# I start radiation tomorrow **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312 "2008-11-18T17:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/1 "2008-11-18T17:41:42Z")
I’ve been tattooed, CT-scanned, X-rayed, and presumably they know to the millimeter where I am going to get zapped. So, I start tomorrow morning at 7:30a (the latest afternoon appt was 2:30p, and that’s too early for me to get off work.) I get 33 treatments, so with the holidays I figure I’ll be done around mid-January. My plan is to put lotion on after every treatment. My doctor said any cheap lotion will do, but I got some samples of Udder cream and I have an aloe plant in the front yard, and I might put aloe on at night. Zap zap! ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/2 "2008-11-18T17:46:15Z")
I’m sorry you’re having to go through that- hopefully, all will turn out well. You should make the best of it, though. Try to develop superpowers! ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/3 "2008-11-18T18:00:28Z")
Grandma just finished hers a couple of weeks ago. She did well through it all and is planning her golf vacation as we speak. Good luck!! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/4 "2008-11-18T18:18:13Z")
Hey **ivylass** , I hope your sessions are short and everything goes perfectly. : ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/5 "2008-11-18T18:28:02Z")
Tatooed? I must have missed part of the story. Good luck with the treatments. May all the proper bits be well and truly zapped. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/6 "2008-11-18T19:08:28Z")
I had 33 treatments, too, **ivylass** , April - May with Chemo at the start and conclusion. It wasn’t bad. A little fatigue, a little reddening of the radiated area (back and chest). I’d do it all again, no sweat. Well, with chemo I lost all my hair, but came back better than ever and curly as hell! I wish you well. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/7 "2008-11-18T19:13:17Z")
Stay strong and don’t let sick people near you, no matter how clueless they are. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/8 "2008-11-18T19:30:18Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Tatooed? I must have missed part of the story. Just a couple of dots so they can line me up with the machine. ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/9 "2008-11-18T19:47:11Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Just a couple of dots so they can line me up with the machine. Ah, the ol’ _utilitarian tattoo_ motif. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/10 "2008-11-18T20:01:37Z")
Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/11 "2008-11-18T20:07:36Z")
Everyone I know who has been through tells me it is much gentler than the chemo. Good luck! My thoughts are with you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/12 "2008-11-18T20:21:54Z")
Congrats - that means that the whole chemo stage is done and you are entering the final stage of this whole thing. That light at the end of the tunnel must be getting bright by now. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/13 "2008-11-18T20:32:22Z")
Add me to the list of well-wishers, **ivylass** , and good luck. Oh, and _udder cream_? I had to laugh at that! ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/14 "2008-11-18T20:43:42Z")
Good luck, **ivylass**! _hugs tight_ ---
**Author:** ![Gnomes\_Ate\_My\_Baby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/2acd7d/32.png) [@Gnomes\_Ate\_My\_Baby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gnomes_Ate_My_Baby)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/15 "2008-11-18T21:11:02Z")
I don‘t usually post, but I took care of my mom while she was treated for breast cancer, and I thought I would share a couple things that were relevant in our case. Even a plain Dove body bar irritated my mom’s skin horribly, so she had to stay away from anything scented. No perfumed lotions, obviously, but most soaps and body washes. The yummy smelling Bath and Body Works stuff was out the window. Aquaphor! Yes, it’s sticky and it feels gross, but putting it on at night (with a light shirt or something similar) helped out a lot. Lubriderm seemed to make things worse, for some reason. About halfway through her treatment (eight weeks, I believe) her skin became much, much hotter to the touch all the time. She found it soothing to put a damp washcloth on her chest a couple times a day. Like I said, I just lurk these boards, but I’ve followed your threads, and have been shaking my voodoo stick for you. I’ll be holding good thoughts. Good luck, and I hope everything goes flawlessly! ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/16 "2008-11-18T21:44:40Z")
Other than the skin burns, I hear radiation is cake (or pie, if you prefer) next to chemo. I only had the chemo, so I don’t know personally. **hugs** It’s almost done!! ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/17 "2008-11-18T21:57:33Z")
I only had 15 radiation treatments… on two vertebrae. One in my neck and one in my lower back. The actual treatments weren’t bad. They go quickly–you’re out of there in about ten minutes. After two weeks, I started getting exhausted. Since I had the treatment on my neck, I got a bad sore throat which lasted about a week and a half. I lived on smoothies and milkshakes. The people at the cancer center where I had my treatment were wonderful and I loved my radiation oncologist. I gave them some of my homemade biscotti on the day of my last treatment. Now, I hear my hospital has a new radiation machine which is much better at pinpointing the area that needs radiation…thus eliminating side effects. too late for me. All I can say about the bad stuff is …it passes. ---
**Author:** ![supergoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@supergoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supergoose)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/18 "2008-11-18T21:58:00Z")
My Dad recently finished a round of radiation and other than being a bit run down, he did fine with it. Here’s hoping yours goes even more smoothly. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/19 "2008-11-18T22:10:03Z")
Good luck, kid. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312/20 "2008-11-19T00:08:36Z")
Your amazing attitude will see you through. You go girl. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-start-radiation-tomorrow/473312.md?page=2)