As we are coming towards the end of March, I thought I would start a new thread for those ladies we are starting or even those who have started but will continue/finish during April.
Helena xxx
Morning Ladybowler - had my prep appt this week, so now sporting my tiny tatts ready for sessions to start on 19th April through to 10th May. Hopefully, I’m on the home run now. I was diagnosed with invasive ER+ at the end of November. Had WLE and node removal just before Christmas, followed by right-side mastectomy at the beginning of February. Feeling a little daunted at the prospect at the moment - probably because I’ve heard and read about the possible side effects. My rational head says that it’ll be fine and reminds me that most people suffer minimal side effects, if any. My irrational head (surfaces from time to time) says otherwise!
Hi Ladies,
I started my rads on Monday, so three days in now.
Welcome to the thread.
Xx
DJD - I felt much the same before I started and nearly chickened out of radiotherapy. In the end you have to weigh the risks of the radiotherapy against the significant increased risk of recurrence if you don’t have it after a WLE. I have gone ahead with the standard 15, and have now had 12 of them. I am supposed to have 8 boosters afterwards, but still not 100% sure I want to go ahead - I will be discussing with oncologist this afternoon.
Hello Ladies
I start 19 sessions on the 10th April, finish on the 9th May, following WLE and SNB on the 24th Feb. Have started using the E45 cream once a day, felt really odd at first as I still have some numb patches on my breast but it’s getting easier touching it with each cream up! Wanted to wish you all Good Luck, looking forward to those bells ringing when it’s all done!! 
I will be starting 15 sessions on Monday .Feeling a bit apprehensive but had planning meeting two weeks ago and this went smoothly. I found the staff very helpful and well organised and it was all much quicker than I expected. I am also worried as I am fair skinned but will be given creams to use on Monday.Good Luck to everyone having treatment .Lets hope it all goes quickly and smoothly.
Hi everyone Im starting a 3 wk course of radiotherapy tomorrow. Im having loads of doubts about it bt I know I will go ahead with it as I would feel really sick if I decided not to have it and the cancer came back. but I worry about the side effects as they have told me the radiation will touch my lung and so I will have scar tissue there. As I have in the past smoked and also had frequent chest infections I am now worrying it might give me lung cancer. I also worry that the large amount of radiation will give me another cancer somewhere else in my body. I am also wandering if I need to stop taing my multi vits, grapeseed extract, vit D3 and vit C. as Ive read sme supplements can stop the radiation working properly. Feel like I have loads of unanswered questions and now I have left it too late to ask. Im now feelng frightened and nervous and wandering if I am doing the right thing but there is no way of knowing.
hugs from Corrina xx
hi Corrina,
Radiotherapy is well researched, tried & tested in reducing recurrance rates substantially following bc treatment, hence loads of nhs investment in it.
Like all things when going through this, the side effects sound scary, but most of us tolerate it well. Rads is highly targetted to the area affected & a further cancer diagnosis is a very rare complication. The risk of bc recurrence from not having rads would be substantially higher. .
Oddly, quite a lot us on here have reported almost enjoying the rads experience as you get to know the team & others going through it in your time slot.
I have not heard of anything linking vitamins to reducing the effectiveness of treatment, but it might be an idea to post in the ‘ask our nurses’ section about this as well as any other rads queries you may have. Your team will also advise.
I’m also fair skinned, but my skin & boob looked & felt pretty much back to normal after about a month.
ann x
Hi Corina, As Ann says Radiotheraphy is a great defence against reacurrance and Is really pretty straight forward, I actually looked forward to going and missed the whole team and the people I had met when I finished, I used Aqueous cream and aloe Vera and was never told to only use one specific thing, I got a little pink and warm but nothing major and flew out to Menorca 3 weeks after I finished and had no issues with sunbathing! Try not to get wrapped up with possible side affects as most of them are rare, I’ve had no lasting lung issues just a bit of a dry cough after finishing but that soon settled, two years on I would never know I had anything done! All the best Xx Jo
I’ve had my first radiotherapy treatment today and my skin is already pink. Is this normal after just one session?
Thank you to everyone for you kind comments and wise words. I’m now looking forward to getting through this. Roll on 10th April.
Im looking forward to ringing that bell! ?
Kerri
Pippa, Corinna and Djroo - it is normal for it to start going slightly pink after the first few, although I didn’t notice anything until the second week (14 down, 9 more to go). It’s probably nothing to worry about unless it starts to get sore or painful. Keep moisturising, keep well hydrated, don’t wear anything that could rub, and you should be OK over the weekend. They should be checking you every day, so you can mention it at your next session if you are still concerned.
Hi all,
i start my rads tomorrow. First of fifteen sessions. I am bricking it now! It hasn’t been straightforward.
My WLE was on 18 January, and Ilthough the surgery healed well, my armpit has been a nightmare. I have had lots of pain, and had to have antivirals because the doctor thinks the shingles that I had last year, in my armpit and down my arm, has flared up again because of the surgery and disturbance to the nerve.
Also, my tumour was left side, so my heart is in the way and I got called back for a second planning session, where I had to learn the breathing technique to keep my heat out of the way. It involves holding my breath for 15 seconds at a time, so they can do the rads in short bursts. Doesn’t sound too bad, but when you’re anxious and uncomfortable, and know you mustn’t take a breath, it’s not easy to maintain.
