I have just read through all this thread.It gave me some laughs. I am amazed at what Old and lumpy gets up to!. Theres a lot of good advice here about what to use and I will definitely be getting some 99% aloe vera to go with the emu oil that I have already bought ( its supposed to be good for burns). I have been told by the oncologist that I will burn and I'm determined to prove her wrong.
DJ007
Glad of that- I went back and read it, and had a chuckle too.
I'd forgotten all about the madness of DF! That's cheered up my day.
Dx
Hi O & L
Hope you warned Lady Sue about the Dwyle Flonking!!
bumped for ladysue
hiya ladies , whoop whoop tomorrow my last rads session ( 15 normal and 2 boosters ) and its been fine , ihave used boots aqueous - the one known as 50 / 50 and aloe vera , got a wee sore bit under my arm yesterday so put cream on and a cotton hankie over the sore bit , radiologist said its cus skin rubs there and its where they expect soreness along with the fold under the breast , when its been hot i also put hankie there , hoping that the worse isnt to come and i shall continuing using the cream and gel for next 2 weeks or so xx
mummachick, the way i read it the study was done on healthy skin.10 minutes, twice a day for 4 weeks, and it still thinned the skin by 10%
so if it did it to healthy skin, i am not putting it on my breasts
Many thanks Fluffie!
Should get to know my treatment plan tomorrow!
K x
I asked these questions to dr.organics before my rads and this is their answer: dr.organics aloe vera gel is 98.7% organic aloe vera. The other ingredients are 2 gelling agents to stop the product turning watery and food grade preservatives to stop the product going brown and smelly. Quite often companies mean that 99.9% of the aloe vera that is in the product is 'gel' as opposed to the total product is 99.9% aloe vera. (!!!)
I used it throughout my radiotherapy treatment and its brillant - lovely and cooling. Before rads I just washed my skin with aqueous, then afterwards applied this aloe vera gel generously every hour or so to stop the itchyness, redness and soreness. (take some to the hospital with you to apply after) Brilliant product.
Does anyone know if Dr Organic Aloe Vera gel is OK for rads - was all H&B had today so I bought some - but it doesn't say if it is 99%
Thanks
K
Im afraid this study seems a little missleading, the article was clearly based on people who have excema who have thinner skin and more reactive skin. Interestingly this article is not the full article in the dematology journal and is not backed up with any references. As a health proffessional i have been recommending Aqueaous cream for 10 years and have found no side effects so far. Pure aloe vera from the actual plant is fine but i would be very careful about using the gels as they contain other hidden ingrediants too. I recommend discussing this with your consultant first if your worried xx
CM - this "self respecting Aussie" as you call me was born in Bristol and my ancestry is all Lancashire and Wales. I have always supported the English in cricket!! Been hard sometimes when living in Australia. Just loved the thought of being a Jobanowl and watching all the flonking etc. Loved all the words and sounds and found it reminiscent of Kenneth Williams in "Round the Horne".
Now really off the topic of creams!!
Just dipped in to see how you were all doing somothered in cream, and can only say WHAT? EH? Derrr????!!! after tee hee of course!
Ragamuffin, how on EARTH could any self-respecting Aussie type that lot, or even copy and paste that lot, with a clear conscience and a straight face?
I have to say I lost you all when I saw "barrel of beer" and signed up on the team sheet without reading anything further. Lots of whirkling from this corner, even if what is required, is snurdling and gristling! Can I put in a request that it's London Pride, and can I be first in the queue for the barrel?
(Oh dear, this is now SOOO off-topic!)
Yes, you organise the team and I'll volunteer to be the referee- feeling very "dull witted" - blaming it on the chemo!
A 'dull witted person' is chosen as the referee or 'jobanowl'
I think we ought to get up a team! 🙂
thats the one! we dressed up as yokes, the pub provided a barrel of beer and a jolly time was had by one and all
Hi DJ007
I just googled "Dwyle Flonking" coz I didn't have a clue either!
The things O&L gets up to beside drumming!!!
According to The Friends Of The Lewes Arms, "The rules of the game are impenetrable and the result is always contested." However, less alcohol-centric authorities provide more clarity.
A 'dull witted person' is chosen as the referee or 'jobanowl' and the two teams decide who flonks first by tossing a sugar beet. The game begins when the jobanowl shouts "Here y'go t'gither!"
The non-flonking team joins hands and dances in a circle around a member of the flonking team, a practice known as 'girting'. The flonker dips his dwile-tipped 'driveller' (a pole 2–3 ft long and made from hazel or yew) into a bucket of beer, then spins around in the opposite direction to the girters and flonks his dwile at them.
If the dwile misses completely it is known as a 'swadger' or a 'swage'. When this happens the flonker must drink the contents of an ale-filled 'gazunder' (chamber pot ('goes-under' the bed)) before the wet dwile has passed from hand to hand along the line of now non-girting girters chanting the ancient ceremonial mantra of "pot pot pot".
