Hello all I wondered if anyone has had this dilemma. I seen the oncologist yesterday and he has given me choices for radiotherapy. Because I have large boobs he said I can either have 15 treatments or alternatively 5 more concentrated treatments. I will drive 2 hrs each way every day of my treatment. Has anyone chosen the 5 and what was their outcome please. Very unsure what to do
Hi @honor this is a pair of 36GG speaking. I wasn’t given the choice but after being told at the outset I’d have 15 sessions, when it came to it I had the 5 hypofractionated sessions. I was very surprised and delighted to “get away” with only 5 and found it absolutely fine. I had no skin breakdown, just a slightly tanned boob for about three months. I did get fatigue about two weeks afterwards but I think that would have happened on the 15 sessions. I honestly cannot think of any downside from my perspective. The upsides are, I have osteoarthritis in my right shoulder so holding my arms above my head for 10 minutes (the treatment itself takes less than a minute but they have to get you in the right position and line up the tattoos) was excruciating and I don’t think I could have done it 15 times. Also, with the NHS, there is often quite a bit of hanging around as machines routinely breakdown. All of my appointments were late afternoon with very precise times but I was usually waiting for 1-2 hours. I am in Central London so it is busy and might be better elsewhere. Whatever you decide, rads is the easiest of the active treatments to get through in my view and it’s important to mop up all of the stray cells that may have been left. Good luck.
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Thank you so much for your reply, this is very helpful as I need to make.the decision by next Wednesday. Wishing you well on your journey.
Is there a specific cream you would recommend for moisturising your boob please?
I used Aveeno, the green one. Some health authorities give some creams out for free but mine (Imperial) did not. I still use it from time to time on the scar even though it is almost 2 years old. E45 was recommended and there are others that help which have helped people who did get a bit of skin breakdown and I’m sure others will be along to give you alternative viewpoints. If you DO get a very hot boob after rads, the recommendation is to keep your cream in the fridge. It’s obviously your decision but you must think about how long your trip is for the sessions as it will be five days on and two days off if you go for the 15 sessions. Fatigue does kick in but how long for differs from person to person. I know decisions are hard but do what your gut tells you to do. There are pros and cons to every potential course of action.
Hi Honor, Good luck with your treatment. I can only say that I had 15 sessions, one each day for three weeks straight off,
.I did get very tired travelling for half an hour to the hospital every day, even with my husband doing the driving. I could not raise my left arm very high but the radiologists sorted it by using a sort of pumped up “cushion” to put my arm on. It took a while to set up before each session as they had to line up the tattoos and the cushion but it worked fine. The radiologist also suggested E45 cream to me for moisturising but some may have different suggestions. My oncologist gave me a prescription for Medi Honey ( you can also buy it on Amazon) in case my skin burnt or was sore. Luckily my skin was fine, it just felt a little like a bit of sunburn, but nothing serious. I wish you well, whatever you decide. Take care.
Sunshine21
Hi, I really was expecting 15 sessions. Very happy when they said 5. No choice given. My breast turned very red and hot a few hours after my first session. The radiotherapist said it was a reaction as I was getting high doses over a shorter period of time. Got very tired after first 3 days but settled down. I am still happy I had it done over the 5 days. I was given two creams to use. One was a moisturiser and I keep it in the fridge. It was bliss putting it on my hot boob. Hope it goes well for you x
I had 15 sessions over three weeks with an hour’s journey each way. It was very tiring and they were often running late - sometimes an hour or more because one of the machines had broken down.
I’m now three weeks post RT and have had a lot of redness and itchiness and I’m now peeling. I think this is because I had a bolus though which is a gel sheet placed all over my left chest area to disperse the rays and act as flesh to protect organs if you’ve had a mastectomy. I’ve heard that this affects skin more. I also had RT to lower neck without bolus and that has been fine - just slightly pink.
I started off using Cetaphil, then tried Aveeno and I’m now using E45 which spreads easily over sore skin. I don’t think it matters what you use as long as it’s moisturising and unperfumed.
If I could have had 5 instead of 15 I would have taken it. And yes, I did ring the bell at the end! x
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Thank you everyone for your stories it is so helpful and reassuring to hear them