Evening ladies, and belated congratulations to Alieck, Kaspar, Jacey, Rooty and everyone who has now finished their radiotherapy.
Kaspar - I agree, I can't see how I could have worked through radiotherapy the way things panned out. I would have been physically OK to work part time, but it wouldn't have been practical to fit the work round it most days, because of the time taken up with travelling, waiting around at the hospital etc.
Jacey - Flamazine is good, you should find it helps a lot. It's a bit of a waste having to open a new one every week though.
Alieck and Rooty - hope the redness goes down soon. Keep moisturising, and if you think it's getting any worse, contact the hospital straight away. I know what you mean about feeling 'flat' Rooty, because I have just got over a bad cold. The sore throat and cough brought back a lot of unhappy memories of T chemotherapy. My first annual mammogram appointment has also just come through as if I need reminding of how this all started.
Unfortunately, our holiday in Cornwall wasn't the nice relaxing break we were hoping for. While we were away, I managed to catch the worst cold I have had in years! The first part of the holiday was fine, we had some nice walks (cottage couldn't have been better located, within walking distance of Glendurgan and Trebah). Then the sore throat started, and gradually got worse, developing into a persistent cough. After sleeping on the sofa so as not to disturb my OH and to try and stop him catching it, we decided we might as well go home a day early. I also had to delay my last Herceptin injection because of it. It has taken me a while to shake the cold off, so I have been out of action for a while, but I am a lot better now.
On a more positive note, the rash affecting the booster area had disappeared by the time we went away, as they said it would. I don't know whether the Flamazine did the trick or it just went away on its own, but if anyone else has a delayed reaction after radiotherapy it's worth enquiring about Flamazine. You can't use it while you are still having radiotherapy, but you can once you have finished, and it does help to stop the itching. Otherwise, provided the skin hasn't broken, and the radiographers are happy, you could try E45 Itch Relief.
Although it has been nearly 6 weeks since radiotherapy finished and the rash and cold have now gone, normality is still some way off for me. My re-arranged OH appointment isn't until 25 May - at first I thought this was ridiculous, but it turned out that I probably needed the extra time to get over the cold!
