Neck Burns Poll

LitlCJdoll

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1691735#Comment_1691735

Thanks!! Yeah, there are lots of Instructions which pertain to radiation treatments, lall weighed to keep us as safe as possible.

I am at a Comprehensive Cancer Center ( and 120+ yeah old School of Medicine)--- Its great because they give radiotherapy patients an entire Booklet, complete with the Mouth Rinse recipes, etc etc. And my R O is a fantastic man who was ( still is !!) Available to talk/ message on weekends, late at night, etc. He also plays role of Advocate for H/ N cancer patients and fixes any problems you encounter.

It's funny, in another cancer forum a woman was preparing to apply some kind of emollient cream to her chest, before radiation.

I quickly explained why this was a no-no. She was going to do it, in spite of her R O instructing her to Not.

I tried to make a " funny " out of it and remarked something about this wasn't a beach trip, or going to the tanning bed. Just joking around and boy, did she ever get mad !!

I swear , ...the things people get ticked over is just incredible. Incredible.... It makes us feel like we are Wasting our time, in trying to inform, through our own very hard roads.

Anywiay, thank you Seige. I hope your New Year starts good. Mine begins My bday morning in the hospital, putting me under Anesthesia for a risky procedure. Risky on several fronts, actually... But I cannot swallow anything now but dips of liquid and even that's being thrown back at me. Gee, I hope to get some relief. Message me anytime..

LitlCJdoll

Stephie75

Thank you all for your suggestions. I take a shower before every treatment. I also put absolutely no makeup on, no hair products in my hair, no lotion, nothing. I just walk out of the shower and tower dry off, and get dressed. I was told early on just to go in basically like I walk out of the shower, but change my soap to Dove..

I wear cotton v-neck t-shirts over sports bras and I have to take everything off from the waist up with I get there anyway, so many times, I don't even bother with the bra.

When I get home is when I place aloe on, or coconut oil. My Aloe is even real, as it's from the plant. The coconut oil "claims" to be. :)

I am starting to get red dots on each side of my neck. But it's not painful. No one really mentioned when theirs started to get bad, if I should add more of another product or something when it does get worse - I have some more ideas thanks to all of you!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and has a great New Year!!! We were all glad to kick 2020 in the butt and see it go. Then 2121 brought more things to deal with, and the planet is still here... Let's fight the issues that come with 2022 like we do c and hope people can come together more. I hope people in general can learn to love each other, and forget the political stuff at least for a bit.

Happy New Year!

-Steph

Boston Bunny

Hello Stephie75,

I had a very bad case of radiation dermatitis that started during my 6th week of head and neck radiation treatments. It started with red skin that looked like a very bad sunburn. By the end of the 6th week I had developed huge open wounds on my neck, bottom lobe of my R ear, and front area of my chin. It looked awful. And it was so painful I could hardly stand to wear my radiation face mask. When they removed my mask after each radiation treatment there was always debris from the wound on the mask. The radiation therapists felt badly for me. All I remember is that they kept saying, "Don't worry, your skin will heal."

Stephie, I am happy to tell you that they were right. It's been 5 weeks since I completed my treatments, and my skin is almost completely back to normal. The only thing that is not back to normal is an area below my neck that is a little darker than the rest of my skin. My oncologist assures me that the darken area will also return to normal. It wouldn't bother me if it didn't. It's not that noticeable. Most people have uneven skin tone in certain areas.

I had a total of 35 treatments, 70 gys to the R side of my neck and 54 to the L. Most of the skin damage was on the R side, but I did develop some dermatitis to the L as well. As soon as I developed my skin problems I scheduled an appt with my radiation oncologist. He gave me Silvadene to put on the open wounds and Aquafor for the red unbroken areas. He gave me strict instructions to apply the both ointments as soon as I got home from the rad treatments. And do not reapply until after the next rad treatment.He said there should never be any type of lotion or lubricant applied to the skin 4 hours prior to a radiation treatment. I followed those instructions to the letter. But once I completed all my radiation treatments I kept my neck covered in Silvadene and Aquafor. Within a week I couldn't believe how much my skin had improved. By the end of the 3rd post treatment week, the skin on my neck was 90% back to normal. Thank the Lord for that!

I hope my experience with neck burns offers you some comfort. Best wishes to you.

Boston Bunny

Stephie75

I read through this again and it's looking like it gets worse after treatment. Just like all of those other things everyone has told me to look out for.

Stephie75

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1691798#Comment_1691798

Thanks for giving me a heads up about this, Bunny. My skin looks more like red bumps where they are getting me. What's weird is, I have the weird red bumps on the opposite side of my neck as well and they are more pronounced on the side I am not receiving the radiation. I know it goes across my neck, but I didn't expect that.

I also have a rash but that's below my collar line. I hope these bumps don't get much worse...

Stephie75

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1691736#Comment_1691736

I don't understand why you did that. Cancer isn't, a something to make jokes about with strangers and it isn't funny to most people. I find it odd you even felt the need to respond to this patient in the first place the way you did.

If you felt you must intervene, It may have been a bit more effective to ask them if they knew of the horrible things that could occur if things were worn on the skin during radiation, and they should bring that up to their RO, and if they still chose to do so, stay out of their business.. JMO of course.

Happy New Year

-Steph

Dagney1924

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1691638#Comment_1691638

I pray for your recovery. I don't understand why your doctor doesn't want you to be in a support forum. I wouldn't take that advice.

Stephie75

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1692302#Comment_1692302

I actually had an appt. with my doctor today. He made a point to remind me that anything can can be too much in excess. Reading too much about c keeps your mind on it. You have to find time to separate it. Yes, it can be beneficial and helpful in small doses, but some people end up living on these forums and at times people should move on. I realize that many people stay due to the friendships, but there is always c as the backdrop. It's the main point of the forums after all. Perhaps meet up with your friends on another forum, or chat in another way, use other forms of social media. If you live close to one another, you've hit the jackpot!

He's basically saying don't live a cancer life. Live a full life and involve everything! Things in these forums tend to bring me to tears more often than not, and I am not looking for them.

There can also be more toxic people in a community which has elements of terminal illness and when they are living a life where they may see very little hope some of those members tend to bring others down. Many of them may also not be thinking too cleary, as they're medicated.

There are a lot of reasons.

I guess the best takeaway is really just simple. All things can be taken in excess. Try to divide your time properly and balance your life! :)

ronniepaisa

Stephen 75 , agree with your comment. 💐

swimbody

I'm currently using a silver based sticky foam (Meliplex) to heal my open wounds ie the scar my ENT did such a good job with when he removed my lymph node. That area is scorching hot. The silver Meliplex is AWESOME. My radiologist said 2 weeks after treatment stops with everyday 24 use my neck will look normal again. I take a shower every day and wash the face and neck with CeraVe face wash. I pay dry and let my wife apply the steroid anti itch cream to the affected areas. We wait 10 minutes for it to be absorbed then she applies Aquaphor and Neutrashield. She then puts the Meliplex on top and we cut a thick enough gauze stretchy collar to go over it like a turtleneck shirt. I sleep in it etc until 24 hours. My wounds have healed a ton since starting my regimen.