Hi all,
i start radiotherapy on July 2nd ! Due to it being on my left reconstructed breast , I am having to hold my breath for about 20 seconds at certain times during the session to protect my heart and lungs! I have been practising and am finding it quite difficult to hold it for that length of time without coughing! Has anyone else had this problem ? The radiographer did say the machine will shut down and will be restarted when I am ready !
would be great to hear from anyone xx
Hi, yes I did breath hold. Didn’t like having the clip on my nose but the staff were wonderful and always did that as the very last thing before they left the room. Didn’t find holding my breath easy, especially in the beginning but I practised at home using the timer while I was cooking, which seemed to help. Crazy the things we end up doing! If you can’t hold for long enough don’t worry, the machine does stop and you can start again. I found closing my eyes and relaxing as much as possible helped a bit. Difficult I know when you’ve got the machine close by doing it’s thing, but if you start getting anxious or worried, it makes it harder to hold.
Sending love and hope all goes well.
I’ve just got back from my planning appointment. I’ve got to do the breath holding as well. I was ok during the practice runs but when they did the ct scan I got anxious and it took a few tries to get it right. Wasn’t mentioned to me about a clip either
Julie xx
I too was left side and breath hold.
I was worried about the count to 20, but it was unnecessary… they did it in 4 burts - 2 short (about a count of 6) and then 2 longer (13-15) .
I got so practised at it that I sometimes breathed in too much and had to let some out !