During treatment I was fortunate not have been impacted that badly by radiation burns. It was really only in the final two week "boost" part of the treatment that I got very localized burning at the entry points below my ears on my neck.

Now during my first week of NOT getting radiation, the burns seem to be spreading across my whole neck. Is this post-treatment burning something others have seen?

Welcome Dan. Radiation continues to work just as long as your treatment lasted. I didn't have much of a skin problem either, but like you, probably after, which was much like a delayed sunburn. I used aquaphor for two rad tx, and Cetaphil for another. Good luck with your recovery.

Absolutely this can happen. Since radiation continues working even after you finish treatments, things still will get a little worse. Usually around 3 weeks after finishing treatments most patients will notice they are beginning to have more good days than bad. Its almost like one day you wake up and are in shock when you really dont feel that bad. Recovery can be full of ups and downs, even after having a few good days a patient can have set backs. It can get pretty discouraging when all the patient wants to to be well again and return to their previous life. It will eventually happen. A complete recovery can take up to a full 2 years. Most of us have felt pretty good after about 6 months and even better at the one year mark.

About your burns. I hope you have some prescription cream like beta-val. If not, ask for it. there are many different ones out there. Take that thick cream and pat it onto your wounds. If the wounds are 'weepy' place a non stick gauze square on there and let the cream soak in. Never rub it in as your skin is much too sensitive right now. Apply the cream several times per day and avoid letting the shower run on the burns. If it helps, my wounds were very bad open oozing sores but after they healed I had no marks at all.

Try some high protein whey powder mixed into your drinks or formula to help speed your healing. Keeping up your nutrition with at least 2500 calories daily and 48 oz of water daily (for at least the first year) also will help you bounce back quicker.

Thanks everyone. I'm currently using a prescription for Triamcinolone Acetonide, the same stuff they prescribe for my Erbitux rash. Seems to work OK, thick, greasy creme that stings on application but then seems to sooth and protect most of the day. I was just a little surprised they didn't recommend something a little more specific to healing burns but maybe there isn't such a thing. In looking up what others used the descriptions/treatments seemed pretty much the same.

Dan, I found that Silver Sulfadiazine worked wonders. Thick cream available by prescription that I used toward the end for the worst burns. You might ask your doc or nurse about it. Good luck!

That is what we used too (Silver Sulfadiazine). It healed pretty quickly once we started it. Kev's skin is very smooth with no scarring, which is amazing with how awful it looked.
Kathy

I used beta-val cream. It worked like magic!!! I have used silver sulfadine cream on other wounds which has worked very well.

I used Aqueous Cream on Martin and applied very generous amounts. It worked for him, kept the skin moist. The only downside is that the skin smelt a bit before it peeled off. Under the old skin was brand new skin.

He also wore a thin scarf that the hospital gave him. It was very thin material a bit like what you use for dressings. That was so that the clothes didn't rub and irritate the skin.