Any tips on staying well through radiotherapy?

I have surgery for none invasive breast cancer in a couple of weeks. I then have 3 weeks of radiotherapy.
I’ve read that this can cause fatigue for weeks or months afterwards.
Does anyone have tips to reduce the likelihood of this?

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I don’t have any advice to give you, unfortunately, but I wish you the best outcome from this whole ordeal and I pray for a quick recovery.

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I don’t have any tips either, but I did have a friend who rode throughout her treatment. I knew her through a weekly “B” ride that we both did fairly consistently. She struggled sometimes to keep up with the group, but she fought through it and is now back hanging as before. I consider her to be a tough cookie, so I would say she had a hard time being patient with herself and where she was at. Good luck with your treatment.

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No, but hope all goes well :heart:

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No first hand experience but I’ve read going vegan helps with radiotherapy.

In German we use the same Word for the symptoms of radiotherapy as for the symptoms After drinking a lot of alcohol. - Strahlenkater. Depending of the amount of radiation its headache, nausea and fatigued. The skin can also be irritated. And need treatment Like some special creme.
Ask your doctor for medical treatment Like antiemetica, something for headache. Slow down, eat healthy and Things you like.
Best wishes!

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Last fall I had surgery and then 7 weeks of radiation therapy for a different type of cancer, but it was in a similar area that breast cancer radiation would target, so maybe I can offer some personal experience. Fatigue was definitely one of the side effects I was worried about and to be honest, it has affected me a lot. I did have a lot longer treatment course than you, so hopefully you won’t be hit as hard as me! It really seems like people respond very differently to radiation depending on the dose(I ended up with ~60 Gy). I’ve talked to some people who had very minimal fatigue. It was super frustrating to me that it seems there is not much understanding or research about what causes radiation fatigue or ways to prevent it/treat it.

I think what helped me the most was just staying as active as I could. Some days that meant just getting on the trainer for 10min or going on a short walk. Other days I could do a full TR workout and some days I lay on the couch all day :blush:. I think doing any type of physical activity during treatment, even if it was significantly less than I was used to, helped me regain my fitness afterwards. Not going to lie -It was very hard to feel like I was losing all my progress, but 4 months out from radiation, I’m back at my pre-surgery-FTP and doing 4hr MTB rides, so it has eventually come back!

I hope your surgery goes smoothly and radiation isn’t too bad!

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Sorry to read this @Bullseye I hope it goes well as it can do.

My only experience of fatigue was from Chemotherapy and the best approach for it is to hit head on and dont let it manifest in the first place and avoid the vicious circle. Symptoms/ Fatigue - Rest - More Symptoms/ Fatigue - More Rest needed etc, etc. I’ve no idea how or if that relates to Radiotherapy however and you need to speak to the doctors.

From McMillan cancer support:

Vicious Circle

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I think I will print this out and stick it on the fridge.
Thank you
:grinning:

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Well done on coming back so strongly.
It sounds like flexibility is key :star_struck:

Thank you for posting this I am about to start 7 weeks of radiation therapy so this was so helpful in what to expect l

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I dont have any advice, but I wish you all the strength possible to smash the C

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