Anxiety over radiation burns: What can I expect?

I used Cera Ve. It has to be water based according to my nurses. You only apply after radiation, and before bed. I had 18 treatments, both breasts, and thats what I did. I did not wear any deodorant until after radiation. I did not have any burning.

Maybe I misunderstood--but I thought the techs suggested moisturizing some days before the radiation treatment so as to get the skin in good shape.. You are right--never before on day of.

Thanks for the info. I will apply the cream before bed then nothing until after my radiation treatments at 11:30 am - they recommended I bring it to put on right after that. I was surprised after my Lumpectomy and Sentinel Node Biopsy I didn't really sweat so I didn't use any deodorant - I guess that is because I am 59 yrs old. I may opt not to put on deodorant either - but just in case I got the brand Native.

i finished 3 weeks of radiation 5 days a week , a couple of months ago . it went very well , looked like a bad sunburn at end, but cream from nurse worked well , no pain whatso ever , no itching . healed very well . and i'm in my 60 s. with badly sun damaged skin to begin with . you will be fine , did seem to make me tired weeks after . but everyone is different . i'm glad i had it , as several lymph nodes affected . i found it a breeze . had had a mastectomy a few weeks before, so had scaring from that , but the radiation didn't worry the long scar. or inflame it . skin slightly darker a few weeks after but returns to natural colour pretty quickly . so try not to worry , don't be anxious that's a lot worse than having it done . remember it's killing off stray cancer cells . all the best .

Consider yourself lucky. My 6 weeks was a living hell. Burnt and all the creams & lotions didn't help. Everyone is different so just be thankful.

well 6 weeks is a long time, mine was only 3 weeks, what a nightmare for you . i was wrongly diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer , and had six months of intense chemotherapy , the strongest yiu can take, "red devil" , but after cells were tested after the mastectomy they were found to be oestrogen positive not triple negative , a " mistake" the doctor thought . so now i need only anti oestrogen tablets . so after chemo , radiation was easy !! after removing 25 lymph nodes , i'm dealing with blockage in arm and chest wall which is annoying after all the treatment , so still ongoing . we all have our own battles . i prefer to dwell on the positives as this treatment is bad enough to go thru . all the best , hope your thru the worst . and recovering well .

well 6 weeks is a long time, mine was only 3 weeks, what a nightmare for you . i was wrongly diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer , and had six months of intense chemotherapy , the strongest yiu can take, "red devil" , but after cells were tested after the mastectomy they were found to be oestrogen positive not triple negative , a " mistake" the doctor thought . so now i need only anti oestrogen tablets . so after chemo , radiation was easy !! after removing 25 lymph nodes , i'm dealing with blockage in arm and chest wall which is annoying after all the treatment , so still ongoing . we all have our own battles . i prefer to dwell on the positives as this treatment is bad enough to go thru . all the best , hope your thru the worst . and recovering well .

Thanks for the info. I will apply the cream before bed then nothing until after my radiation treatments at 11:30 am - they recommended I bring it to put on right after that. I was surprised after my Lumpectomy and Sentinel Node Biopsy I didn't really sweat so I didn't use any deodorant - I guess that is because I am 59 yrs old. I may opt not to put on deodorant either - but just in case I got the brand Native.

I found I didnt sweat either. after my nodes were removed. I still dont much, but under my one breast I sweat at the scar and it sometimes smells like blue cheese. yuk