Radiation mock up?

Tats
My first round of radiation 10 years ago, they did permanent tattoos on me, this time I was hoping they would use the old ones... Wrong again. Whole nother round, but they put tape on top of them so they didn't wash off for weeks. I also agree, the radiation exhausted me. For several weeks after, I napped.

KAL89 said:

Tats
Hi - I am new here and newly diagnosed.

I actually just got home from getting my tattoos today. They did a CT scan today, marked up with a sharpie and then the tats. Now I go next week for a trial run and then start treatments the next day.

I have to have 30 treatments total - and am currently on the hunt for a wireless bra, as I have been told I cannot wear one with a wire.

Any suggestions?

Thanks - Kathy

I was told also to not wire
I was told also to not wire an underwire bra, but, I did for awhile. You can wear a camisole, or, buy a cheap cotton bra in WalMart, Penney's, Target, lots of places. No sense in spending a lot of money on one. Or, if your Cancer center has a gift shop, maybe they can help you.

After awhile, I quit wearing a bra. My skin was getting tender and then it started getting red, so, I just went without anything.


Good luck!

Jan

salls41 said:

Well come on thru
If you can do it, come on thru and smack the fire out of me and I will hug you! My dear friend Kay, you MUST do something!You need to get some emotional relief before getting into the rads. They will be dragging you down even more. You have more going on than the cancer in your life. I know finances suck right now, but maybe you can plan a vacation for after Rads..something you can really look forward too? Have you tried meditation or yoga?

Kay
I'm like you.No depressents.I can't help it.When I went cold turkey off caffeine pop my heart went berserk.My heart meds were not working for a whole day like they should.I had to get another pill within 12 hours.I called my heart doctor for tests.Nothing wrong with me.It had to be something??? I went through what I did different lately.It was the caffeine pop I went off.It was horrible.My heart rate was almost 140 beats a minute.As soon as I took my heart pill things were better. SO when they say you need antidepressent but go off gradual it doesn't make me feel secure it will be that easy for me.My heart races even if I get dehydrated with the flu.

Everyone's body is different.Mine just happens to be that way.I Have a friend who is the same way.She has tachycardia also and is a breast cancer survivor. She won't take antidepressants either.

I did one session of meditation and it helped.It's something you can do at home.

Also I asked my doctor for a antidepressent pill that wasn't habit forming but she said those won't work.


Lynn Smith

heart-in-hand said:

Anti depressants don't work for me.
1. They can't make my son come back
2. They can't make my daughter care about me
3. They can't make my employer stop thinking about his insurance premiums when he looks at me.
4. They make me nauseous

They feel like a medical band-aid to apply to my spiritual heartbreak. What i really need is some kind of spiritual chemo. Do you understand? I am glad they work for so many though...just not for me.

I am so sorry that you're
I am so sorry that you're feeling this way, and, I understand that you don't want to read the word or hear of antidepressants. Could you see someone in the religious field, a priest possibly? Or, have you thought of some counseling? I hate reading how you are feeling.

I also want to say good luck with rads,


Noel

heart-in-hand said:

Anti depressants don't work for me.
1. They can't make my son come back
2. They can't make my daughter care about me
3. They can't make my employer stop thinking about his insurance premiums when he looks at me.
4. They make me nauseous

They feel like a medical band-aid to apply to my spiritual heartbreak. What i really need is some kind of spiritual chemo. Do you understand? I am glad they work for so many though...just not for me.

No anti-depressants here!
I too will not/cannot take anti-depressants. For me - they do take away the depression but they take ALL feelings away and I just become a total veg. That's far worse than dealing with some negative feelings and beating them.

(Reminder to self - increase Vit D tonight. I deal withSAD [Seasonal Affective Disorder] but can keep it under control with my light box and extra D and B complex during winter.) Depending on where you live you might get some relief (at least more energy) by adding a light box, and more Vit D and B complex during winter. But talk to your Dr about it before trying.

I never took Hubby or Son to any of my 16 chemo or rads. There was no way that I wanted either of them to be sitting there watching the nasty chemo be pumped into my body. So I took myself to all TX happily. They would either or both gone with me if I had asked and they did get permission from the companies they worked for at the time to carry their cells turned on (against company policy) on days I had chemo 'just in case'. Don't be too hard on your daughter - it would be horrible to have to be there watching 'stuff' being forced into your body that is in effect killing you so that you can live. Also, on the 12 weekly Taxol, as soon as the IV Benadryl started I would go 'nighty-night until about 20 minutes before it was done so wouldn't have known if anyone was there or not for the most part anyway.

Better quite rambling on and go vote!


Winyan - The Power Within

Susan

Tux said:

bra suggestion
I purchased cotton "Just My Size" bras from Walmart, Mejier, K-Mart--Can't remember which.
Nurse said to go up a size or 2 & I did. Comfy bras that I wore daily for the duration & for
a while afterward. I was a middle-school teacher at the time, so going braless was not an option.
(LOL) Good luck!

Have you started rads yet?
Have you started rads yet? How are you doing?


Hugs, Megan

Lynn Smith said:

Kay
I'm like you.No depressents.I can't help it.When I went cold turkey off caffeine pop my heart went berserk.My heart meds were not working for a whole day like they should.I had to get another pill within 12 hours.I called my heart doctor for tests.Nothing wrong with me.It had to be something??? I went through what I did different lately.It was the caffeine pop I went off.It was horrible.My heart rate was almost 140 beats a minute.As soon as I took my heart pill things were better. SO when they say you need antidepressent but go off gradual it doesn't make me feel secure it will be that easy for me.My heart races even if I get dehydrated with the flu.

Everyone's body is different.Mine just happens to be that way.I Have a friend who is the same way.She has tachycardia also and is a breast cancer survivor. She won't take antidepressants either.

I did one session of meditation and it helped.It's something you can do at home.

Also I asked my doctor for a antidepressent pill that wasn't habit forming but she said those won't work.


Lynn Smith

I take exception to the comment...
that "antidepressants that are not habit forming do not work." I absolutely disagree. I have been on Prozac for years and I can tell you it DOES work, and it works WELL, and it doesn't make you a Zombie. As a matter of fact, I have a lot of friends and family who have been on them from time to time and when they started taking the meds they noticed NO DIFFERENCE....their friends and family noticed the difference first. It's not like taking a "happy pill". It's more like you've been bashing your head against a wall constantly, and then you stop. You don't feel like singing and dancing, but the pain is suddenly GONE. And there are so many out there now, you are much more likely to find something that works well for you. My mother-in-law has been in a deep depression for a year and we took her to the doctor and they put her on Lexapro for a month. It didn't seem to do anything, so he switched her to Cymbalta, and I'VE noticed a huge difference. I don't think SHE has noticed. It's THAT subtle.