Coping With Radiation Therapy

Excerpted from
Thriving After Breast Cancer: Essential Healing Exercises for Body and Mind
By Sherry Lebed Davis, Stephanie Gunning

The worst part of radiation therapy for me was being bone tired. Because I am such a doer and go-getter, it was very hard for me to slow down, take it easy, and keep asking for help. Still, that was exactly what I needed to do most. The lesson in this was to pamper myself and to let others pamper me.

Remember that often the best gift you can give to someone who cares about you is to allow him or her to do something for you. People feel so helpless because they cannot cure you or undergo treatment for you. But they can help ... so let them.

Now that I am fully recovered I assure you that I have been able to return the favors of my supporters many times over. My memory of how hard it was to cope has motivated me to step up to the plate for other women in the same situation and demonstrate my appreciation. The more we can take care of each other when we feel low, the more we create a better world to live in. One of the best gifts of cancer survival is connection.

Here are a few simple ideas and strategies for coping with your radiation therapy:

• Take an active role in planning and participating in your treatments. You are still in charge of your life. Your voice matters. No one knows what you need better than you do, so you are responsible for telling people. Participating fully means everything can go smoother and you will feel less like a victim. Ask questions!

• Before you start radiation therapy, write down any questions you have about what's going to happen during treatment and when your treatment is over. Give a copy to your therapist and your doctor so they can read along as you ask the questions. Do not be afraid or feel foolish about asking any question. I guarantee that you are not the first person to ask. Believe me, they have heard it all.

• Schedule your treatments for a time of day that suits you best. For me this was generally early in the morning, since I discovered that my treatments always seemed to catch up with me in the afternoon. I needed a couple of hours in the middle of the day to get my errands done and make phone calls before I would start feeling poorly.

• Line up drivers to bring you to your radiation sessions or take a taxi. You may become too fatigued to drive yourself. There is no reason ever to worry needlessly about getting home.

• Have someone set up a care calendar for you. Ask a well-organized friend or family member to be your care coordinator and handle the arrangements for whatever you require during this difficult period. Give a list of all your friends and any other people who told you they wanted to help to the person you have chosen. Let him or her make the calls to find you drivers, cooks, shoppers, chore people, day care, or whatever else you need. You only need to keep in contact with your care coordinator. The bonus is that you won't have to keep asking for help-someone else does that for you.

• Speak up about your discomfort. Tell your radiation therapist when you feel bruised or burned in the area of your treatments. Do not try to be brave or avoid making waves. Make waves.

• Meditate and/or visualize during your treatment sessions. I used to visualize myself in the midst of a war and the big radiation machine as my way of destroying the cancer. Because my weapon was larger and deadlier than the cancer, of course, I always won.

• Apply the cream the radiologist gives you in the changing room right after your treatment. This way you can start receiving its soothing benefits immediately.

• After treatment, go home and lie naked on your bed for half an hour with your arm over your head to expose your radiated skin to the air. This is a good time to apply more of the cream provided by the radiologist to repair your skin.

• Remember not to use baby powder or deodorant that contains aluminum.

• Rest after your treatment session. If you have the option, go home and take a nap.

• Drink a lot of water.

• At night before you to go bed. open a vitamin E capsule and squeeze the contents onto your radiated site. Vitamin E can prevent your skin from burning and help maintain its suppleness.

• Wear a 100 percent cotton T-shirt that's one size too small under your other clothes in order to protect your radiated skin from clothing friction. When your skin becomes sensitive even gentle rubbing can be terribly irritating.

• Keep laughing. Your positive attitude is an important ally right now. Watch funny movies, read uplifting books, and listen to inspiring tapes.

• Be kind to yourself.

• Let people love you.

• Keep a special calendar at home devoted to monitoring your radiation sessions. Mark off each day of your treatment with a big red "X." Premark your last radiation session with a huge, colorful sticker to celebrate the end. When I would look at my calendar. I was always reminded that my treatment would soon be over and felt encouraged to move forward to the beginning of a positive new phase of my life.