Swimming after Treatment finishes

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1

Hi Am about to start 3 weeka of radiotherapy at the beginning of March and have booked to go away to hotel with indoor pool 10 days after treatment finishes Does anyone know if swimming is OK after Radiotherapy ? Thanks

2

Hello sunspirit,

I have been told that I can swim after radiotherapy once the skin reaction has settled down and that this may be 4 to 6 weeks after finishing. I’m still doing rads so don’t yet know how long it will be for me.

Eliza xx

3

Thanks for the Information Will speak to nurse when I start Radiotherapy next week Might have to resign myself to sitting on the side and reading a book xx Sunspirit

4

Hi

Im sorry to say that I was told no swimming for 6 wks after my rads. It takes a while for the skin to settle down.

5

it all depends on how your skin reacts. My onc told me I would not be able to swim until after the end of rads, but when I had my first rad session I was talking to the nurses and they said it was fine to swim until my skin started getting sore - they estimated a couple of weeks into rads. However, I never got to that point, my skin was always OK, so I swam all the way through. I used Holland & Barrett 99.9% aloe vera bio-active gel rather than aqueous cream - I don’t know if this made all the difference, as my skin burns easily in the sun. it is important to get the 99.9% gel - a lower concentration has impurities in it that can upset the skin.

6

Thanks Road Runner

I have fair skin so your suggestion is most welcome

Kind Regards Sunspirit XX

7

HI didn’t swim until after rads - as instructed. But I found that not swimming during the 5 weeks of rads the area where they removed my lymph nodes from seems to have become very tight!

Wish I’d tried a couple of swims during rads as it was brilliant before - obviously stretching during swimming kept it supple. I did slather on loads of Aqueous cream after each swim until the redness of the rads disappearred.