Radiation

[schoolteacher]

I hope everyone has had a good day.

I started radiation on Friday. I have to have 30 treatments to my chestwall and my auxiallary node- where they use to be. I also have to have 25 treatments to my L4 on my spine. My calcium level is 10, and the doctor told me to take calcium and Vitamin D if I wanted to. Do I need to take calcium and my calcium level this high?

If any of you have any suggestions about what to expect from radiation will you please let me know. All of you helped me through my neoadjuvant therapy and my mastectomy, and I need some more help now.

Friday afternoon, after my first treatment, I was really tired. I slept from 9 to 8 the next morning. Is this fatique going to get worse with each treatment?

Amelia

[Gerri]

Amelia,

A friend of mine gave me a great piece of advice when I began radiation - take care of your skin! I used 100% Aloe gel several times a day. I carried a small travel size bottle (from Target) in my purse and rubbed it on my skin before I got dressed after each treatment. I also used it during the day and at night. I am very fair and my skin never burned. I was also told to take lukewarm showers and avoid having the spray hit directly on the radiated area. Fortunately I never had any problems.

Fatigue did not really hit me until the last week of treatments and it never got too bad. I must say the back and forth driving every day does get a bit tiring. Listen to your body and rest when you need to.

Take good care,

[Jean]

Hi Amelia,
Glad that you are moving forward.
Radiation does make one feel fatique.
The only remedy that worked for me was
having the treatments at the end of the day,
the very last appointment ....which was usually
8PM - I would just drive home and get into my PJ
and go to bed. I would wake up the next day feeling
refreshed. But near the end I did feel the need for
a nap...

Do not use any soaps of any kind on the treated area.
I would check in with the dr. what he wants you to use
on your skin. No perfumes or anything should come
in contact with your skin.

Stay out of the sun and sit in the shade. Eat fresh fruit
for the Vit. C...oranges /are a great source.

Wishing you the very best!
Hugs,
Jean

[Bill]

Hi Amelia! I can't add much to what our sisters have said, other than to make sure to drink alot of water, and Nicola's rad. onc. did recommend a radiation cream called "Jeans Cream", which is expensive, but worked very well for her. Typically, the fatigue effects from radiation are cumulative, so maybe you were just very tired after your first treatment because you didn't sleep well for a few nights leading up to your first treatment. Like Gerri said, rest when your body tells you to rest, and Jean has always recommended trying to schedule your rads. at the end of the day, and that sounds great. Best wishes to you, Amelia

[schoolteacher]

Gerri, Jean, and Bill,

Thank you for the information. I took my third treatment this morning. When school is out, I am going to start doing them in the afternoon like Jean suggested.

God Bless You.

Amelia

[tricia keegan]

Sorry I'm late coming in here Amelia but I also used the natural aloe vera and found it to be great. I did go pink and itched a bit but no burns at all.
Unfortunatly I also had the fatigue,almost from day one so I too had my tx late afternoon.
Good luck!
I almost forgot to mention something you may already know, but don't use deodorants or creams before the tx as some have tiny particles of metal which can interfere with the machine.
I found wearing a cami and going braless to be more comfortable too.

[harrie]

Amelia, did you recuperate nicely from your surgery?

I had radiation to each breast at 2 separate times. (1993 and 1999). I did not feel any tiredness until maybe the very, VERY end. Throughout rad tx, I worked and ran and did my tx during my lunch hr. After work I still played soccer. For me it was really easy.

If you take Vit D, would recommend the D3.
Maryanne

[lizm100]

Hi Amelia-

yes, radiation can make you tired. I just finished 33 sessions this Tuesday. It affects everyone differently. For me the fatique got worse as time went on. If you are able to schedule your appts at the end of the day or try to at least take a nap afterwards. Unfortunately I didn't have a choice because of my work & family's schedule but it would have been easier if I was able to do this.

I was told not to wear deodorant on the side that radiation was being done on because the metals in deodorants can increase a skin reaction and not even on my days off since the metals from the deodorant can accumulate.

Also, these are some studies that indicate antioxidants may protect cancer cell against radiation, so my radiation oncologist told me to avoid them or atleast not to exceed the recommended daily allowance. Studies are still being done on this topic. I just avoided antioxidents in supplement form. I did continue to take calcium/magnesium + vit. D but the vit. D(antioxident) was well below the RDA.

After bath/shower don't rub the area just pat it dry. I was told not to use regular soap but Dove was fine since it's gentle. Natural aloe is supposed to be great. I just used Eucerin cream before bed to keep the skin well hydrated. Never use any creams atleast 2-4hrs b/4 treatment. That's all I can think of....