A full game comprises four 'snurds', each snurd being one team taking a turn at girting. The jobanowl adds interest and difficulty to the game by randomly switching the direction of rotation, and will levy drinking penalties on any player found not taking the game seriously enough.
Dwyle Flonking!?!?
shame, that is where i met my husband, and raised money organising Dwyle Flonking. would have been good to revisit old stomping grounds
Sorry OAL - think she means one in Shropshire - would have loved to meet up with you too!
Dx
thats not the horse and jockey in Bricket wood?
or....do u know the Horse and Jockey? I will have my dog with me Sat, she is looked after alot durin the week when i have been having treatments and feeling rough and sometimes after a walk we call in there to get a drink and watch world go by! Shar xxxx
Unfortunately I'm back at work tomorrow - Hoping the next meet is while I'm having rads so that I'll get a chance to meet the whole gang. Could meet for a coffee at Jones's on Sat? We ought to compare notes on appt times, so that if any of your 9am ones are when I'm having rads, we could share transport.
Diane x
Hi D, yeh was gutted to have missed you today, turns out Tues is Review Day - every week u get a review with a lady called Ruth, see how u doing etc of course i didnt know this until today - so got out at 10.30. my appts are between 9 and 10.30 most days..... Shar x are u going to Shropshire meet u tomorrow? Shar xx Maybe we could stil meet sometime in town?
Hi Shar
At my rads planning at RSH today I mentioned the aqueous cream and asked about aloe vera and E45 - The radiographer agreed that it was OK to use both.
Dx
PS - Sorry I missed you, did txt - most of my appts are 8.45am - are yours anytime close?
Im tripple negative so is it ok to use bio oil tho have heard it is hormone receptive? Shar xx
Hi, i started rads yesterday, got told to not use perfumed prducts but to use the aqueous cream, i have not heard about using Aloe Vera Gel, i have used this on my swollen ankles after steriods, which worked a treat, so maybe now will use it on my skin? Shar xx
Re Bio-Oil - I think that there is a bit of lavender oil in it. However, even if there was, can it get through the skin into the bloodstream/tissue in any significant quantity?
I do rub it on, not drink it!
Another one of those risk/benefit calls that ends up being down to personal choice I guess.
Dx
Hi OAL,
There is a school of thought that Lavender Oil can mimic oestrogens but I cannot remember where I read it.
E
i cannot find anything on the internet about it containing oestrogen. here are the ingrediants
Botanicals
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract (Calendula Oil)
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil (Lavender Oil)
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil (Rosemary Oil)
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil (Chamomile Oil)
Vitamins
Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A)
Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E)
Oil base
Paraffinum Liquidum
Triisononanoin
Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate
Isopropyl Myristate
Glycine Soja Oil
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
BHT
Bisabolol
Fragrance (Rose)
Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone
Amyl Cinnamal
Benzyl Salicylate
Citronellol
Coumarin
Eugenol
Farnesol
Geraniol
Hydroxycitronellal
Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde
Limonene
Linalool
Colour (Orange/Pink)
CI 26100 (Red 17) and/or CI 60725
OOOOOOOOH I didn't know that about the bio oil 😞 Ive been using it post rads mines not hormone driven but still dont like the thought of using something with oestrogens in think Ill stick to the aloe & my vitamin E cream my boob is doing well so to speak lol the darkness is fading well now .. there again so is the nipple gone very pale in patches & the outside edge that I used to have has disapeared
Has anyone else had that happen & does it go back to normal in time ?
Mekala
I love Bio-oil but read somewhere on this forum that it contains oestrogen so I don't plan to use it anymore as my BC is hormone receptor positive.
K x
when i went for my planning session i talked about all this. my hospital recommend aqueous cream and E45. she said they had to recommend the products that they had tested, and were not allowed to recommend the products that they had not tested.
I had printed out the boots report that she started to tread with scepticism but when she got to the bit about research on healthy sking thickening with aqueous cream she looked a bit serious.
she said that other hospitals recommended other products because they had tested them and although she could not tell me to use them, she could see no probem with something another radiology team were suggesting.
so we then had a good discussion on what i should use. She said you need something to moisturise whilst the skin is still looking healthy, we agreed on bio-oil, expensive but my skin laps it up. And then if the skin starts to burn that is the time to use `99.9 aloe vera.
That pleased me because I dont realy like the aloe vera, I know some people swear by it, but for me the oil is better--perhaps its because i have greasy skin. Oh and she was not worried about me having the oil on during treatemnt, she said if there is a build up under the breast she might have to wipe that off, but otherwise an oily skin was fine.
Hi OAL - Just referring to your original post and link about Aqueous Cream containing a detergent called sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) - there was a good programme on BBC2 tonight called 'Wonderstuff' (watch on iplayer now) which told you all about SLS and showed you how it is made. Interesting!
Aloe vera rules!
Yes I too sing the praises of the aloe 99.9% I had 15 one & half weeks post rads & my skin is fine darkness fading but no soreness to skin
I agree Minimunchkins- I went been bra-less for the whole six weeks of Rads and the two weeks afterwards. Used Aloe Vera Gel and have only had one small area burnt on the collar bone.
