Howdy all,
Can you all opine on recommended lotions/creams during treatment?

Thanks!
Joel

Joel, your doc should prescribe some creams. There are so many that work very well. For me Aquaphor didnt work but BetaVal did. Remember do not put lotion on before your radiation treatment.

I used a pure Aloe gel from CVS morning noon and night and then put the Aquaphor over the top of that every evening.

Kelly

I didn't have much of a sunburn type reaction but I did use Aquaphor briefly and it worked great for my mild irritation.

Aquaphor and Aloe gel did the trick for me. Very little burning and discomfort - but I do have olive colored skin.

My skin is also a type that seldom burns in the sun.

I didn't burn until the very end and then used Biafine which was excellent. This cream is also supposed to help prevent radiation burn so can be prescribed before you start treatment. Aquaphor did not nothing for me.

Take care,
Eileen

I used Biafine when I got sunburn on top of my radiation. My sister also gave me some Radioplex (sic) which helped prior to my sunburn.

That sunburn on my neck could have well been the worst effect I had during treatment.

Joel

I used Silvadene cream for my burn (which got pretty bad toward the end). May want to ask your doc about it if you get to that point.


Kevin

Joel,

I too used Silvadene. It is gross, yukey cream. I hated using it
BUT.......
My neck was very burned, 40TX. It use to bleed and ozze(SP) at night. The stuff really worked, 3 weeks post tx my neck was 100% healed! now it is as soft as a baby's ass!

pain to use but worth it ( in retrospect)

Steve

MY husband used Cetaphil lotion. He has very fair skin and his skin didn't burn or dry up with the radiation. It is kind of greasy, but really did the job for him. After treatment each day we would put it on every few hours. You can get it over the counter.

Vanessa

I've been using just aloe and aquaphor. It's okay. The doctor said it looks good so since I just have one more week of tx, I'll roll with this.

Thank you all on this site for opining (I always wanted to use that word!). It was very helpful.

Joel

That is all that I used too Joel. It worked for me buy as we know, we all are differently made and require different methods of survival modes.

I had neck & chest radiation that produced open bleeding, oozing areas. No cream helped at that point. My perceptive Rad Onc nurses offered Vigilon, a cooling, breathable dressing.I would remove the inner backing of the Vigilon and drape it over my shoulder and neck. It comes in large pieces that can be cut to size. With Vigilon, I needed no pain meds during treatment. The only times I felt pain was when the Vigilon was removed for treatment. Has anyone else used this during radiation?

Linda

I used Vigilon the last month of radation as well as the next month after all radiation treatment. It was a godsend. My wife and I had to really search for it as none of the pharmacies near us carried it nor would even order it. We ended up driving out to a medical supply store.
The creams, lotions, potions etc that other posters swear by here were entirely worthless for my skin. I even used to prominently display it in my signature line, but had to delete it to make room for the cancer coming back a second time and the resultant devastating surgery.
I found that keeping the Vigilon in the refrigerator also added tremendously to the pain killing effects. It took some creative wrapping to keep it on my face but since it came in sheets and you could cut it to any shape with scissors, my wife worked it all out. I needed to change my dressings twice a day. Once when I got up , then take it off for radiation and then put it on again once I got home.
I only wish I had discovered Vigilon months earlier than I did.
Charm

I too had the oozing, bleeding face and neck by the time I finished Rads. In addition to the Vigilon, my Docs gave me Silver Sulphodine cream (prescription only) to apply to the burns after radiation treatments were done. It was miraculous in clearing up the burns in about two weeks time. The hint about keeping the Vigilon in the refrigerator is spot on.
I ordered it on line much cheaper than I could find it locally, and in 8-by-8 sheets, which could be cut to the shape of my neck. great stuff!! I ordered it on line from an outfit named Allegro Medical.
They had it cheaper than anyone else I found. Beware, it is expensive, about$7.00 US each for the larger sheets, so if you are changing the dressing twice a day as I had too, the cost can add up quickly. To my mind though, it was worth the cost for the improvement in quality of life it provided.