Really not looking forward to three weeks of that, but got to be done, so I have to get on with it. Other people don’t get it, because people they think I just have to go and lie down for 15 mins, then walk away! Feels very lonely at the moment. So, if anybody has done this, and can offer any advice, before I leave tomorrow afternoon for the first one, I’d really appreciate it.
I also should have have asked what happens if I can’t hold my breath and let go! How serious is that? It’s playing on my mind and I’m scared I’ll be rubbish at it. Just at the moment I feel a bit sorry for myself and wonder why mine couldn’t just be straightforward.
Jayne x
Hi ladies, hope you all had a good weekend.
Jayne, I have to do the breath hold as having the treatment to chest wall. It’s not too bad as they count down from 20 each time and usually get to 5 before they say “breathe normally”. I have a little block on my chest which measures the breath and if this moves , if I accidentally breath out to early, the machine will cut off so no chance of the radiotherapy getting where it shouldn’t.
I’m into week 2 now but appointments this week are evenings, and only 4 as Friday is a rest day.
5 down, 15 to go ?. It was nice to have the weekend off. Must remember to do exercises more than once a day though as feeling very stiff today.
As for boob colour, just very slightly pinker than the other.
My only bugbear at the moment is that my chemo is the gift that keeps on giving and I’m now losing nails and have an infection on one of the nail beds ?. GP has prescribed me some antibiotics to help.
Hugs to to all of you starting this week. It’s not too bad. We can do this ?? Xx
6 down 14 to go ?
Not sure about these evening appointments though, felt totally exhausted by the time I got to the hospital. Seem to have woken up a bit again though, just in time for bed ?.
Xx
Thanks JoJo, glad you seem to be doing OK so far despite the evening appointments, which must be very tiring. It’s a relief to have the weekend off, isn’t it?
Glad your first one wasn’t as bad as you feared Jayne. It is always daunting before you start a new treatment. I don’t have to do the breathing exercises, but if I did I would probably have felt the same as you before starting. Now you know what to expect, the rest should be easier to deal with.
Keep doing the exercises, Corinna, even though it’s sometimes hard to motivate yourself. It can also be difficult to fit them in when you are spending a long time getting to and from the hospital and waiting around atbthe hospital when they are running late. I am still doing them 4 times a day as instructed by the oncologist, and I think I would struggle to hold my position on the machine if I hadn’t.
They are mostly giving me late morning, lunchtime or early afternoon appointments. I find the hanging around waiting when they are running late and the travelling to and from the hospital are as tiring as the radiotherapy itself.
I had number 15 today, the last of the whole breast ones (no bell ringing yet). Today they were running an hour and a half late, so I was late for my Herceptin injection. Fortunately, I had already warned the chemotherapy unit at the other hospital this might happen, and they were OK about it.
I’ll be having the first of the 8 boosters tomorrow. I have got Intrasite (Hydragel) and Instillagel on standby in case of skin breakdown or burns. I keep drinking plenty of water and plastering on the aqueous cream, and hoping for the best.
Hope everyone else having radiotherapy at the moment is coping well and avoiding skin problems. It is an ordeal, and I certainly can’t say I enjoy it, but we will get there in the end.
Hi all.
Not it feeling too bad today, and slept well last night.
no.2 of 15 later today.
typically, I have been bitten in the night, on my left arm and it itches like you wouldn’t believe! Going to have to slather it with something this afternoon, so it doesn’t itch while I have to keep still! ?
How annoying is that?!! Lol!
I also have to take my glasses off, otherwise I have the overwhelming urge to push them up my nose! Does anybody else get strong urges to move when they know they have to keep still?!
J
xx
Hello everyone
4 down …11 to go .Today they didnt have to do a scan first so it was a bit quicker. That was a relief as I hate lying there waiting for the treatment to start!.They said they will scan every week now. I am a bit more used to the routine now and feel ok today.My shoulder was a bit stiff at the weekend but its ok today…Hope everyone else is ok too !
Day 2 of 15
Well, that was horrendous!
It took four attempts to set up today, with arms in splints and laying on the bed for an hour and a quarter. While they marked me up, washed it off and repeated!
Apparently something has changed between initial scan set up and treatment, and because of the position of my heart they are having to be extra careful. They hope they’ll find it easier as treatments go on, but can’t promise anything.
Achey all over and fed up. I know it has to be done, but the thought travelling over an hour each way, plus over an hour each day for tratement time is a bit daunting to be honest. ?
Hope all all of your days have been better than mine. X
Jayne - sorry your second one was such an ordeal after the first one went OK. I hope it is better today. I sometimes find my arms ache as well, but they have not yet resorted to splints. They do use felt tip pens.
Corrina - when I started they also took reference images the first three days, then once a week. The 15 whole breast ones didn’t take long, even with the images it was only 10 minutes.
I had the first booster yesterday. Things did not go well. They had two goes before deciding that the square frame thing was too close to my chest. They were going to send me home without being treated until I pointed out that if they did that they wouldn’t be able to finish my treatment before Easter.
So instead I was told to go away while they re-programmed the machine and come back later. Fortunately it was OK after they had done this, so I was able to be treated. They must have taken an image first, this being the first booster, so by the time they finished my arms were aching and I was struggling to keep still. The radiographer suggested taking a couple of Paracetamol before the next one, so I will try that and let you know if it helps.
Hopefully today’s will not be so much of an ordeal.