Radiotherapy advice for distressed Mum

Hi All,

My Mother has just finished Chemo following her mastectomy and has been advised that she must now also undergo radiotherapy.

She, and I, have heard many “horror stories” about radiotherapy and what it does to you. My mum is very distressed and turning to me for advice and I do not know what to say or do.

Would/could anyone who has been through or is still undergoing radiotherapy treatment share their experiences with me to help me ?

Thank you for any advice, help or experiences you can share.

Solosmummy x

Hello solomummy I can only give my experience of radiotherapy. I had mine 5 years ago 15 sessions with 1 booster. For me there was really no noticable effects, really none. Maybe just a slight redness on surface but that was all I had. I was not told about , didn’t know to ask really about creams and special soaps etc.I used nothing different to normal.We are all different and re-act differently but very,very many women have nothing really noticable or bad with radio so hopefully that will apply with your mum too.

Hi there Solosmummy and welcome to the BCC forums

I am posting a link to the BCC ‘Radiotherapy’ publication which you and your mum may find helpful to read:

www2.breastcancercare.org.uk/publications/treatment-side-effects/radiotherapy-primary-early-breast-cancer-bcc26

In addition to the support you have here please feel free to call our helpline for further information and a ‘listening ear’ on 0808 800 6000, the lines are open weekdays 9-5 and Sat 9-2

Best wishes
Lucy

Gosh, let me tell you the worst of it for me–just the tiredness and I am sure that is nothing like the tiredness from chemo.

I am 65 so my skin is old and tired. I started moisturising with oils weeks before treatment. I went against convention and used emu oil.

i had 3 weeks plus one week of boosters. Everyone was concerned about my dignity. I honestly had no problems until the end of the third week when i started getting nerve pain, not many people get this. Not real pain, just as if lots of insects suddenly ran through your breast. If you grabbed yourself it stopped. That lasted for about 2 weeks. My boob got very hot, but not too uncomfortable, and my skin did not break. At the end of the treatment radiation fatigue hit. Suddenly I could not do the things I had planned. ( i am a drummer and have to carry heavy gear around and then play for two hours and then carry it back) I did not feel ill just unable to do as much as i wanted, and if i did too much i had to lie down all the next day.

there is another thread on here by el katrino who has logged her progress week by week,i will try to bump it

It was time consuming and annoying having ot go to the hospital every single day and I will be glad when the fatigue passes, But I would not call my story a horror story by any means.

Hello there,

I had radiotherapy 10yrs ago - 25 sessions over 5 weeks, and didn’t have any huge problems at all. My skin became a bit sore towards the end so they gave me hydrocortisone cream for it. I got tired and it’s not the sort of tiredness where you sleep extra - you just need to allow time in your day for relaxing on the bed or sofa. There’s no real tiredness to start with, but the radiotherapy has a build up effect. She’ll get more tired the further into her treatment, and may find she’s tiredest for the two weeks after treatment has finished. That was the case with me anyway, and they’d warned me that’d probably happen

Please tell your Mum not to worry, if possible - it’s great she’s through the chemo, and although I’ve never had chemo, I’ve always been led to understand that the side effects of that are much worse than for radiotherapy.

Just suggest to her that she follows the hospital’s advice about which creams etc to use or avoid during radiotherapy. E45 was the favourite cream when I had radiotherapy, to keep the skin well-looked after during treatment, but it might have changed to something else by now.

With much love,
Shelley xxx

Hi, I had 20 sessions of radiotherapy in March of this year, after 5 months of chemo. I did get tender on the last week and for about 10 days later. They gave me some cooling gel sheets which really helped, especially at night and I used E45 cream from day 1, applying it several times a day, which also helped. My husband took me every day as it was an hours drive, so that may be helpful for your mum if somebody can take her, as she will may feel tired by the last week.

Now 6 months on my skin is a little darker on that breast, and sometimes feels a little tender, but other than that it’s been fine. I think compared to the chemo it’s not something she should worry too much about, although I was a little concerned I know when I started. There is sometimes a lot of hanging around, which can get a bit frustrating, so taking a book or music helped.
I hope it goes well for her. x

Thank you all so much for all your help. It was so good to be able to read out your positive comments to my Mum who lives in Italy.
Solosmummy x