love your refusal!) He also cooks for me, and our 2 kids, and takes good care of us. But I could also see him telling the doc about how grumpy I can be! I don't have any red cowboy boots (how fab!), but I could use one of my sensible shoes to take care of that!

    So glad to hear your SEs have been minimal! Hoping for the same for me!
  • Noel
    Noel Member Posts: 3,095 Member
    Attygirl said:

    Once again today...
    ...you have made me chuckle!

    My hubby has gone to almost all of my appointments, but I am going alone to MO appt. on Monday to get on with the next step...Tamoxifen (spelled correctly, cause I'm anal like that...but I love your refusal!) He also cooks for me, and our 2 kids, and takes good care of us. But I could also see him telling the doc about how grumpy I can be! I don't have any red cowboy boots (how fab!), but I could use one of my sensible shoes to take care of that!

    So glad to hear your SEs have been minimal! Hoping for the same for me!

    Wishing you good luck
    Wishing you good luck tomorrow at your appointment. You won't be alone, we will all be with you! Post an update to let us know how it goes!


    Hugs, Noel
  • Attygirl
    Attygirl Member Posts: 121
    Noel said:

    Wishing you good luck
    Wishing you good luck tomorrow at your appointment. You won't be alone, we will all be with you! Post an update to let us know how it goes!


    Hugs, Noel

    Thank you Noel
    I expect it will be emotional, but go well. I'll post an update, for sure!
  • Angie2U
    Angie2U Member Posts: 2,991
    Attygirl said:

    Thank you Noel
    I expect it will be emotional, but go well. I'll post an update, for sure!

    Hoping your appt. went well
    Hoping your appt. went well today for you! Will watch for an update!

    Hugs, Angie
  • Attygirl
    Attygirl Member Posts: 121
    Angie2U said:

    Hoping your appt. went well
    Hoping your appt. went well today for you! Will watch for an update!

    Hugs, Angie

    UPDATE
    Saw my MO today and she said I look and sound good. Healing well after surgery and radiation. Started me on Tamoxifen.

    But before I took the first pill, I went to my gyno and got a baseline ultrasound on my uterus and bloodwork to test my hormone levels.
    So the next phase begins...

    Thanks so much, all of you, for the thoughtfulness and concern. This is a hell of a journey!