Hi all, well after my last thread treatment hasn’t got any better
I started radiotheraphy last wed, within an hour my breast was bright red, burning and really painful. It continued and I got sickness, horrible headache and exhaustion like never before, and all of it won’t go. I have really sore boob like loose clothes hurt it.. and they were adamant Friday this isn’t anything to do with radiotherapy.. however the lead radiographer saw me again today and was like oh my god maybe it is and went off to speak to the consultant. She didn’t bother to come down but prescribed me my 3rd lot of antibiotics in 2 1/2 months and said take them fir 10 days..maybe an infection.. well that will be my 4th and no one seems to be looking into this just throwing antibiotics at me..
after my session today my boob is like a football, it’s tightened up, sore, bright red and I’m in agony…
has anyone had any reactions like this before as I have another 16 sessions and I don’t think my boob or me will be able to take it
thank you 
HI
Gosh that sounds dreadful, poor you!! It does sound like a very unusual reaction - I had 15 sessions and it wasn't until the 3rd week that I started to get burning. Can you ring your breast care nurse and ask to speak to your oncologist / doctor personally? This does sound really bad.
Radiotherapy does cause fatigue in some people, but again, those ladies that I met that had it - it was the 2nd week onwards and they weren't drinking an awful lot. Are you drinking plenty of water/ fluids? If not, drink, drink, drink as that will certainly help with radiotherapy fatigue (if that's what's causing it) - but the fatigue could be due to an infection which the antibiotics prescribed might work in time / might be needing different type of antibiotics.
I had a road accident when I was 17 and every now and again, I get an infection in my scar tissue on my leg- I had really bad burning, swelling and my skin just burned away. It turned out to be the dressing causing an allergic reaction as well as having an infection - are you using a cream / dressings? I was allergic to silver foil dressings, which are really good for healing but actually burned the whole of the front my shin! (The nurse only got the consultant to me after 2 months of enduring this agony and just kept saying "do what I tell you"). So, push it if you're not happy. I mention that in case you're using something on your breast that you're not normally using - try using something else?. Also, the antibiotics they prescribed for me were the wrong ones for the infection I had in my leg when they eventually did a swab,
I can't help you with it being a breast as I was fine during radio - but hopefully my leg experience will help a little with ideas and I would DEFINITELY recommend getting to see someone other than the radiotherapy team.
Kindest wishes, Lesley
thank you, lesleyhelen 
honestly it’s driving me insane, it’s so painful, I seem to get loads of weird reactions now I’ve hit 40, I had my tetanus shot and it put me in bed for a week 
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im drinking lots as had to increase water due to the last 3 infections in the wound they took my nodes from. I’m not using anything different on me.. nothing has changed expect the radiotherapy
when I went last time I felt awful like really poorly and the BN said absolutely not infected it’s all healed but we will swab it.. 4 days later they rang to say oops there is an infection but the antibiotics needed for this one is IV only so will just leave it to settle on its own.. honestly that blew my mind as you have infection but we aren’t treating it was just weird.
Hi
In that case try using a little ploy I used. The previous example I gave you of my leg was about 15 years ago. Before I got BC (about 5 years ago) I got another infection in my leg and refused point blank to see the ulcer nurse that had treated me previously - and the nurse I was seeing understood exactly where I was coming from as she had been on the end of her tongue more than once and said she was a right one!! Anyway, I got BC, had recovered from that and I was still having the infection in my leg - MRSA in it this time - and despite being asked to be referred to the specialist hospital that had carried out the original muscle and skin grafts on it, my doctor just kept popping in on the occasional appointment saying "yes, I'm happy with it" (It costs the surgery to send me out of area, whereas in the olden days - 1984 they sent you to the best place for treatment). So, I decided to lay it on thick and tell him that I was really suffering mentally it was getting me down so much that I'd had breast cancer and that hadn't affected me as much mentally as my leg - and "although he was happy with it, I wasn't!"
Within 2 weeks I was referred to the hospital and within a month of seeing the specialists and following their advice, it healed. So, might be worth 'laying it on thick' even though you do feel so bad - make out you're feeling much, much worse mentally and see if it helps at all.
Kindest wishes, Lesley