Best of luck,

Liz

[harrie]

ABSTRACT: Quality of life of women treated with radiotherapy for breast cancer (http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00520-007-0328-6) [Supportive Care in Cancer (http://springerlink.metapress.com/link.asp?id=101182)]

Goals of work: Radiotherapy is routinely used in the treatment of early breast cancer, particularly in women who have undergone lumpectomy. Its impact on the quality of life of patients is important and is taken into consideration when making informed choices about treatment from both a patient's and health professional's point of view. This study reports on the quality of life of women at baseline, the completion of radiotherapy and 7 months after the completion of radiotherapy.

Materials and methods: European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C-30 and BR-23 questionnaires were used to evaluate quality of life of 61 women treated with radiotherapy for breast cancer. Additionally, demographic and treatment variables were analysed in relation to quality of life outcomes to determine if there were any significant predictors of quality of life.

Main results: There was no difference in quality of life of women at baseline, completion and 7 months after completion of radiotherapy. Fatigue and breast symptoms increased during radiotherapy but returned to baseline levels at 7 months. Fatigue was the strongest predictor of poor quality of life in women after radiotherapy.

Conclusion: Women retain a high quality of life and return to baseline function by 7 months after radiotherapy. Treatment may best be targeted to alleviate fatigue and breast symptoms during radiotherapy.

[schoolteacher]

Tricia, Harrie, and Liz,

Thank you for your knowledge and encouragement. I am worried about the radiation hitting my lungs and heart.

I just got to work around 8:30 this morning from my radiation treatment. I tired not to use my right hand as much driving hoping this would help the pain in my back.

I hope everyone has a good holiday this weekend.

Amelia

[Unregistered]

I just found this website. I am sorry that I didn't get to post anything about radiation on time, but I am sure by now that you know what the symtoms are.

I went through 7 1/2 weeks of radiation. The first thing I noticed was that I was fatigued right after radiation and I had this metal taste in my mouth. Popcicles and other cold drink eliviated the metal taste. It has been 9 months since my last radiation and I am feeling this burning sensation on that area and it still peeling. It seems that whatever side effects I should have gone through while on radiation treatments didn't happen, so now I am getting the side effects now!

[harrie]

Amelia, another thing....when you are driving, if possible, try to consciously thing of relaxing and breathing into your back area. Also...try to keep your shoulders down, back, and relaxed when you drive.
Maryanne

[schoolteacher]

Maryanne and Guest,

Thank you for the suggestions.

Guest, the doctor told me he was going to wait two or three weeks before he begins my chemo again. He politely told me that it would take a while for me to adjust to the radiation. I did not realize that the effects of radiation would continue so long after the treatments stop. I am very light skined, and I do believe I will turn very red before the treatments are finished. I am glad to have three days in between the treatments.

Maryanne, I think your suggestion about driving is very appropriate. This morning I tried not to use my right hand as much as I had been during the rest of this week. As of right now, I have driven 700 miles since Saturday. My back has not hurt today so far, but I have not done any exercises either. I know I am going to have to do the exercises some time today because the treatments are making my chest wall muscles tight.

Maryanne, I did start the Vitamin D, and it is the kind you recommended. How many pills should I take a day? I have taken 400 IU daily for the last two days. I have not taken any calcium because my level was 10 two weeks ago. The radiolgist told me I could take calcium last week, but I do not know whether to take it or not.

Amelia

[harrie]

Amelia,
I don't know what a calcium level of 10 means.

I personally take 1,500 mg of calcium per day.

Vit D3: I take 2,200 IU per day (total)

Breakdown of the D3 is as follows:
One D3 supplement is 1,000 IU
My mulitvit contains 800 IU
My calcium includes 400 IU

My oncolgist said that amt of D3 for me is fine. I was wondering if it was too much.

I do have osteopenia.

Maryanne

[schoolteacher]

Maryanne,

The reference interaval for calcium is 8.5 - 10.6, and my level was 10.0 on 5/1/08. Did you take the calcium and vitamin D while you were doing radiation? Do you think I need to get my vitamin D level checked?

Amelia

[harrie]

Amelia,
I am presuming that your 10.0 level is on the high end of normal.
As far as taking the supplements of calcium and Vit D during radiation, I would follow up and ask around. The reason I say that is because I had my radiation done in 1993 and 1999 so it has been a while and I am not up to date on what is and is not recommmended. I know that Vit E is not recommended during radiation and beyond that, I am not sure.
I would think it is not necessary to get your Vit D level checked.
If that was me, I would ask my radiation oncologist what is her recommendation and I would probably also open up a new thread for inputs regarding supplements not recommended during radiation and detail your concerns.
BTW, during time of my radiation, Vit D was not as much in the limelight as it is now.

[lizm100]

Since we're on the topic of Vitamin D. I came across this interesting article yesterday. It's about a study done on women with breast cancer and vitamin D and those who are deficient.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=89596

Liz