Hi Kathy,

The tattoos are little tiny blue dots, nothing to worry about. I
wasn't allowed to use deodorant at all.  I was allowed to wash under
my arm with gentle soap and water, but NO hard scrubing of the skin
under the arm or around the breast.

I continued to wear my bra but took the underwiring out of the left
side. What you don't want is anything irritating that area.  

By the end of my treatments the skin were the radiation was
concentrated was a little red and irritated looking but not painful. I
was given a bottle of diaper rash ointment after the final treatment,
but it was really dense and hard to put on, so I didn't use it.  The
redness went away within a week or two.  Some people use pure aloe
during treatment but we don't seem to have that here and my oncologist
said not to use anything.

I hope this helps a little.  

Marilyn

Seems like everyone gets slightly different advice, but it's good to
keep that in perspective:  The implication is probably that many
approaches work out OK!

The soap they told me to use was *unscented* Dove soap, but I've heard
others say they were told differently.

I would've preferred that tattoos; instead, they marked me up with felt
pen, putting clear tape over it to keep it from washing off.  They'd
re-mark parts of it periodically.

It's not too unusual, I think, for a nurse or tech to do the detail
briefing on procedures & side effects.  Usually, they're not quite as
rushed as the doc, so can take more time answering questions & such.

We had a long talk about the "no bra" thing at my support group a while
back.  Larger-breasted women seem to have done OK with some kind of soft
cotton bra, such as a sports bra (it was recommended to pick a kind that
 fastens rather than a pull-over, if surgery had left any
range-of-motion problems).

I was also told to avoid sun on the radiated area (i.e., long exposure
to sun that could add to any burning effects).  When I asked, I was told
that my massage therapist shouldn't work on any area that was even
slightly pink from the radiation.  I was told not to use any lotions,
regular soaps (especially deodorant soaps), perfumes, etc., on the
radiated area during radiation, except special deodorant (Al-ro? or
something like that), and Aloe Vera gel after treatment.

If your underarm is part of the radiation field, there's decent chance
the radiation will shut down the sweat glands, and "no deodorant" won't
be any kind of issue.  Seems like they told me not to shave that side,
too, but I was hairless from chemo to start, and the radiation also
killed the hair follicles on that side.

The "no bra" thing wasn't a problem for me (bilateral mastectomies) -- I
wore a special cotton camisole & put fiberfill into its pockets as
protheses when needed.

Other than that, I can't think of anything.

Radiation is kind of a pain logistically (going every day for a few
minutes), but other than that was no big deal for me.  And I *do* have
fair skin, so I expected burning.  What I got was no worse than a bad
sunburn, and they gave me a prescription cream to put on that.

Take care,

Ann T.
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This is all basic information - there's no reason a tech (or anyone) can't give
it to you.  I knew it already before I went in, just from reading on the
internet.  It's not medical info, and it's not specific to your case - it's
just generic stuff.

I didn't wear deodorant on the side receiving radiation (had a late afternoon
appointment - if I'd gone in the morning I simply would have taken the
deodorant with me & put it on after the treatment), but I did wear my bra the
entire time.  I look much better in one as opposed to going bra-less and I
wasn't willing to look like a frump <g> for 7 weeks.  I didn't have any
trouble, and didn't remove the underwire either.  However, I'm only a B-cup,
and it seems large-breasted women have more of an issue in this area.   I also
didn't use any special soap.

I did get some burning, which was tender for a while.  It wasn't bad enough to
make me go without a bra, though.

Good luck - radiation really is a piece of cake for most women.  

Sue - DivaofDVC   aka WDW1972
DVC '97   OKW, Beach Club, Vero Beach, & Hilton Head

I think it just depends on the doctor and/or facility you're going to
for treatments.

I was dx in 1999. Stage 1. negative nodes. lumpectomy. 33 radiation
treatments [25 whole breast/8 were "boost] and  and 6 months of CMF
chemo.

I had a recur in 2002 sand had mastectomy and recon at the same time. I
then had another 6 months of chemo. [4 AC/4 Taxotere]

About the deoderant? I was never told not to wear any. I did have to
clean the underarm prior to the treatment anf then could reapply
afterwards.

About Tatoos?  They were little tiny blue dots. Not a big deal. I always
tell whoever asks 'that I've got freckles bigger then that" They fade
abit over time [mine did anyway]. These are used as a guideline for
treatments. They also would let anyone know in the future that you've
had rad treatments to that area. In the event you're injured, and have
to have some type of treatment including radiation [x-rays/ct scans
etc]...they'd know you already had some form of radiation to the chest.

About the bras? I always wore sport bras anyway. So my surgeon was
thrilled he didn't have to have that discussion with me after my
surgery. They have some real nice ones out there and they don't cost all
that much. I got mine at a local dept store here [meijers] But you could
look at say Wal-Mart or -Mart depending on where you're located.

