radiotherapy

Public Archive
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Hi all

I am new to this site and realise I have found it late as many of the questions i have had are answered here and the information and support seems brilliant.
I have had a lumpectomy and sentinal node biopsy,I have my final FEC treatment tomorrow and start radiotherapy in 3 weeks. I wondered if there are any hints or tips for getting throug the rads - I have heard I should cope with it fine after chemo but my GP seems to suggest it will be harder than I think. 6 weeks after the final dose I am going to New Zealand [booked pre diagnosis] and am hoping I will be ok for the trip - again I would love to here the thoughts of anyone who has gone through this treatment.
Thanks to all as I have found all the posts heplful.
Casey

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It is now nearly 5 weeks since I finished rads and I could cope with a trip if I didnt still have side effects from tax chemo.After rads you go on cooking for2to3 weeks then everything starts to settle down.You should always be guided by your doc though and I would talk to onc if it were me;its a long way.Good luck;horacex

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Havn’t got as far as you yet but someone has advised me to take Aloa vera internally for about two weeks prior to Rads. I didn’t even realise you could take it internally and thought it was just something you could rub on yourself - I’m not really into alternative stuff but will try to find out a bit more or perhaps someone else could tell us?
Cheers
caroline

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Hi carolihne

For information, I have given here the link to a factsheet produced by Breast Cancer Care on the subject of complementary therapies - you may find this a useful soucre of information.

breastcancercare.org.uk/docs/complementary_therapiesupdapril07_0.pdf

Kind regards

Jane
Moderator
Breast Cancer Care

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6 weeks after rads you should be fine and ready for a very well deserved holiday. You may be a bit tired. Do check with your onc before you start just to put your mind at rest from a professional. Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

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Hi Casey,

I had 25 rad treatments and found my skin held up until the end at the beginning of May. Make sure you drink plenty of water to hyrdate you from inside and apply plenty of aqueous cream to the rad site. As a previous reply has said you do continue to cook for 2/3 weeks after treatment has finished and during this time I found my rad site skin very tight and similar to a sunburn overdose. Once the top layer of skin peeled off, everything was much more confortable. What really surprised me was the tiredness that I felt then and still do. During rads I had to have an afternoon nap and even now often find my head wants to do more than my body. I am on a holiday In September to New York and Niagara Falls and am hoping my engery levels will be able to stand up to it. You have to listen to you body and rest it when it tells you to. For ylour own peace of mind you could check with yout onc that there is no reason why you shouldn’t go. You may also have to tell your travel insurance company, as many do not cover pre existing illnessess, although like me I doubt you think you will need treatment for bc while on holiday.

Take care & best wishes

Jan

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Thanks for all the replys - very helpful, I did check with my oncolgist that travel would be ok and she was all for it with the proviso that I should expect to feel tired as you have all said. Tips re skin care etc very helpful. Last dose of chemo was yesterday so I hope thing get easier from now on.

Best wishes to all

Casey