Starting Radiation Treatment: Worried about side effects. Tips welcome

@dlpeters7, how is radiation treatment going? What tips would you share back for those following your footsteps?

@jourjourney99, have you started radiation now?

I have sensitive skin also. I did get a rash after I completed radiation therapy. Aquaphor healed it up quite nicely for me. During the treatment period I put lotion on several times a day. Eucerin is what I use now.

Radiation is much more advanced today. Try not to focus on the side effects and what it will do to you, try telling yourself that it will be over soon and then you can get back living. Not everyone suffers the same side effects and usually they are minimal. Yes you can get radiation burn, but it is not like a bad blustery burn, it is like a mild sunburn. Your skin doesn’t peel like sunburn, it just gets flaky. There are great products on the market that soothes this, my doc gave me sample tubes of Aquaphor, and it worked great. No problems with my skin. Our fears lie within the unknown because it is all so new and we are scared of the unknown, Don’t be scared of the radiation, try and see it as this is going to kill that C and you will do well. Good luck in your journey .

My radiation was very tolerable. I was not crushed/overly tired but perhaps bc I am an active person. I just would keep on routine, walked and gym when I could but without putting pressure on myself. My skin did get rashy, not terrible, and it peaked probably in the last week and a 1-2 weeks after. The nipple are was a tad rough towards the end but now all good!!! I did, however, het shingles early into radiation and it took a while for them to determine it was actually shingles. That was not fun, very different from radiation rash, under breast area, but thankfully I considered it mild shingles bc I had been shingles vaccinated the year before. Overall I just put head down and plowed thru with the support of my husband, close girlfriends, and radiation staff. On my last day we rode our bikes to the center and met friends at a local brewery to celebrate ✔️'ing that treatment off this list!

I had daily radiation treatment for 4 weeks. O advice from others and oncologist I used Aquaphor every day. Even so I did get a little “sunburn”. My breast also got swollen and tender. At 3 months post radiation it is still that way, but milder. The doctor says that this is not unheard of and is not concerned.

I had radiation for 3 weeks and used Aquaphor either once or twice a day. It is very greasy so I'd put a small amount of saran wrap over it to try to minimize the stain to clothing. I had a slight darkening of the skin about a week after treatment ended - but that was all. I wasn't tired.

It may also depend on the "grey" level you'll get in addition to the type proton vs photon. I had 3D photon and had a total of 40 grey over the course of the total radiation treatment - so it was small portions (centigrey) each treatment for a total of 40 grey.

I also am Hispanic so that might also attribute to the impact to my skin - as I have a slight olive tint to my skin.

I had very few side effects. Rested every day after treatment for 20 minutes. Played mahjong and drive myself to every 38 treatments. The nurse gave me silverdyne cream for after treatment only. Helped burning greatly. Otherwise I did quite well. Good luck

My radiation treatment is going well. I have been using Eucerin everyday twice a day and an a natural aloe vera gel at night. My skin is little pink but nothing bad. My breast is sore but it was still a little sore from surgery when I started my treatment. My doctor said that is normal and once I'm done with radiation the soreness should start to go away as my body heals. I have only 3 more treatments. I was a little tired at the end of last week but nothing that kept me from doing my regular routine. I'm working from home currently so it makes it easier not to have to worry about getting to work or leaving work for treatment. I have appreciated all the tips from people here and the encouraging words. My radiation therapists have been so amazing and kind so that has me feel more relaxed. The time has actually gone by pretty fast. I would say they even though I was a little worried I found that between the encouragement and advice from people here and my great radiation therapists I put at ease very quickly.

I used pure aloe and coco butter after every treatment. It helped cool the irritation and bring my skin back to normal.

At the age of 79 I had radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks. I had very few problems from it except it tok longer for the wound from removing my port to heal.