With this level of Radiation- When do I get Superpowers?
On April 23, a month after my lumpectomy and lymph removal, I embarked on my radiation journey. 40+ sessions of radiation spanning across my armpit to breast to sternum to sacrum, essentially, everywhere the cancer made an appearance. Common side effects of radiation are fatigue, skin changes, and GI issues. What they don’t tell you is how those side effects cause more issues in your life.
The first two weeks moved slowly. I woke up every day at 6:30 to shower, brush my hair and get dressed. I would arrive at radiation, every day, at 7:30am to be done by 8am so I could be on my first call by 8:30 am. Six and a half weeks of waking up early to get treatment done before starting my workday. Then two weeks of waking up a little later and pushing work meetings until after 10am, working late to make up time missed. It was a lot for any human and at some points, I questioned why I wanted to continue on this track.
On first day of my sacrum treatment, I had a severe panic attack. I called my best friend, Janelle, while sitting in my car. I did not want to continue treatment. I was exhausted, fatigue would not even begin to describe the pure exhaustion I was feeling. I couldn’t sleep at night, I could barely eat because everything ran through me, and my skin felt like I spent days on the beach…without the beach. I remember thinking, why am I torturing myself?
I continued that torture for two weeks and finished off radiation strong..ish. I was ready for a break. But through it all, my skin benefited from a strict routine of lotion and no bras. Absolutely no bras. The one good thing that came from COVID-19 is work from home with allowed me to be more comfortable without a bra.
My Skin Regime
· Every morning I would shower using cool water with Cetaphil PRO RestoraDerm soothing wash. Linked here for $14.30. This soothing wash helped to keep my skin moisturized before heading off to radiation for the day.
· No lotion 2 hours prior to radiation. This helps to eliminate side effects caused by lotions or oils on the skin which can also prevent the radiation from being as effective.
· 30 minutes after radiation, as soon as I would arrive home, I would lotion my armpit, breast, sternum area from the bottom of my ribs, up to my head. This ensured I would cover all areas the radiation could have touched. When we moved to my sacrum, I would lotion from my belly button to my bikini line.
· For areas that were creased or rubbed or had more radiation like my tumor site, under my breast and between my arm and side, I would put the prescribed Silver Sulfadiazine Cream (see picture below.) This helped to stop infection of any broken skin but also worked as a barrier to save my skin.
· Every two hours I would put on more lotion and Silver Cream. For lotion during the day, I rotated between MiaDerm and Calendula Cream. Both are reasonably priced on amazon! I have gone through 12 bottles of Calendula Cream to date.
· At night, before bed, I would put on Aquaphor and Silver Cream. To my husbands amusement, I would sit in our bed shirtless to let the Aquaphor dry. Towel behind me to not ruin the sheets and tits out. When it finally dried a little, I would put on the largest, lightest shirt I owned. One I didn’t care if it was covered with Aquarphor or Silver Cream.
· Wake up and repeat!
I had over 40 treatments, and my skin didn’t tear, turn a darker color, or cause too much irritation. I never wore a bra during this time and continue to wear super lose breathable clothes. I continued to drink a gallon of water a day and eat my veggies… with some ice cream for mental stability. Keeping hydrated is a huge part of keeping the skin from breaking.
My Radiation Oncologist was super impressed with how my skin held up! I still today lotion up at least twice a day to keep my skin safe!
