Mum having radiotherapy

A good moisturiser is essential. I was recommened Aveeno. Some people used Aloe Vera for redness and soreness and suggested keeping this in the fridge as it is more soothing. Tell your mum to make sure she drinks plenty of water before and after each treatment as this helps with tiredness. I expect she will have to lie with her arms above her head for radiotherapy. I found this quite uncomfortable after about 20 minutes so After the first day I took two paracetamol to alleviate any discomfort and this helped me relax my arms and shoulders.  Hope she gets on ok.

Hi I start my radiotherapy on 28th I've had  mastectomy  in Feb and before that I had  2 rounds of Docetaxel. I was meant to have six rounds but it affected me so badly they stopped it when I was rushed to hospital. I was told mine is a aggressive  cancer that had reached my chest wall but surgeon said he had removed it all. I now find have been told after my 3 weeks of radiotherapy I will have 2 weeks off then 14 rounds of more chemo. I think right now you having your mums back goes a long way not so easy alone well sometimes it feels that way. I will be new to radiotherapy so in a way I know how she feels hopefully we will be fine. Much love to you and of course your mum x mandy

Hello,  I am so sorry that your Mom has had to go through so much already.  Chemo is difficult as it is but it can hit you hard sometimes.  I am assuming your Mom will have more surgery before her radiation.  
I had radiation to both breasts as had two lumpectomies.  I am very fair skinned and was so worried that my skin would react badly but I was very faithful with using a gentle lotion non soap cleanser followed by a gentle frangrance free moisturizer.  Used Cicalfate by Avene and my skin barely got pink.  I also used their thermal spring spray that I kept in the fridge to keep cold.  Showered and always stood with my back to shower so as not to have that forceful water pounding on chest.  Did get occasional itching and used hydrocortisone and it took it right away.  I am small breasted so did not need to wear a bra.  
Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated and eat healthy foods.  Rest as needed and walking is only exercise that radiation oncologist recommended.  Nothing too strenuous.  
I did have to do deep inspiration breath holding and keep arms up above my head but did ok.  I practiced before starting.  
Hope your Mom does well.  I was 72 when diagnosed and finished treatment at 73 and doing good.  
You are a big help to your Mom as everything can be so draining.

Barbara

Thanks, I'll make sure to get a decent moisturiser and aloe vera sounds like a good plan too. 

I think she will struggle with the arms when are she has arthritis but know she'll push herself to get it done. Will pass on the tip of paracetamol to help with this hopefully. 

She's pretty good at monitoring hiw much she drinks so that hopefully won't be a problem. She's been very dehydrated due to the chemo making her so ill but once she's passed the main symptoms of that I think she'll be okay. 

Thank you. 

Sorry to hear you've had a hard time of it. So hard for you to go through without dealing with bad side effects. Hopefully your remaining treatment goes smoothly. 

We haven't been told directly that mums is aggressive but the most recent discussion made it clear it was. We suspected as much as it grew so much in such a small amount of time and also affected more lymph nodes than they initially thought too. 

Each new stage of treatment refreshes it all and its like going back to the beginning all over again until we're into the new routine.

Wishing you the best with your treatment x 

Thank you for your reply. 

They want to do radiotherapy first and let her recover from it all a bit before doing more surgery. Worries us a bit, I've told her to keep a close eye on the scar and general area and to say if it feels more solid or different to how it has been. I'm very worried about it returning there since they left more tissue that they should have. They did say they got it all but I'm sceptical in all honesty. 

I made sure to get her fragrance free wash for after her surgery and she's stuck with that since so that's once thing sorted. I will look into the other products you mentioned. I'll also be sure to get some hydrocortisone in too so it's there if she needs it.

I'm hoping she gets back to healthier eating once the chemo is out of her system a bit. She's really struggled to keep food down, it's really upset her stomach. She's been in the assessment unit several times for dehydration because of this and random temperatures, spiking the dropping too low. So she's just be eating anything she can keep down, which typically seems to be terrible foods. She is craving healthy things though so fingers crossed she can at least try to enjoy her normal foods again soon. 

I try to do anything I can to help make it a bit easier for her. My siblings are the same, we're all very local and do oupart in helping her out (I do the appointments as I drive and work at the hospital so take in the medical information a bit easier). 

I will encourage her to practice raising her arms as I do think she'll struggle. She has arthritis along with other chronic issues so already had some mobility issues before her surgery. 

I'm so glad you're doing well. Thank you so much for your advice and tips, I really appreciate it 

Oh I hope all goes well.  It is awful when you don’t have much of an appetite and sometimes we crave foods that don’t have much nutritional value.  I love soups as you can get so much nutrition and it is comforting to eat it.  
Did your Mom get the pathology report from the surgery?  It will list her type snd stage of cancer etc.  Very helpful information to know.  
Take care and give your Mom a hug. Praying for better days.  
Barbara

Hi NightOwlAlways, sorry your mum has struggled with the chemo. It is hard at times. It’s good she eating albeit perhaps not the best of foods. Have you tried giving her the nourishment shake drinks. They have lots of vitamins and minerals and might help. From what I hear they don’t taste too bad either. Drinking some fruit juice might help or even squash. I’ve found elderflower nice. 
With the radiotherapy I used Aveeno and aloe Vera. My boob had changed and got firmer and it is sore but hopefully with the moisturiser and gentle massage it will ease. The effects of radiotherapy continue even when it’s finished. I think around a further 2 weeks. If she can do here exercises she was given to do after surgery it will help keep her mobility in that arm. I understand having arthritis may make this more difficult but perhaps if she can have some painkillers before hand to help. 
I practiced putting my hands above my head on the bed. I didn’t lay completely flat I had a pillow raised a little and then gentle rested my hands above my head on that. She won’t be laying completely flat in the radiotherapy and her arms will be in arm rests which they should be able to adjust to help. When she has her planning and tattooing session if she makes sure she lets them know about the arms they will be able to help and adjust things slightly to try and help make her as comfortable as possible. Drinking plenty of fluids too before and after. Can be things like soup, ice pops, jelly’s etc.  If its her left side she will have to do 20 second breath holds too to help protect her heart . If this is difficult again let them know as they can adjust the machine so she won’t have too but they will need to know this at the planning and tattooing session too as it will need to be planned it. 
Sorry lots of info but hope it helps. 
Wishing your mum all the best 

Hugs from cuffcake x x x x x

What I found useful was practising lying on the bed with arms above my head. The radiographers are so lovely and they will help your mum. She will have a planning session with them before the actual radiation starts so if she is likely to find it difficult to lift her arms make sure she relays this all to the team. They are used to people of all ages and situations and they will help your mum. I am 75 and I know my daughter was a great help and support to me as you are for your mum, so well done!  It just seems such a long, hard road for you all but your mum will get through this, we ladies are stronger than we think. Keep us posted on how she is doing.

She didn't ever get a written report. She was told grade 2 cells and a bit more info but wasn't ever staged. She preferred not to know but when the consultant asked, she knew I process things better knowing statistics so he went through survival percentages which was hard. He was very lovely and to be honest was higher than I expected but it hits hard still. She was never told what stage and I hated that she found any additional info out that she didn't want to hear. She told me she would leave me to talk to the consultant for that bit but then chose to stay, I think for my benefit. I feel very guilty about this. 

I look forward to her being slightly less vulnerable to be able to spend more time with her. We've kept it to a minimum so protect her, especially with me working at the hospital with patients. 

Thanks again