Breast lumpectomy/radiotherapy recovery and holiday questions

[Confuzzleduzzled]

I’m having a lumpectomy with a breast reduction on the other side to match in a couple of weeks. I have been really focussed on how to get through the 2 weeks
post surgery but obviously recovery will take far longer and then I have to have radiotherapy.
Can anyone tell me what radiotherapy is like?
How long did it take to feel back to
normal?
I’m supposed to be going on holiday in August. Is that realistic?
Will I be back in normal bras by then? That seems like a stupid thing to be worried about but my boobs have always been huge and have dictated what I can wear so I was excited at the thought of being able to wear strappy tops but maybe that’s unrealistic.
I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to get travel insurance.

Radiotherapy is exhausting - not only do you have to go to the hospital every day, but the tiredness is cumulative as the days go on. Also - moisturise. Your skin may well break down and burn, so its good to start moisturising a good week or so before you start. Also helps with fade scarring too...
Its perfectly doable - August holiday should be fine as long as you don't have massively ambitious plans for full on activities. Good luck! PM if you like - been there and done it...

And you should be fine to wear regular bras by that stage. Radiotherapy won't impact on that - its more likely to be dictated by your surgery recovery. Factor 50 on anywhere you've had Radiotherapy is essential - particularly so soon after treatment..

I found radiotherapy absolutely fine - very quick each day. To make it even quicker and also so I didn't feel like a 'patient', I wore a top I could take off easily and never changed into a gown. The radiotherapists are on a tight schedule, so they wont care as long as you are ready to go. I also became completely cool with being topless in front of 3 or 4 of them, a lot of them men. They don't care - they are all about timings!
I did look after myself though. I used Medihoney a few times during the day on the area that was targeted and didn't get any redness or burns - just some slight peeling once or twice. I also took with me a cooling breast gel pad in a cool bag and put it in my bra on the drive home each day. Ate well and exercised.
I remember my boobs being all good after they had recovered from the surgery - radiotherapy didn't effect them much. I now only wear unpadded, wire free bras.
You should be all good - hope it goes well and you have a great holiday!

I had lumpectomy and radiotherapy a year and a half ago.

The surgery was straightforward though I just had the lump removed so I expect your recovery will be a bit longer. I got seen by my surgeon about 2 weeks after the surgery and given my results (I had a 7mm cancer which was totally removed by the surgery with good margins, so I didn’t need chemo. I got a mild infection in my incision but a course of antibiotics sorted that no bother.

i had 10 days of radio a couple of months after the surgery. I found it made me very tired for the duration but also a while afterwards too, I was having afternoon naps for a couple of months afterwards! Luckily I don’t work due to another health issue so was able to pace myself. And yes, moisturise as much as you can. It was like having a bad dose of sunburn in a very small area and I did have some blistering and oozing (sorry!).

I would have thought you’d be fine by August, though what pps have said about spf is really important. We had our summer holiday as usual after my radio finished in the February and I was back to what counts as normal for me by then.

Wishing you all the best for your treatment and beyond!

It’s not for everyone, but I cold plunged daily through my radiotherapy. I genuinely felt great. It completely removed the inflammation, and I mentioned this to the staff.

My oncologist had given me the green light to continue, but other staff had forbidden me from immersing myself in water. 🤣

One of the staff said he was writing a paper on cold plunges, and positive interactions with radiotherapy.

I felt a bit tired after the first couple of sessions, but after that it was absolutely fine.

I felt very tired and also nauseous. Radiotherapy can cause nausea but anti-sickness meds are available if you need them. My skin got a bit red and sore but not terribly. I used a gentle moisturiser which helped.
Longer term radiotherapy can cause radiotherapy related fibrosis which can result in smaller/harder breast tissue.

Pace yourself. You might feel very tired, you might not. Expect to be tired, so if you aren't that is a plus. Soft supportive unwired bras for comfort. I found nursing bras the best at that time. Don't push yourself to do things/make plans. Go with your own body's flow.

Thanks for all the replies. It’s reassuring to hear from people who’ve gone through it.

You'll be fine to go on holiday. One thing is you will need to stay covered up after radiotherapy..skin is very sensitive and I think they advise staying out of the sun and using sunblock for a while

Yes, I agree with this. Keep the zapped area out of the sun (the area treated with radiotherapy extends further than just your boob). My radiotherapy started about 6 weeks after surgery, as you have to be healed, so bear that in mind. A friend of mine is 9 weeks post surgery and is still not healed enough for radiotherapy.

I was tired during radiotherapy, and for a bit afterwards.

I wear flexifit crop tops from M&S they provide great support and don’t have an edge seam that can catch the lymph node biopsy scar which tends to lie just where bra seams lie.

Radio fatigue tends to hit a couple of weeks after treatment and hits like a train. You also need to totally cover the area in the sun and depending on the area treated that may include your décolletage. You will need super high spf.

A few tips post op. Follow the post op instructs to the letter particularly the physio. I found that the arm stretching exercises help with the pain which can go on for months, in fact I’m nearly five years post op and still experience chronic aches which are reliably stretching.

If you have drains, a large men’s old fashioned pyjama top with waist pockets is great as a drain bottle holder. You just turn it inside out. You can pop the drain bottles in the pockets and it protects the tubes against catching on door handles.

I had a couple of specialist bamboo fibre bras, front fastening post op because they were cool and really comfortable.

Don’t try to run before you can walk. Despite it looking like a minor procedure it’s not. Make sure you inform your travel insurance before you travel, although complications are rare longterm you can’t rule them out. If you get wound breakdown or infection you may still be receiving treatment in August. Your insurance could be invalid if you don’t inform them of health changes. If you take out insurance to travel it may be very expensive.

Just finished my course of radiotherapy, so tired.