Good Health,
Chuck

When I had radiation for breast cancer the nurse told me that she recommends MedLine SkinRrepair cream to all her radiation patients and had the hopspital pharmacy carry it. When the retail pharmacy in the hospital closed she had the gift shop get it in. I now buy it at a local discount pharmacy and also know that it can be ordered from Walgreens. It is quickly absorbed and non-greasy. I had almost no sunburn affects from the radiation. I now use it for dry skin on my feet and in the winter to prevent "snowflakes" on my armes and legs. My husbnnd likes it better than anything else he has tried for his chronically dry elbows. The surgeon I see for followup on the breast cancer told me to use it on the site of my fibula free flap and my neck after the surgery last year and I have had very good results.

Agree ! The Vigilon really saved me from extensive,debilitating pain. I was able to drive myself 2 hours x2 daily to radiation therapy and even stop at IKEA on the way home as my reward. Although Vigilon is expensive, it may be cheaper that $70 tubes of cream and Duragesic patches. I don't think enough practitioners know about Vigilon and how well it helps people going through radiation.
Thanks.
Linda

I for one never heard of Vigilon until I just read about it here. I will remember that name. Thanks all.

We were prescribed a bit vat of a cream that had no brand name but was called aqueous cream. it felt like E45. it worked miracles. I did smother Martin's neck with it and he had a fine gauze scarf that he used to stop the clothes collars rubbing. The skin went a bit brown and smelly but when he went in the shower after the treatment had finished and the old skin fell off and there was nice new pink skin underneath.

While my husband, Bill, was having the radiation treatments on his neck to remove a cancerous tumor, his neck started getting large burn scabs. We tried the Cetaphil lotion and did not work. Luckly, we have aloe vera plants in our back yard and I found the ones that had the larger leaves, sliced them open and applied the gel to the infected area. I would literally drench his neck with the gel from the plant. His neck was always hot, like a really bad sunburn, so the gel would give him immediate relief. Within days, the scabs would dry up. His doctor was amazed how soft his neck felt and left him no scars.

Aloe was the best for me..there also a aloe gel from (fruit of the earth) brand that I would use right after therapy and after I showered.

We have several aloe plants in our yard and appreciate hearing others have used them for radiation burns w/good results. The RO's RN recommended Aquaphor over aloe and supplied a couple of coupons. I bought a couple jars of Aquaphor (14oz) as part of the arsenal.

Carol goes in Monday for her Simulation and will inquire if any scripts would be written for her burns.

Just as a side note, when leaving the hospital last night after Carol getting her PEG, the brakes went out in the van. Looks as if we'll be using the Transportation Services the hospital offers. Thank god we're only 20 minutes from the facility, with traffic.

Let the stress continue...

Linda

Hi. Check with your RO. We were told absolutely no aloe. Not sure why. They gave us a tube of cream that John used through treatment and he never got badly burned. I will look up the name of it when I get home.

Slim,

That's strange. I was told pure aloe and was given a tub of Aquaphor for when it got bad. I did have discomfort but nothing more painful than a bad sunburn.

Kelly

I was also told to use pure aloe and Aquaphor - which I did. I came away with just an odd looking tan on the bottom of my face and neck. No burning. I am sure that is partially because of my olive colored skin. Good Luck

I suppose it depends on the Doctor's preference. I believe I read on one of the threads here someone had used lotions from day one of Tx to help against burning? Is this recommended? I understand all lotions, creams must be removed prior to treatments. Carol begins her 7 week rad TX 2/8. As Carol will be doing 2 rad Tx per day (one early am, one late pm), would it be recommended to apply the lotion after each treatment?

Linda

Another thing to remember is DON"T SCRATCH IT! You can get a very nasty infection with a weakened immune system. When the skin starts to recover it may get itchy. The docs can give you a steroidal cream to mitigate that. That phase should pass quickly. I only had to use the cream a few times. I believe it was called Desonex.

The skin is the fastest to heal.

Biafine, which is also a deep wound cream, is supposed to help prevent radiation burn besides healing it. I think the brochure said you can start using it two weeks prior to radiation. This is a prescription cream. It was brand new in 1997 when I had my treatment. I was not given it until the end of my treatment so cannot attest as to how good it is at preventing the burns. It was real good at healing them.

Take care,
Eileen

linda,
personally i would just apply the lotion after the last tx. let it soak in all nite.

I used Biafine and Aquafor. They also gave me a sample of Aloe Vesta, but for me, it didn't seem to work as well.

I never tried Aloe from the yard, but I have used it before on burns.