1. < Breast Cancer

Skin Care during Radiation?

Posted by marshgirl24 @marshgirl24, Nov 4 11:06am

Next month I'll have three weeks of radiation. (up from one , but I'm grateful for the change made by my radiation oncologist, who said he noticed something on my biopsy. His goal was to help me live another twenty years.) Someone on this loop commented that she used "fresh aloe vera." Does that mean a plant? If so, where do you buy it and how do you prepare it? Thanks for any other additional skin tips. My 3 weeks will be between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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ebtexas55 | @ebtexas55 | Nov 6 11:26am
In reply to @auntieoakley "Hello @marshgirl24 I did not use fresh aloe Vera as that would have required the death..." + (show)
@auntieoakley

Hello @marshgirl24 I did not use fresh aloe Vera as that would have required the death of a very large or many small plants. Lol
I used a commercial 100% aloe Vera without alcohol. I used a lot of it. I even kept it in the fridge. I had 6 weeks of radiation without any serious burns, but it did feel burned like a bad sunburn and the aloe Vera made it better.
I also ditched the bra for a while in favor of a couple of soft shirts.
Mepitel gel was not even thought of at the time, I would definitely consider asking my radiologist if this is an option and if it is recommended.
How are you feeling with the plan for treatment?

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Yes!!! Real aloe vera leaf scored.

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ebtexas55 | @ebtexas55 | Nov 6 11:30am
In reply to @marshgirl24 "Are you talking about the Lily of the Valley aloe vera gel? Someone online also drank..." + (show)
@marshgirl24

Are you talking about the Lily of the Valley aloe vera gel? Someone online also drank Johnson Aloe vera juice and said it made her feel better. I understand about the plant but many women are using strips of real aloe, from what I read.

I am happy with my team of doctors. @auntieoakley Because I was in healthcare, i read a lot, etc. It's so important to feel good (well, as good as you can feel when you have cancer) about what's going on. For some reason they did not remove any nodes. They did ultrasound (benign) and then the Breast MRI. Nodes were benign. The radiation oncologist wants to make sure "they got everything" so he lengthened my radiation. I'm fine with that. Recently I read about a new way to diagnose lymph nodes that is in trials right now. It's called InVision and uses shortwave infrared lights to find/diagnose the nodes. Small trial of 100 patients. 4% were found to have nodes that had been missed. Sorry, I'm off-topic but after reading comments in this forum and talking to friends I was excited that newer technology was in the works for that important issue.

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I drank Georges aloe vera drink and did the aloe vera leas as well ad Lily of the Desert gel. Posted it ago, but since this is new comment wanted to confirm.

There's no sign i had radiation. Doctors who’ve seen me, even my cardiologist have been impressed. It works!

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1 reply
vickee | @vickee | Nov 6 8:26pm

hi, maybe we both had LBC in the same time, does your doctor ask you to take the hormone therapy? my doctor told me the benefit is low and i do not know if i should take the hormone therapy

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1 reply
marshgirl24 | @marshgirl24 | Nov 7 3:33am
In reply to @vickee "hi, maybe we both had LBC in the same time, does your doctor ask you to..." + (show)
@vickee

hi, maybe we both had LBC in the same time, does your doctor ask you to take the hormone therapy? my doctor told me the benefit is low and i do not know if i should take the hormone therapy

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Yes i will take antihormone therapy. My understanding is that if your cancer is estrogen positive the medication blocks estrogen to prevent reoccurrence. You might ask your doctor why he/she feels that it will make little difference.

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brightside21 | @brightside21 | Nov 7 12:10pm
In reply to @ebtexas55 "Ive shared my experience awhile back on what was VERY effective for me with radiation. It..." + (show)
@ebtexas55

Ive shared my experience awhile back on what was VERY effective for me with radiation. It was so effective my radiologist called me in and said he was concerned about me. He said he thought he might have mis calibrated me.
I asked him why? You dont think im burning much? He said yes!
1) real aloe leaf scored. Cut into blocks and put in fridge.
2) apply every 20-30 minutes, topless in the house, no one home.
3) Lily of the Desert 99% Aloe Gel at night and when I needed to go out
4) drank 1 cup Georges aloe vera drink, too. Works on the Inside.

My skin looks like a baby. No brown, smooth etc.

I gave a cut to a young girl who was raw red. She slathered it on her the rest of the day, next day, she was pink.

God knows best. I use His creations.
Try it, not just for radiation but any cuts or scrapes or sun burn.

No petroleum products…. Like the ones they give you.

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How many weeks & what fractions & Gy's did you have?
Was it 15 fractions over 3weeks
or
5 fractions over 1week
Or something different

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1 reply
kaykerz | @kaykerz | Nov 7 1:53pm

I have never had any burning and use Jean’s Cream (aloe + vitamin E). Can also use it on any scars or scratches to help with disappearance of the wound. (Amazon $44 tube). It has worked both times when I had radiation 12 years apart.

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ebtexas55 | @ebtexas55 | Nov 7 8:12pm
In reply to @brightside21 "How many weeks & what fractions & Gy's did you have? Was it 15 fractions over..." + (show)
@brightside21

How many weeks & what fractions & Gy's did you have?
Was it 15 fractions over 3weeks
or
5 fractions over 1week
Or something different

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Im not sure what you mean by fractions..but as i recall I went monday thru friday every day, for 6 weeks.

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dlmdinia | @dlmdinia | Nov 8 8:10am

I went through 33 radiation treatments (6 1/2 weeks) and ended up with just a barely perceptible darkening of the skin. My technician was super impressed. You don't need to use expensive creams, ointments or other exotic materials. You just need to consistently moisturize. You can't use anything topical during treatment, but start moisturizing immediately after. I did it 4x a day - after my 7 a.m. session, lunch, dinner and before bed. I used Udderly Smooth which is a very "loose" cream that goes on so easily (you want to avoid any friction on the skin) and is non-greasy. https://a.co/d/hXZf9Ft
Also when you bathe, be very gentle in the treated area. I used Johnson & Johnson baby wash all through chemo and radiation. The only time I had trouble was when I got too aggressive with a washcloth so do be gentle.

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marshgirl24 | @marshgirl24 | Nov 8 7:47pm

Could I also ask, how do you handle putting cream on around the ovals placed on your incision? I guess these ovals protect the incision but if you apply cream and then wipe it off (maybe it absorbs) do these ovals stay on ? Thank you for all your suggestions. This group has been very helpful.

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1 reply
dlmdinia | @dlmdinia | Nov 9 9:41am
In reply to @marshgirl24 "Could I also ask, how do you handle putting cream on around the ovals placed on..." + (show)
@marshgirl24

Could I also ask, how do you handle putting cream on around the ovals placed on your incision? I guess these ovals protect the incision but if you apply cream and then wipe it off (maybe it absorbs) do these ovals stay on ? Thank you for all your suggestions. This group has been very helpful.

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I don't know anything about ovals. I had chemo after surgery and then radiation. Originally the plan was surgery and then radiation, but unfortunately it didn't work out that way. Still, either way, the plan was to wait a month after surgery for healing before continuing treatment. I'm sorry, I'm not being helpful.

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