And like "Kaye" mentioned I was told to use aloe vera gel. I went to a
health food store and found mine {gnc} it was only 99¢ for a 2oz tube.
Make sure that it has NO alcohol in it..Ouch!
Take care there dear/God bless and good luck.
annie
 

Ultimately.....we know deeply that the other side of every fear is a
freedom.

"Courage"...is *fear* that has said it's prayers.

I just finished radiation Oct 2, 2004.

I was told no deoderant, no using any product they didn't give me which
meant no aloe gel, and to use a soap like Dove.  They didn't specify
when I should stop wearing a bra only that that time would come.  The
doc did tell me about the tattooes but that was on the visit to set up
everything - NOT on my initial visit to him - you know, the one where
they are giving you the info you need to make a decision.

Yah, I was upset too at all the info that I got in dribs and drabs.  I
really don't understand why this can't all be written up (down) and
handed to the patient - sort of  a treatment plan.  There is so much
info that came as a big surprise.  And for me my number one issue over
all this was the sudden lack of control over my life.

My treatment... 4 courses of chemo (AC, I think) 3 weeks apart,
radiation started 4 weeks after last chemo and lasted for 28 whole
breast and 5 boost treatments.  My tumor was practically in my armpit
so the field was high and my breasts are fairly large (38DD-40DD) so
that meant the field extended onto my ribcage a bit.

My experience... don't know if it was worse than these ladies posted
because of the chemo or if I was just not very lucky...  I got way
worse than a sunburn below my breast - the whole area where the breast
touches the ribcage underneath when I didn't have a bra so obviously
(to me at least) if I'd been small enough breasted to not have that
rubbing problem I probably would have fared better.  Anyway, I lost
skin in pretty much the entire rub area.  I lost it a bit at first
right in the center of the fold and then it spread outward.  They gave
me some cleansing spray for it but didn't want me pulling at any of the
skin that was coming off.  A lot of the area that lost skin became
weepy (surface moisture constantly) and of course extremely sensitive.
I had to keep it really clean to keep it from starting to smell.  I
came close but never got a yeast infection there, thank goodness (at
least they never told me it was a yeast infection).  The nurse and the
doc disagreed on what to use on it.  The nurse stuck to "radia"
products whereas the doc at one time gave me a burn medication.
Frankly none of it did much good.  What helped was to keep it really
clean and apply non-stick pads (which the nurse supplied plenty) on the
breast and ribcage - separate pad on each so that the breast could
still move - the pads slide across each other.

I was extremely unprepared for all that as everything I'd read and
heard and been told was that it would be a severe sunburn.  To my mind,
it was more like a severe burn - the kind that blisters up and the skin
can peel away and the flesh underneath be very raw.

What I think would have helped keep it (maybe) from getting so bad is
if I Had used aloe vera gel.  The nurse was very insistent on using
only what she gave me.  Out of frustration, I tried some aloe on the
areas that were only red once skin started leaving - but not on the raw
areas themselves - but by then it was too late.  I also wished I'd
stopped using a bra much sooner.  And that was even though I had
switched to one without elastic at the bottom and with a very smooth,
slidy feel at the bottom of the cup.  However, I really do not think
the bad result was because the bra was holding in heat as the nurse
kept saying.  After all, I'm pretty sure my size 38DD breast held a lot
more heat under it than a bra could ever have trapped.

Sports bras didn't do much for me but then by then I had lost skin.
What under my breast needed was air.  The sports bra did keep things
from rubbing so much.

But from reading the ladies here, obviously my case was unusual.  And I
really think it was primarily because I'm very large-breasted and
possibly was worse because I'd just gotten out of chemo.

Other things... every week of radiation they took "x-rays" with the
radiation machine.  The skin didn't fully close for almost a month post
radiation.  They had to use tape to get my breast to lie the right way
for my boost treatments.  Even now - almost 3 months post radiation - I
still have discoloration overall and it's very easy to see where the
boost treatments were.  The 1st month post-radiation the swelling in my
breast got better but it has since gotten worse to the point it
interferes with my sleeping positions.  I still go without a bra as
much as possible because the oversized bras I purchased before
radiation tend to cut into the affected breast after wearing for a
while.    Oh, and mammograms might not be the same in that it is harder
to mammogram an irradiated breast.  I just recently had a follow-up
mammogram and it took over an hour just to do the affected breast and
we came up with whole new positions.

But I know exactly how you feel about the surprises.  It still makes me
angry because we have developed the written word and I don't understand
why each patient can't get a treatment plan before any of this stuff
gets started.

Take care,
Melody

This all sounds vry familiar to me.  I went through it about 7 yars ago and it
was the tech that told me everything too.  Listen to them, they are experts.
The doc is busy paying atttention to you xrays - let him do that.  The techs
will become your best friends.