Radio Therapy

I was told to use E45,  but it doesn't agree with my skin, but the wouldn't listen to me! In the end I used Aloe Vera which I kept in the fridge.  I would use it 3 - 4 times a day.  I also put a pad under the breast to stop it rubbing against the chest wall.  

Thank you for your reply it’s really helpful .

Check back threads there are loads of ideas, the aloe vera in the fridge came from there, but beware it's very cold on the warm breast!  

Hi

I hadn't found this forum when I started my treatment and just got told to 'use a cream'.  Luckily I met a lady who'd been through it 10 years previously and she recommended a cream she'd used. It was still available.  However, it was mega expensive (£25-ish per pot I recall) and only available online - and I got through 3 pots of it.  It was a green gel type cream and I'm sure that the somewhere like Holland and Barrett will do an aloe vera gel which is just the same and at a fraction of the cost and easy to buy quickly.

I applied my gel/cream first thing in the morning, when I got home from work at 2pm and again before I left for radio - it took about an hour to get there.  I then put it on as soon as I finished radio and again at night before bed.  The only thing I would have done differently is by session 10 I would stop putting it under my breast.  Because it was moist there due to the gel, my bra band rubbed and I got a burn along the band line and I ended up having to take off my bra whenever I was at home.

One of the biggest things I found to prevent fatigue is drink, drink, drink!  They do tell you to keep hydrated, but I saw first hand the difference it makes.  I went at the same time every afternoon and 2 ladies who weren't drinking much (one told me that she'd 'managed a couple of cups of tea so far today' !!???? - just 5 years older than me and I was 51 at the time) suffered so badly from fatigue - fell asleep at her desk at work.... and she was also quite poorly later on too.  Another older lady was really struggling and she admitted that she didn't drink very much normally and was finding it difficult.  I had a pint of squash and a coffee first thing and probably a dozen mugs of green tea, black tea, coffee and more squash during the day and evening.  I amended my 'lifestyle' during those 3 weeks.  I work part time employed mornings and then in the afternoons run my own business.  So, as I was going to radio in the afternoons, I decided to close my business for those 3 weeks.  I think that made a huge difference because I had no extra stress of 'fitting everything in' and the driving 60+ miles every day wasn't a trial.  After each radio I went to the coffee shop and treated myself to a syrup coffee, so it became something to look forward to.  In the end, I actually felt I had more energy than normal and my OH and I went out and about at weekends doing far more than usual as an extra 'treat'. 

Good luck with your radio, I recall it being nowhere near as bad as I'd feared. 

Lesley x 

Over 5 years since I had radiotherapy.  I have G cup breast so had to have mould made to keep them in place!!  I wish I had kept that mould as it would have made a nice garden pond!!!

I was told to use E45 & Aloe Vera (from H&B) and to keep Aloe Vera in fridge for when breast felt hot (about 2 weeks in).  Before treatment I started using E45 and bio oil to ensure skin /scar in good condition.  Every day before radiotherapy I showerd with unsented baby wash and patted breast dry.  I did not use deodrant or shave arm pit on the radiated side.  I applied E45 before RT and then when I got home applied more and some Aloe vera.  My skin held up well aside from a breakdown of skin underneath my breast - more common with larger breasts as you get skin on skin burns.  They gave me some very expensive special dressing but I found they pulled the skin off and didn't keep it dry.  I took an idea from my hubby who used to hike and used ST to relieve pressure of backpacks on shoulders/hips.  I put a panty liner underneath my bra and it was much better.  My BCN gave me a cream to clear up any bacteria lurking there and told me to keep it dry!  She laughed at my panty liner but agreed it did the job!

Bras - I bought post surgery bras from debenahams even though I didn't have my breast removed.  They are very soft inside and lightly padded so I felt protected.  I went up a back side as I bought them specially but if you have soft non wired bras you could just buy a bra expander off Ebay to give a bit more room for a few weeks - they are just 99p.

Do drink loads of water - it helps your skin and energy levels.  I had 15 sessions over 3 weeks which was norm then and fatigue hit me in week 3 but I just needed to sit quietly on sofa and watch a film that required no effort from me!! 

Within a few months you would not have known I had radiotherapy as skin looked normal.