Radiation burns

RogerRN43
RogerRN43 Member Posts: 185
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Everyone reacts differently. I have 6 rads left, fortunately so far, my mouth isn't too sore, just the left side of my tongue and the tonsil base, like a mild sore throat. I'm still swallowing my supplements. The mucus isn't that bad and the glands are working overtime trying to survive, perhaps the right parotid being spared is trying to compensate, don't know... facial hair is till growing in that area, so it must be unaffected.

However, I have terribly sensitive rad burns mainly on the left, a little on the right neck. I apply a special rad burn lotion several times a day. The skin feels itchy and irritated, peeling in some areas.

Did any of you experience this? Did your skin breakdown? Did they continue with rads to the end?

Thanks for your comments...

Comments

  • KTeacher
    KTeacher Member Posts: 1,103 Member
    #2
    Sorry
    Part of the process. I was red and burned. I remember the crease in my neck hurt if the skin overlapped and touched. I had the Miaderm given to me from the techs. Didn't seem to help the first time, I would slather Aquaphor on my neck and just lay one of my husbands clean cotton handkerchiefs over the area. Pealed quite a bit but in the end the skin was fine and I did not keep the 'tan.' I will warn you that the cold last winter hurt. I bought a fleece 6 in one hood that could cover over my nose down my neck and over my head. I looked like I could rob a bank! But it kept me comfortable and that is my motto. The second time, the Miaderm worked well, still use Aquaphor on my lips and try each new 'chapstick' that I find. Sorry to name products, but aloe didn't help me. I had the plant and opened it up and applied, I know other people have used it for regular burns.
    I also stay covered in the sun. Wide brimmed hats. I have quite a collection now, both summer and winter hats, I guess I am old enough to start getting red hats! I have found SPF fabric shirts for the summer also. The only thing that I can figure I got my cancer from was sun dammage. Non-drinker, non-smoker, hpv negative.
  • KTeacher
    KTeacher Member Posts: 1,103 Member
    #3
    Continue
    They did my rads to the end. I did not have any infection in the skin. They did warn me to wash my hands before I put on the lotions, they had been having many patients getting infections. I am compulsive about washing hands, I am back to school so my students will be washing hands frequently.
  • mixleader
    mixleader Member Posts: 267 Member
    #4
    Rads
    Hello, Roger. I'm a Roger also. I had 30 rads to the right side of my face and around the back of my neck. Luckily, I did not get severe burns. I did start to hurt some when I was close to being done and I looked like I had a sunburn, but I did not have to resort to pain meds then. I also had the feeling like I was choking sometimes, but I could swallow all the way through treatments. The choking feeling did cause me anxiety and I had to take Ativan from time to time to fight back the panic. I felt fortunate at the time to not get the severe side effects that some had reported. Good luck on your treatments and I hope you get through them okay. I see two beautiful little reasons in your photo to fight through this.

    Roger
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    #5
    Burns
    I had burns also and they did not show up until the last week of rads. It was sore, especially in the creases of which I have numerous. I found aloe at the health store to help and there is also a product only available online called Miaderm which is especially formulated for rad burns but it is kind of spendy. You know from being an RN that it is very important to stay on top of burns. I would think any burn product would be good.
  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #6
    I was fortunate
    to not have any burns at all. I've seen many people pretty badly burned, and some who just simply couldn't finish treatment because their skin was breaking down so badly. If you burn, the last week is the worst. Just take it day by day.

    Pat
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #7
    French-fry

    During and for sometime after my radiation treatment was over my face looked like a French-fry and that is putting it good. The only thing I was able to use was some Aloe Vera cream that my Wife found, anything else just made it feel worse. Some of the battle scars are still there but most have faded away

    Hondo
  • MJ70
    MJ70 Member Posts: 75
    #8
    Roger/burns
    I had to stop my rads (week seven) for a week to help heal my third degree burns from my chin to upper chest..My wife had to put on jell packs (Derma sorb) and use a stockinet net to hold them on...We pulled it over my head to my waist and cut holes for my eyes and mouth and ears....thank god for short memories as we all know..that was seven years ago..Life is still good...Good luck it will get better..Mel
  • staceya
    staceya Member Posts: 720
    #9
    MJ70 said:

