He and His Staff Have Been So Great to Me. I Really Appreciate It. - Spartanburg, SC

The most challenging thing for me was the scars from all the drainage tubes from my mastectomy and reconstruction. My stomach gave me the most pain (which wasn't that much). I have tried all through my journey to not let anything impact my daily life any more than I could help. It helped that I had great care givers and love and support at home. I worked everyday thru chemo (except for one instance where I had to be out for several days) and radiation. The only times I was out was for surgery and recuperation times. I try to stay positive in my thinking (I say its not my time yet). Every single person, from the doctor who gave me a hug when he told me I had cancer, to the clinical trials nurse has just been so caring and supportive. They have made me feel that I was not alone and that they cared for me. For anyone going through this I offer my support and love because I know what you are going through because I have been there.

Thank you so much, I will definitely pass those words on to my mom. We are all supporting & taking care of her, but I think for such a strong & independent woman as she is, accepting that she needs help is one of the biggest hurdles...but she is definitely doing the best she can & that is all we can ask for.

Do you mind me asking, where you scared to use experimental drugs at all? I think it would freak me out a little bit.

Thank you for reminding me that I need to let my mom choose how much help she needs...sometimes its hard to remember, and you are right. Yes, she has breast cancer. She had the tumor removed, is going through chemo now, and will have a  little resting period before she starts radiation.

I really love the help your sister gave you. I have a sister I am very close to also, so stories about sisters always hit a soft spot in my heart. What would we do without siblings?!!

Thank you for all you have shared with me. You are an exceptional person!

I don't think I am exceptional, just stubborn. I think it's my stubborness that makes me go on when the going gets rough. I don't know where she is taking her treatment at but when she does radiation there is a new cream out that only doctors can get (when I used it I could only get samples because was not even on the market) that really is remarkable. It has milk or something like that in it. I did not have any scarring or puckering. I got several kinds of samples but this one was the best. My skin turned red, but my radiation doctor was amazed at how soft it made my skin. The instructions say to put it on immediately, but I had to go to work after treatment so my skin had time to cool before I put it on. It really was soothing, especially the last week of treatment. I will try to remember and get the name for you if she wants to try it when she starts her treatment.

I have three sisters and we all are close, but it was my baby sister who did this for me. I call her my little watch dog because she would not let me do anything strenous. Sometimes when I was getting close to healing I would have to tell her I need to do this myself to get my strength back. She would laugh and say 'You are so right, I just need to do something else while you do this, don't I!' I would say, 'Yep!'

You are so welcome for the sharing. I hope it helps in some small way. I enjoy sharing with you.

It is a topical cream for radiation dermatitis symptom relief. It is called Xclair Cream. It is put out by ALIGN Pharmaceuticals. The web site it www.alignpharma.com. It is prescription only, but you can get her doctor to give her one. Her doctor might have samples. My doctor gave me a lot of different kinds of sample creams. This one was the best for me.