October 23, 2012 - dealing with radiation burns

October 23rd - I'm still dealing with the radiation burns. Putting on Aquaphor and Xeroform gauze strips to get the burns to heal. It's a slow process but seeing some slight progress. The radiation nurse and nurse practitioner didn't feel the burns would be better by next week so they have delayed my return to work from 11/1 to 11/19/2012. I see Dr. Tim (oncologist) along with Dr Jacobson (plastic surgeon) on 11/15/2012 for a check up so hopefully that goes well. They have adjusted my medication for hot flashes as they were causing some weird sides effects such a dizziness, headaches, weight gain and the list goes on and on. I need to talk to Dr. Tim more about that when I see him on the 15th to see if this is all really necessary. I assume at that appointment he will be talking about placing me on a hormone therapy. Not sure which one that will be or what the side effects will be. Here are a couple of pictures that show the radiation burns...and YES they do hurt!! Along with these two there was one on my right back shoulder blade area and a smaller patch on the front upper right closer to my neck. Those two areas have healed up nicely and just look like a light brown tan. This would not be my recommendation on how to get a tan:) They said I would have to wear 30 spf on my skin in those areas along with a 15-20 spf on the rest of my exposed areas.

Arm pit radiation burn

Chest radiation burn