    Roger/burns
    I had to stop my rads (week seven) for a week to help heal my third degree burns from my chin to upper chest..My wife had to put on jell packs (Derma sorb) and use a stockinet net to hold them on...We pulled it over my head to my waist and cut holes for my eyes and mouth and ears....thank god for short memories as we all know..that was seven years ago..Life is still good...Good luck it will get better..Mel

    Dear Roger
    I had severe
    Dear Roger
    I had severe burns, did not have to stop treatment, only because I saw the wound care team, and did home debridement (as fun as it sounds)over a weekend. I had eschar that was pulling/twisting my face down towards my neck and I could hardly turn my head, and some bizarre looking clove like things that also needed to be removed. I have done a lot of wound care on others, but that was a first for me. Actually I think it is better doing it yourself. I would have you check in with the wound care team at your hospital. It did heal without any scarring which I never would have believed at the time.
    Soon you will be on the healing side..Keep strong.
    Stacey
  • NJR
    NJR Member Posts: 82
    #10
    Rad burns
    My burns were not really a problem till the last few days but the solution was pretty simple. They gave me part of bottle of lidocane and told me to mix that in with my Aloe gel and it worked like a charm. I however never did have any blistering or open sores.
  • RogerRN43
    RogerRN43 Member Posts: 185
    #11
    New cream
    I saw the would care nurse today and she gave me a mix of xylocaine/polysporin for the peeling and raw areas, seems to soothe for a few hours.
    5 rads to go...
  • osmotar
    osmotar Member Posts: 1,006
    #12
    RogerRN43 said:

    New cream
    I saw the would care nurse today and she gave me a mix of xylocaine/polysporin for the peeling and raw areas, seems to soothe for a few hours.
    5 rads to go...

    Almost
    Almost the end...congrats
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #13
    Sunburned and Peeling
    Mine was more like a pretty bad sunburn that turned the skin brown, then dry and peeled off.

    It was never weeping or raw though... I just mainly took warm showers and between that and the towel, most dead skin would slough off.

    Hang in there, almost done...
    JG
  • staceya
    staceya Member Posts: 720
    #14
    Skiffin16 said:

    Sunburned and Peeling
    Mine was more like a pretty bad sunburn that turned the skin brown, then dry and peeled off.

    It was never weeping or raw though... I just mainly took warm showers and between that and the towel, most dead skin would slough off.

    Hang in there, almost done...
    JG

    Glad you saw the wound care
    Glad you saw the wound care nurse. Always good to get some more opinions.
    I would have never thought my neck would have healed up without scars-it was a mess.
    You are almost there, although there is a little post treatment blues, which I was glad I was pre-warned about.
    Sending you healing thoughts!
    STacey
  • RogerRN43
    RogerRN43 Member Posts: 185
    #15
    Skiffin16 said:

    Sunburned and Peeling
    Mine was more like a pretty bad sunburn that turned the skin brown, then dry and peeled off.

    It was never weeping or raw though... I just mainly took warm showers and between that and the towel, most dead skin would slough off.

    Hang in there, almost done...
    JG

    Ditto John and thanks Stacey
    I hope mine stays like that, the skin is brown and peels off, pink underneath.
    Although sensitive, there are no raw open areas. The pink areas, I'm not sure, don't hurt, it's the drying brown areas that feel itchy and irritated.
  • Bigfuzzydoug
    Bigfuzzydoug Member Posts: 154
    #16
    HALE YEAH!
    2nd degree burns. Red, peeling and blistered. After every session, Radi-Gel. Then at work - Aquaphor and then more Aquaphor when I got home. About 4 weeks after my last treatment my skin started to get better. By 2 months later it was pretty much normal again except for the fact that I never have to shave my neck again. Whiskers were all permanently fried off. Now I'm just doing some soft-tissue chiro therapy and daily self-massage to break up the fibrosis and scar tissue. Prevent the classic "thickening". We've got it all gone except for one lat bit above my Adam's apple which is still thich and tough.
  • ac
    ac Member Posts: 88 Member
    #17
    Burns
    I had burns on both sides of my neck with a a pale line down the middle as I had bilateral node involvement. The mucus also got pretty bad for me a few rads from the end. I'm still experiencing some of that a few weeks post treatment. You can put Aquafor on the burns. I continued with the rads to the end. All the best.

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