QuoteReplyTopic: Radiation Consult and SIM questions Posted: Jan 26 2015 at 9:52pm
I got great news last week that my cancer is gone (tumors and bone met) according to my PET scan!! Yeah! That was after 4 cycles of Gemzar and Carboplatin. Now I move on to radiation which I have never had before. What do I need to ask the radiation oncologist when I meet with her besides:
How many treatments, side effects to expect, how to keep my energy, any foods or supplements I need to avoid, how to save my skin, will it impact my implants, long term impact of radiation.
I can't answer your radiation questions, but huge congrats on the clear PET scan! That is great news. I especially love to hear that since I'm feeling like poo from Carboplatin right now! ;) Thrilled for your great test results and wishing you an easy time with radiation.
Hi Sharon! Congrats on the PET scan!! I found radiation much easier than chemo. The radiation did affect my implant. It made it harder, smaller and a little higher than the other side.
Ask how many rads and how many boosts? Ask what areas they will be radiating (breast, scar line, axilla, any regional nodes?)
Donna
DX IDC TNBC 6/09 age 49, Stage 1,Grade 3, 1.5cm,0/5Nodes,KI-67 48%,BRCA-,6/09bi-mx, recon, T/C X4(9/09) 11/10 Recur IM node, Gem,Carb,Iniparib 12/10,MRI NED 2/11,IMRT Radsx40,CT NED11/13,MRI NED3/15
i hated radiation! lol but it, as with chemo, was absolutely doable. i too am curious as to how many sessions you will have, although with the newer machines the number of sessions can be much less than they used to be so it is hard to compare. i didn't get any reconstruction so i have no input on the implants. best wishes and huge congrats on NED!! a clean pet scan is such a relief to the mind and a boost to one's confidence.
Lg lump never visible on any films but found 9mm. Lump 1/25/12, DX 1/31@50yrs IIIC/TN/DCIS/INV, Margins Unclr, Ki67 40%,Gr2. MX L 2/24. 3.1cm total. 11/17nodes. AC/T 2xWk,33rads. 12/12 MX R. 9/13 NED!
Thank you on the congrats, ladies! I sometimes chuckle at my new vocabulary: onc, bc, NED. It is like a whole new language:) Thanks for the suggested questions. Looking forward to getting started so I can get done. Hubby and I just bought our retirement home on a lake we love to fish. When I got my NED PET scan, he told me he could be excited about the home now because he would not be living there by himself. Sometimes I think I get so wrapped up in trying to be healthy and getting my treatments done that I forget what a toll this takes on him.
I finished my first 25 rad treatments for the larger area of my right breast, armpit and collarbone areas. I did not notice any fatigue. My skin made it through until the last week and then started blistering in my armpit and just under my collarbone. Most of it is healed already which is one and a half weeks after my last treatment. I have noticed that I am losing quite a bit of scalp hair now. I am thinking that is a delayed reaction to my chemo that ended in January or I am not eating enough protein. Has anyone else had this happen a few months after chemo with Gemzar and Carboplatin ended?
Sharon, so glad you mentioned that you had a larger area treated. I guess that was one question I failed to ask and the doctor failed to cover. My mom's rad was focused on the tumor area only, and since my nodes were neg, I assumed my treatment would be too. (Different types - both BRCA neg)
When I had my simulation this afternoon, I was surprised that the area begins middle of my chest and the tech said all the way around to near my shoulder blade for the Aquaphor. I was surprised, upset, and just tired of being the cancer girl today. Totally did not expect such a large area, and I'm worried about how much skin might be damaged.
Lucky13CD, keep lathering on the Aquaphor. My large area ended up peeling under my armpit and just below my collarbone. Both areas healed very, very quickly. Make sure you are using Dove soap in the shower. My skin did not peel until the week after I was done with my 25 rads. You can do this! I figured some burned skin is a small price to pay to keep this beast away.
Everyone is different, but I did not have any issues through radiation (I had 35 sessions), except a sunburn like feeling. Have way through the sessions I did start to itch (like a sunburn does), and the doctor prescribed a stronger cortisone cream than over the counter which worked. I, like Sharon, used Aquafor religiously, as well as a prescriptive cream called Miaderm, which is specifically developed for radiation patients. The combination of the two creams did the trick. You might want to ask your doctor about Miaderm. Also - since I am a B cup - I went without bras during radiation, and wore a lot of t-shirts, which helped quite a bit. I avoided any clothing that would "rub" the area.
The good news is that when the radiation sessions ended, I healed completely within 2 weeks. I was fortunate enough not to experience peeling and blistering. (I did spend several years as a lifeguard, so maybe the added sun exposure/conditioning helped? lol - who knows)
Best of luck to you. You can do this!
Lisa
Diagnosed Jan 2010; Stage IIa, grade 2, 3.2cm in rt. breast, no nodes and BRCA-. 4 cycles Carbo/Gemzar 3/10; Lump 6/10; 2 cycles carbo/gem after surgery 8/10; 35 Rads finished 12/1/10. NED.
Just a thought about radiation - from all of my reading and research, radiation really does seem to be the key to preventing recurrence, especially with early stage TNBC. Women who get mastectomy often do not get followed with radiation, and women who have lumpectomy, plus radiation actually have better outcomes. Radiation seems to be the variable here, and I have read some oncologists now recommending radiation after mastectomy, particularly for TNBC. Those medial lymph nodes don't get biopsied and radiation cleans up any escaped little beasts! I am still in AC-T, and radiation will follow. I'm not exactly looking forward to radiation, but it worries me that it will be 26 weeks after my lumpectomy before I can start - I have this feeling in my head that that is what will actually keep me NED!
Dx IDC 02/15,Stage 1b, Class 3, tumor 1.2 cm, nodes 0/1. lumpectomy 2-24-15. DDAC- 4 cycles; taxol weekly x 12. Planned radiation after chemo.
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