••• January Radiotherapy Club 2020 •••

Happy New Year...and thank you ladies for the wise words about the tattoos. As you all said it was 3 tiny 'nips'. They use dark pink ink in Edinburgh and I can barely see them...I don't know how the radiographers are going to manage! So I start on the 13th...a whole week next week without any appointments!! Hope you all enjoy your day...I'm off to the pub

Hi  Happy Hogmanay - Looks like you'll be having rads on 'Burns Night' then - Sorry, my bad :-/

These pink tattoo marks may be the fluorescent ink type that shows up under ultraviolet light - Perhaps you could let us know after seeing how they line these up after your first session ?

Some units are now offering this because dark dots can take quite a while to fade and are a constant reminder. I think it was originally developed for darker skinned patients where small black dots would be difficult to see.

May be worth anyone facing a pre-rads assessment appt asking if their unit offers this option ?

Take care, G n' J

Thinking of you all starting radiotherapy this month. You have got this far and are doing great, only a few weeks and you will be through this. For me radiotherapy was fine, no problems, I hope this is the same for you x x

Thanks for the welcome! 
I’m in now for 20 sessions starting tomorrow

Im all set, tattoos and CT done so fingers crossed this will be a walk in the park compared to chemo

Ruby

Good luck to all those just starting on this part of the ride, it really is the easiest part.  Having my last one tomorrow and all well so far except am now a very good shade of puce on one side of my chest.  I look like one of those cartoon characters where someone has used a red hot baking sheet and hit me across the chest.  I had a mastectomy so they had to use the bolus pad.

Can I suggest that you use a cold compress over the site, I have only been using it for the last 3 days but it has certainly helped to bring down the heat.

XOXO

Hi There.  I am starting on Tuesday 14th and very nervous.  I had my planning appt today and really felt lots of pain trying to keep my arm above my head.  And I have to do the deep breath hold with the goggles on so I cant see around me.  I found it quite unnerving.  Is anyone else doing this?

Hi , I haven’t popped in to rads group for a while as I finished end of January last year. But thought I’d say hi and share my experience of the deep breath hold. I assume you’re doing it because it’s on the left breast? I found the breath holding stressful but doable. The machine I was on was the oldest in the unit and had no mod cons so no goggles, lines to follow, no music, nothing to focus on except a crack on the ceiling! And the voice of the radiographer. So I’m wondering whether you could try to see the goggles as a useful way of focusing on your breathing and then they might seem less unnerving? I’m guessing the goggles guide you to take the right depth of breath? It’s not a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination, I looked on it as something to endure and regarded it as my ‘job’ for the 3 weeks it took. And I think it might have helped me to have some sort of guide - when I had the planning scan and practised the breath hold, there was a small screen to watch which showed if my intake was within the required depth. But nothing on the actual zapper (can’t remember what it’s called!)

Sorry you’re also having pain holding your arm up, you don’t need that on top of everything. Do you think they might be able to adjust the arm rest to make it less painful? 

Good luck for the 14th, hope you can enjoy the days before and also plan some treats for during your rads. 

Gentle hugs, HFxx

I'm another breath holder and was very wary beforehand as I've always struggled with my breathing whenever anyone has tried to mess with it.  I find that if I don't think about it, it manages on its own but the minute I think about it or try to control it as in deep breathing for relaxation or during exercise then it goes to pot and I get breathless or find I'm holding my breath and it takes me quite a while to settle back to normal.

Anyway, I'm on my last one today and can honestly say the breath hold has not been an issue, I didn't have goggles nor anything to watch to say when I had reached the right inflation, I just tried to fill my chest as much as I could each time. For me it was 4 (occasionally 5) short bursts, mostly less than 10 seconds with the longest count being 14 seconds.  I just listen to the voice counting down, sometimes close my eyes but mostly stare at the ceiling which has a nice false window thingy with a picture of blue sky and autumn trees.  A couple of times they've asked me to add a bit more air in, that's not easy and sometimes I've just had to start again and once they've asked me to let a little out which is a bit easier.

You can do this and once you've done a couple you'll see that the breath hold is doable, it's just fear of the unknown that is getting to you now but if I can do it I know you will too.

Also let your team know about the pain in your arm, I'm sure they will do there utmost to make you as comfortable as possible.

Good luck

XOXO

Hi Jump 123

I have just finished my 20 sessions today and I found doing my arm exercises and stretches before and after treatment worked quite well, especially in the Changing room. I didn’t have to do breath holding, but you could practice at home, imagine a nice walk that you enjoy while doing it, noticing the flowers/birds and trees on the way - then use this beautiful practiced walk during your treatment sessions. Sometimes even an imaginary shopping trip to the supermarket, thinking of everything you need down each isle, in the right order works too. Your treatment sessions are so short and will be over in no time. Good luck to everyone, keep using the cream. 
Regards Cate 

Thanks for the reply Happy Feet.  They did do everything they could with padding etc to try and make me more comfortable.  I will have to diligently practice my arm exercises for the next week and hope it helps.  I'm glad you found the breath-hold doable.  I'm sure after a couple of sessions I will get used to it. xxx