*** DECEMBER 2021 to MARCH 2022 BREAST CANCER RADIOTHERAPY **

Thank you so much for this Eliza. xx

Thanks for setting up the December group.I have 15 sessions  of RT and was due to start today.I arrived at the hospital and after one hour

they told me the machine was not working.As I was only starting today, they sent me home and I will go tomorrow.I am glad that they are organising an extra session for Sunday,so I still keep my last day for 21st Dec . I was dissapointed as I did psych myself up,but hey hoo.

Good luck everyone , who is starting the RT journey.It’s been a long journey, diagnosed this time last year , but I am hoping and praying 

this is the final,treatment now.

one step at a time !

Hello Kiki

I am a year in this month, just like you. Keep your spirits up. One day delay in RT getting started and a catch up session arranged is good news. I had 15 normal RT and 4 boosts. The worst bit was having to get to hospital every day. Compared to chemo I found it easy to get the treatment. Remember to moisturise plenty and stay hydrated. 

You can do this.

All the best

WallyDug

Thank youWally Dug  for your words of encouragement.I went today although had to redo the measurements as they didn’t line up.After 4 hours , finally delivered the radiotherapy.Hopefully tomorrow will run a bit smoothly 

Hi, I started on Tuesday so I've done 4 sessions out of the 20 I have to do. I'm feeling pretty tired in the evenings but generally ok. Anyone know if the treatment is going to have a big effect on how the breast looks afterwards? Will it shrink? Also, have you been told to breath in a certain way? I've read that you should hold your breath but the nurses didn't tell me to do that

Hi stilldazed

The radiotherapy treatment doesn’t have a big effect on the breast.  I had to do the breath hold as my radiotherapy treatment was on my left hand side.

Wishing you the best of luck with the rest of your treatment.

Best wishes

Daisy53

Hi . I finished 15 sessions of RT today so decided to post on this new thread .

I have had to have both breasts radiated as tumours were found in both . This meant CT planning for each breast on an individual case approach meaning my treatment is like having 2 RT every time . That meant the treatments were long every day . Saying that ,The team at Guys were fantastic and couldn’t of been more helpful getting me through .

Im worried about the side effects of RT like everyone else . Also where I had both breasts done will the side effects be worse ? . I think at the moment no one really knows how their own skin  is going to react .

So far , the skin in the middle of my chest is very itchy .

I am taking anti histamine , paracetamol . Desperate not to scratch at it . 
Also using double base gel twice a day topped up by  Aloe  Vera and Aveeno ..

Ummm , watch this space .

Let’s stick together on this .

Penelope xx

Thank you for the replies. I'm going to ask about holding my breath when I go back for my next session on Monday. How is everyone doing with the tiredness? I've been ok so far but I'm a bit worried it's going to kick in. I'm lucky to be working from home but December is always such a busy month with the kids, I'm worried about how I'm going to cope. Right I'm off to buy some Aveeno!

Just to say stilldazed that I originally was told I had to do the hold breath for both breasts and had to practise this on my planning .

However , my oncologist called me on the morning I was due to start and after examinations from the planning she said it wasn’t necessary for me to hold breath , not even on my left side .

So there you go ! It’s not written in stone . Best to prepare and practise just in case but you never know ..,,,

Penelope xxx

The breath hold technique is generally for left sided breast patients to move the chest wall away from the heart. Sometimes you don’t need to hold your breath as the oncologist and dosimetrists can tell from your anatomy seen on the planning ct scan that your heart isn’t going to be near the treatment field.

If you have already started your treatment and haven’t been asked to hold your breath  your radiotherapy has been planned in this way and won’t change mid course of treatment.

Hope this helps x