The skin of the main area treated is almost the same as the untreated area now and the area treated by boosters is fading rapidly.
Last treatment exactly two weeks ago.
Just wanted to echo an earlier post - my radio team dole out the aqueous cream but when I said I'd been prep'ing with H&B 99.9% aloe they didn't tell me I couldn't use it but they can't recommend it because there didn't appear to be any trials.
I've had 17 out of 23 zaps so far and haven't had any probs (fingers crossed) so will continue to use the H&B gel.
What I also wanted to share is my radio team recommended not wearing a bra (throughout the course of treatment + approx 2 weeks) if it leaves marks or dents in the skin. Mine are by no means tight but possibly my posture lends to a slight groove. The restriction to the skin can apparently either make you sore or make any soreness worse.
I bought a few of the £2 'camisoles with support' from Primark to avoid indents but with not paying much, I don't mind if the black ink transfers to the cami. If you haven't started rads yet - they do draw on you every time, so don't wear your best bra/cami's!
thank you ladies for your advice , last night was just myself and my partner in so after my shower i slapped on the gel and sat topless , was a strange feeling i must admit , i dont wear bra`s unless i am going out and generally in strappy tops , i feel slightly sunburnt but am totally reassured by your words , thank you for taking the time to reply to me xxx
Hi,
Use the Aloe after you have showered in the morning, use it again immediately after your rads and let it dry before you get dressed. Use it again before bed. It moisturises so you do not need creams. I used only simple shower gel and patted my skin dry around the rads area. Keep using the Aloe for at least 2 weeks after the rads as the burns can come out later.
I am very fair and did not burn except for a tiny patch. My fault as I did not keep using the gel for long enough after the rads. This because no-one seemed to know how to use it at the time. My hospital had not heard of it being used but did not try to stop me. They were amazed that I did not burn.
It does take a long time to change the experts minds on anything.
Everyone said to use B oil for scars but frankly the Aloe was better, especially the Aloe with Bee Propolis. Who was mentioning honey before?
Be aware that there is a very small minority of people who are unable to use Aloe.
Good luck to you all.
E
Hi Trish1968
Don't panic - I did when I went very pink and tender after only 2 or 3 rads sessions, but then it settled down and never got any worse. I didn't get any of the blistering or peeling that many get, so hopefully you'll be as lucky as I was. As others have said, allow the air to it to help it stay cooler whenever you can.
Sarah x
Hi Trish1968
I'd keep up with the AV Gel, draw the blinds, curtains whatever and go topless as much as you can. Several people on various rads threads have mentioned that this helps.
Just remember to cover up when the doorbell rings!
My skin went red after the first session and within a few more sessions I had a definite area of "tanned" skin to tell me where the rads were treating(had 25) Then I had 5 boosters at the end which created another area within the original area- much darker and redder.
Last of "normal rads" was on 29th of June and that area is almost back to normal but the "booster" area is still quite red- last booster on 6th of July.
Good Luck with it all.
horrified last night to feel my affected breast was really hot and red - only had 2 rads to date !! so i slapped on the aloe vera as NOT reccomended by my radioligist , soooooo soothing but i am a little concerned , if my skin is starting to go red after just 2 rads does that mean by the end of them ( 17 ) i will be burnt raw ?
I was told at the end of my RT that in Scandinavia Aloe Vera is given to patients undergoing treatment by the hospitals! I used the aqueous at the end of my RT and by then it was too late. My skin broke down horribly and got infected. I was in a LOT of pain with it. I would use the Aloe definitely to avoid this!!!
I got mine from the Nutricentre within the big Tesco stores....
I've bought h&b aloe99% because of what I read here, show to radioologist at hospital and she said it was ok. I wouldn't use aqueous any way hate it when had echma as child and diprobase makes me sore after a while. Don't start rad for 2 more weeks so have no proof it works for me but it's my plan. I'm 49,
fluffie that would make sense, I am sure on one of these threads they said you could only use alo vera if you brought it in to show them first. not everybody lives near a holland and barret, and not everybody is au fait with shopping on line.
I was told I could not use bio oil during treatment but someone on here recommended it. so i thought i would give it a go pre treatment to get my skin in condition---I love it!!!! i have only ever used conditioners in old days when i sunbathed, but just a light smearing has changed the condition of my skin overnight!! might only be this miraculous on old skin. This might at last after 65 years have got me into some sort of skin care routine. perhaps I am glad i got cancer after all( warning!only peaple who read the straw pole thread will understand that joke)
yup.
Not read through all the post on here but don't like aqueous and only used "pure" aloe vera during rads - my reason? my son has very bad eczema to the point of wet wrapping and the aqueous made his condition worse - nuff said
Somewhere on this forum a few weeks ago someone posted that a hospital had done trials with Aloe vera and found it to be far superior to E45 or aqueus cream but the E45 was a 'god deal' for the hospital and they continued to recommend it due to financial reasons.
I hate E45 as I used it for exzema and it made it worse. 'Nuf said.