Skin redness and whats best

Hi Andy_49 welcome to the forum and so sorry that you have not had a reply until now . 

I think the  colouring you describe does happen frequently after Radiotherapy and can take some time maybe up to a year or more to go back to some degree of what we think is our normal colouring. That peeling you describe sounds like part of the process of the healing as Radiotherapy dries our skin out.

I would be tempted to stick with something like Aloe Vera gel for example as it is gentle, not sticky and does work really well on dry skin and is not something that needs to be rubbed off for example as doing that ie rubbing to get a cream off can break the skin down  so avoid that if you can. it is also recommended by some Radiotherapy teams after treatment it certainly was by mine. 

I don't think Aloe Vera has a smell either so you wont end up smelling like a scented flower.

Everyone has different thoughts about creams so when others see your post they may reply with different cream suggestions.

Thank you for posting as there will be few men on here with Breast Cancer so others will be able to take much hope and reassurance from your post.

Hope that the healing continues and that the colour returns to as near normal as you hope for.

Meantime Im sending some very best wishes your  way for now..

Hi Andy_49

Hope you've been getting on OK with your treatment. I was advised by the RT department to only use hydrogel on the part of the skin which was broken down (blistered/peeling) but this had to be supplied by them as my GP couldn't get hold of it. They said the problem with using normal creams if the skin breaks down is risk of introducing infection. So, one option would be for you to call your RT dept and ask if they could give you a tube of hydrogel.  If you don't want to go down that route and the skin is not really broken down, I would agree re the Aloe Vera, as pure as you can get it. The one I got was 99% pure and didn't have a fragrance really. The other common recommendation is Aveeno (oat based cream). The main thing to avoid is any metals in the cream, particularly sodium lauryl sulphate. I too have a tanned rectangle.. but I have only recently finished RT. Best of luck with it. 

Hi Andy

Glad you recovering well.  I used E45 & Aloe Vera gel for the hot skin.  I kept my Aloe Vera (holland and barratt pure Aloe Vera gel) in the fridge and applied whenever it felt very hot.  

You need to watch the skin isn't wet as it may have a bit of infection.  I had an issue under my breast which is common as it's hot and sweaty under there.  I rang my Breast care nurse and she saw me same day and gave me flamazine and it healed very quickly.  I also used a panty liner (small sanitary towel) to prevent friction and keep it dry.  They did give me some special dressings but they adhered to my skin and pulled more off where as the liner had no adhesive that side and worked a treat.  I had the idea off my hubby who used to "borrow" sanitary towels to stop friction from back pack in his hiking days!  

I'm 5 years post radiotherapy and my skin has returned completely to normal.  It was red and hot and skin delicate for a couple of months after finishing rads but then improved rapidly.  I was told just to be careful exposing to the sun in future but my topless days are behind me and the bit exposed has been fine.

How are you recovering mentally?  It hits you in a funny way doesn't it.  Everyone thinks now you look back to normal you are fine but it's not that simple.

Hi

Firstly thank you for the advice on creams (non scented :)) I shall get myself some Aloe Vera gel/cream and use this with the E45. Its nice to know the redness will fade in time, i knew it would go like sunburn but still it was a shock since it took 2-3 weeks to appear and i guess / hoped i had got away with it. Luckily the skin is dry under the arm , it looks like a bad sunburn now, pink and peeling but not sore or itchy. The front although red shows some signs of it fading but its going to take time. A nice reminder!

I just realised its been about 6 months since i was diagnosed , funny i hadn't even thought about it in a positive way until you spoke about recovering. To be frank once the Rads were done it felt like i was waiting for something or someone to say its finished, and o.k off you go back to the real world now..

Except that never happened, no one said its over and your cured and then that's when it slowly dawns on you its not as simple as its finished , in my opinion anyway. Now on the tamoxifen , not really noticed anything for the 3-4 weeks now i have been on it but i do have an aches in my butt occasionally and i read that tamoxifen can cause aches in muscles and bones so i guess i am going to have to adapt to this new normal. On the plus side i can also put any extra weight gain down to the tamoxifen too and not my intake of biscuits!

So i guess i am waiting for normal to return, knowing it won't and adapting to the new idea that i just had one of life's near misses and i wondering right now where i am headed. Life goes on no matter but i am not the same Andrew. Just not sure who or where he is going right now.