I met with my Oncology Consultant this morning and I’ll be starting radiotherapy shortly. She was super kind and spent over 45 mins going over a number of things. I asked her what her Top Tips for skincare would be and she mentioned one that I hadn’t seen here before - so thought I’d note it down for anyone else interested;
E45 cream AND she added put it in the fridge as then you will have a nice cool cream when you use it (before and after treatment). I haven’t seen the tip on putting it in the fridge which I thought was super useful.
aloe Vera (I know this has been mentioned before)
Johnsons baby oil. She mentioned using this after the radiotherapy is complete to massage into any scar you may have following surgery. Massage daily for about 5-10mins as this will reduce scar thickening and tightening of skin (bit dependent on how you heal and whether you are prone to scar thickening or not etc).
use SPF50 sun cream wherever you have had radiotherapy if out in the sun eg beach holiday etc
Hope the above helps - and wishing everyone the very best .
Thanks for the tips and good luck for your radiotherapy. I have my first appointment at oncology clinic on Feb 10 and I am hoping to find out more about when I will be starting mine.
I used vaseline intensive care spray aloe sooth. With it being a spray there was no rubbing of the skin,i used it straight after treatment and continued spraying it quite regularly each day. My skin healed great and never broke out or became particularly sore.
Great tips on using a spray I have just bought the Vaseline etc mentioned above and I see there is also an E45 spray version too - so will try both. I have used E45 cream before following surgery (non BC surgery related) and it worked v well on scar healing/reducing. Am sure both are good so thanks for all the additional tips.
Hi strollingby
I used E45 and the next mornning my breast was pink, I did not realise that there is lanolin in E45 and I am allergic to that (lanolin and wool), I used Aveeno instead and then was fine.
One of the staff told me to put suncream on my breast for the next 12 months which I then did. I would not have thought of this as I never sunbathe topless, but she said you must even when wearing a bra and tshirt. A friend had radiotherapy at same hospital and was not told this.
Hi everyone. I will be staying radiotherapy in the next few weeks. Thanks for the great skin care tips.
What I’m wondering about is bras. I still find it more comfortable to wear a bra all the time - a soft front fastening one that they gave me in hospital, and a light crop top at night. I find that the weird nerve feelings from the axillary clearance are worse if I don’t wear one. Will I be able to carry on wearing one after the radiotherapy?
My oncologist mentioned to me that she recommends that “if” the skin is sore/irritated etc right after treatment then to simply wear a loose fitting top (instead of a bra) . She said this is very dependent upon how we react individually. She said for example if you typically wear underwire bra’s (I don’t) then this may feel more irritated after radiotherapy. I don’t think there is a right/wrong way of doing this - just what works best for you.
@strollingby Thanks. That’s reassured me a bit. I never wear underwire either. The post surgery ones I have are lovely and comfy but I’ve tried not wearing one and it is a bit uncomfortable in the armpit still.
I’ve not had my planning meeting yet but that it won’t be long. I just want to finish it all now!!
Also keep doing the arm exercises, I stopped as thought it was only to keep arm ok for radiotherapy. I then developed lymphoedema in my breast about 2 months (despite only 2 nodes removed) after rads and physio said changes keep happening for up to 2 years and need to keep doing exercises.
I was advised to wear a supportive bra after radio as well. I did develop a red swollen breast despite intensive moisturizing and when she saw it the BCN reiterated the importance of good support . It did all settle down without any kind of intervention .I had also been told to continue the exercises for 3 months after radio and actually I still do them now. I was using jojoba oil to moisturiser as I have sensitive skin and didn’t know what to use and it was the simplest thing I could thing of and it did do the job but after a friend at a different hospital was prescribed Aveeno I switched to that and still use it now . Xx
Im four weeks post radiotherapy. Didn’t get much of a reaction during treatment but did develop lots of moles/freckles under the breast crease. I’ve heard others have had the same. No concerns at this point.
This past week, the crease under breast has become very red and some of the moles are going a bit scabby. But I’m more concerned about some whiteish round patches, the largest is about 1cm. Anyone had the same? Is it a sign of the skin deteriorating or becoming ulcerated?
I’ll probably need to phone and visit a nurse, but if you have any feed back please.
Thank for this @strollingby none of which were mentioned when I had radiotherapy and I’m sure that they advised against cream E45 but did suggest putting your skin treatment creams in the fridge.
I have used Bio oil for all of my scars along with Aquaphor for my radiotherapy skin.
There was also a rolling screen in the waiting room with hints and tips and said to be careful in the sun for up to a year, as well as using factor 50.
My therapy nurse recommended Alhydran but it turns out it’s too expensive to get on prescription so my GP prescribed something cheaper that also helped.
Good luck with the radiotherapy - it’s not as bad as you think it might be and listen to your body by resting if you need to, but gentle walks helped me a lot.
I got the moles and then some stringy veins under my boob that look like stretch marks gone wrong. I got a lot of the moles but have been using rosehip oil on them and they seem to slowly be dropping off.
@irenko I’m epileptic and there are certain oils that are associated with increase in seizures, one of which is Rosehip. So I’ll stir clear of that but thank you for taking the time to suggest it.
Interesting you say the moles fell off…perhaps that’s why mine are scabby and ready to come off. I’m seeing nurse tomorrow about the white patches, and hopefully get some magic cream.
Someone on my Moving Forwards course developed a fungal infection after radio - don’t want to alarm you but your description of whiteish patches sounds similar . Do as you had planned to do anyway and phone and ask to be assessed either by your BCN or Radiotherapy team. I didn’t put this in my tips this time - maybe I should have but I put a bamboo sock underneath my breast to help absorb moisture and it also seemed to soothe my itching a bit and helped stopped me from scratching when I was just waking in a morning. I have heard of others using bamboo cloths - there’s something about bamboo it is absorbent cool and has naturally antibacterial properties . My skin was very red and I developed some swelling but it never broke down and I’m sure it helped. Xx
that it won’t be long. I just want to finish it all now!!