Hello everybody,
I wanted to ask about Radiotherapy and permanent tattoos.
I wondered did anyone get offered any alternatives or refused them?
Or had them and they weren’t too bad after all.
I have heard of women having them removed after treatment too.
I do not want them if it can be avoided but I was wondering about other peoples experiences if anyone is willing to share.
Thank you! Xx 
I’ll be thinking of you Monday. Take your time. From my experience the clinics at Velindre are always behind because they give you the time you need.
Hi @chakakhan
I had my radiotherapy planning and tattoos late December for a January start. As I was bi lateral I had 3 tattoos. They are the tiniest dots, one on each side of the outer boob and one between them, that’s the only one I can see. I was shown a tattoo on the arm of a radiologist that had really faded after a couple of years. I’m not a big fan of tattoos and never thought I’d ever have one let alone 3 dots. I even made the staff laugh when I asked if they did request! I asked why they couldn’t just do permanent marker but they advised they it does wear off over time and to be very accurate they need them in the exact place.
Personally I barely notice them and like my scars they are part of my journey. I never even thought about getting them removed.
Let us know if you find out anything
@naughty_boob Thank you
Yes I’m 9.30 in the morning but fully expecting it to be a bit behind , breast clinic appointments were usually at least 45 mins behind .
I’ve been to have a wig fitted today , dark roots with funky cerise ends in a wavy style , I love it , I’m going to have different hair for every day of the week 
@arty1 that body painting you have done is absolutely stunning. You are so talented. I love the sound of your wig too. I had a purple one, a blonde one with dark roots which was great because it looked very real, and an assortment of hats with hair. I also had something diabolical that can never see the light of day. That was a late night mistake on a dodgy Chinese website.
I was also really scared before chemotherapy. I think that’s totally normal. For my first one they gave me Lorazepam as well as the steroids and antihistamine. I was absolutely high as a kite. Bonkers, barmy, off my nut, batshit crazy for the next few days afterwards. Unsurprisingly they had to reduce my steroids to an eighth of what they normally give you. Still, they sent me off into a very dreamy world. What with the antihistamine as well, I would literally say goodbye to the nurses as I felt the haze descend. in many ways, it was quite nice.
I’m sitting waiting for radiotherapy at the moment so I am doing this as a voice recording on my phone and I can’t scroll back to read what everyone has written so I may have to post this and go back and do another post. On that note, @chakakhan I concur with what @naughty_boob Says. You simply can’t see those tattoos and in many ways it’s a weird word to use because it conjures up the sort of thing that arty paints whereas in actual fact, they are the tiniest dots that you have to squint to find on your body. I’ve got moles way larger than those!
@jeml i’m really sorry to hear that you’ve had a delay, but it sounds like you’ve really got your head around everything. That’s a great place to be. I liked to listen to comedy podcasts when I was having chemo. I listened to the whole of Alan Partridge which was really entertaining and then I got stuck into Bob Mortimer‘s autobiography.
I have just seen my consultant about my dented tit. It looks rather like a deflated football at the moment. It’s one of the side-effects of radiotherapy so I’m not too worried as they’ll sort it out afterwards. It’s most definitely a work in progress!
@naughty_boob do you mind if I ask how your reaction presented ? Did they reduce your dose ?
I can remember dry drowning after water went down the wrong way once … I could not speak !!
I thought I’d was going to die on the spot , so I agree that when you genuinely can’t breathe , you won’t be able to speak .
The reduced hrt regime is causing me to have a period just days after the last one has finished… by the time I start chemo I’ll have no iron left as I’m already anaemic
@salbert I’m amazed I managed to paint at all tbh !
I also had buyers regret after buying a wig from Amazon when they first said I was having chemo … it made me look like the Temu version if Jennifer Anniston
Sounds like they prepped you well the first time , lorazepam knocks you out alone 
No tattoos for me. I was surprised as I was expecting them so I asked. Apparently not always necessary these days. At my planning scan I had a bit of wire taped to my chest.Also the surgeon left some clips at the tumour bed when I had my lumpectomy. I didn’t realise this is a thing they do so I asked about that too. Apparently they are very tiny ‘metal things’ which show up like stars under the imaging scan to make sure you are positioned correctly for radiotherapy.
I didn’t choose any of this. It was just the way it was done.
And my only tip about any treatment at all is moisturise, moisturise, moisturise for radiotherapy.
Ha ha. I was also a bit “odd” on my meds.
It did make me very creative though and I’ve designed a couple of board games when at the mid point between bonkers and back to earth. Just trying to get them play tested now without much success yet.
Mind you it wasn’t all like that. Apparently I also asked the nurse how cross she would be if I fell in a canal. Which seems strangely specific.
PS. MAFS binge tonight!
Its interesting to hear how some of you went a bit bonkers on premeds, i just had piriton which made me sleepy snd then the steroid which gives you an itchy bum while they are administering it!
@norts i’m glad you said you didnt have a tattoo, because i didnt either at my planning meeting and i was beginning to wonder if they had just forgotten it. I was in and out of the rsdiotherapy unit for the planning CT in no time and i was surprised it was so quick, especially as i thought i would see a Radiologist. My oncologist had already been through all the side effects and did the consent forms though. How is the Flamigel going @salbert? I also forgot to ask about that at the planning meeting. Hope all going well with your treatment.
Hi @arty1
I felt hot and had a pink flush to my face I then vomited several times.
Yes they reduced my dose and kept a closer eye on me within Velindre rather than at an outreach hospital without doctor cover. I also given premeds of Ceterizine, Famotidine and Dexamethasone taken the day before , the day of and the day after the infusion. No further reactions. I was cross with them that they hadn’t given me premeds before as they would have prevented the reaction and not had to stop the infusion, especially when they knew I was a very allergic person.They said they see how people react first.
@norts Thank you for making me laugh out loud twice first thing this morning when I read that not only did you design two board games on steroids but that you also asked how cross the nurse would be if you fell in a canal. Randomness and oddness as a combination never fail to make me howl. As I was being wheeled out of recovery from my mastectomy I sat up to express how beautiful a passing medical person was. I think she took it well. Credit where it’s due, I always say!
@pennyp I never knew itchy bum was a steroid side effect! I was so off my nut every time that it’s possible I was scratching away merrily without a clue. Flamigel RT is going really well. When I saw my consultant yesterday about my deflated football, she said the skin was in really good condition so far. Today is my midway point so I pray it continues.
@galdiolus How many chemos do you have to go? Great that you had totally zenned out by the second one.
@arty1 Can you have a Lorazepam? I say take all the drugs they offer you as anxiety is bloody awful.
xx
Thank you Naughty boob for your experience it did help and I got to read it before the planning scan yesterday but had no time to reply then.
I was not mentally prepared for this appointment and was wishing that the machine would break so I did not have to have my appointment but I thought this was unlikely due to it being a new hospital with new machinery.
When I got there they said they were awfully sorry but the machine was broken!
I am now in awe about my newfound psychic abilities!
I have to have 3 dots too, perhaps its standard.
I asked if these were like prison tattoos but they laughed and said that was teardrops!
I also asked about semi permanent ink,permanent marker as well.
They said they could mark the area with pen and cover with Tegaderm a clear covering but you risk the marks coming off and repeat planning scans and breaks in treatment.
I am not sure about what I am going to do at this moment and I have my planning scan today but if the area needs moisturising then tegaderm may hinder this.
My local Maggies centre is noncommittal on any advice around moisturising but to follow advice from Radiographers.
It is funny about the tattoos request you asked perhaps a traditional swallow I was thinking at first.
I am struggling with mastectomy scars ,picc line scarring and now tattoos…but perhaps I will have them and barely notice them too and they will be part of my journey as well.
Thank you X
Thank you Norts for your reply.
So many decisions to make it is difficult sometimes.
It is great that you did not need the tattoos and interesting to hear other peoples journey too.
Perhaps it is individualised depending on surgery received.
Moisturise, moisturise,moisturise will be my new mantra…but not had any advice about what to use yet.
My local Maggies will not advise about what to use and directed me to my team.
Thank you 
Thank you Salbert it really helps to hear other peoples experiences about the tattoos to try and put things into perspective.
I’m almost a little disappointed that I didn’t get a tattoo for my radiotherapy. The machine they used at my centre didn’t require them so my planning session only took about 5 seconds.
I didn’t use any moisturiser, only the flamigel 2x a day during the treatment and upping it to 3x a day post treatment. It’s been almost a month since I’ve finished and I’m not using anything now and it all looks fine.
@naughty_boob ohhh that sounds rough !
Love that they test you first … “we could give you preventive meds but let’s see how ill you are before we do it “
@norts and @salbert you both made me laugh out loud while I was sat at the hospital with my 14 year old having her annual check
I took an hour to wake up after surgery , I think they were about to slap me round the face
@pennyp I can’t wait to be off my face , bat shit with a violently itchy bum 
On a good note , Olivia my daughter has been given the all clear and discharged! This journey started when she was 7 and finally at nearly 15 we are done . There is no evidence of any residual tumour and the bone graft surgery she had five years ago has done its job and the huge space left in her femur by the tumour has filled with bone . Her titanium rods are now half way up her leg but the consultant said as long as they stay flush with the bone , it’s fine .
Olivia said she felt odd walking out if the hospital knowing that was it after nearly 7 years … I get that , I can imagine it’s something we will all feel at some point .
Celebratory discharge photo attached !
Such wonderful news about your beautiful daughter
