I have written about my situation in previous posts. I am just wondering if anyone has tried anything for healing small breast wounds that have not healed in 6 wks. after radiation. They insist the only thing is saline soak with dressing. Maybe I don't want to face the reality of my situation.
Cheers, June S.
Hi there
Have you tried putting honey on them?
You might think I’m bonkers but it’s worth trying...I’ve experienced healing with using it...also it can’t harm
Barb xx
I would love to try something like that and have asked about trying something other then just saline soaks but the answer was always no, it would make it worse. I will ask again. I agree what is there to lose! Thanks.
Cheers, June S.
I was going to say the same thing as Barb. I haven’t tried it myself but they say that Manuka honey can heal wounds.
Thanks for the reply. I have read about Manuka Honey but as I said above not allowed anything.
Cheers, June S.
I have to agree with Barb and MyMiracle about honey. When I trained as a nurse....many moons ago, we actually used sugar on bedsores. I looked around and found this from the NIH about using honey and sugar in wounds and bedsores of cancer patients. They said healing was faster. I would try it if I were you. The docs are not the ones living with unhealed wounds in an uncomfortable place. I don’t think it could harm anything if you tried it.
Elaine
My brother is wheelchair bound and get sores a lot and he use Manuka honey which does clear them up
Is it an itchy red area? I used pure lanolin when I had radiation and calendula when I had these symptoms. Dr were amazed it went away. You can buy on amazon. If that does not work then find someone who has a Bemer ( I have a lady that may be able to find in your area). I used the wound care one with Bemer on my painful back and it healed.
Have you looked into barometric oxygen chamber sessions? I read they were using them for wound care. It’s not cheap but I have heard it works. It might even be covered partly with your insurance. We don’t heal well due to all the medication. We are on. Don’t accept the doctors saying nothing can be done. I refined to use their Topical medicine bc it was known not to work and read up on natural options. They worked. Please research the oxygen chamber that o mentioned above.
i had a non healing wound which got a giant infection, nearly killed me. they hung bag afterbag of the most powerful antibotics. then they took half my breast.
i was approved by insurance to have hyperbariatic treatment but did not due to uncertainity of cancer activity.
Go to dr and demand treatment. get admitted if thats what it takes. i was in hospital for a month but am totally healthy today (ok, except for the whole stage four issue)
Udder balm worked for me.
I'm not big into CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) but when I was having trouble with inflamed skin, my primary care doctor recommended these to spur healing and counter inflammation: daily take 1 cup tart cherry juice, turmeric, glucosamine/chondrotin, and fish oil. For the latter 3, take the amount on the pill container. Later, at a couple of bc conferences, oncs were saying that inflammation is part of the cancer process and combating it can be helpful. Tomatoes, bell peppers and egg plant feed inflammation and it is helpful to avoid those veggies, sadly. = A long time ago, my very conservative eye doctor told me that Vit E helps surface tissue heal. So....when I have an incision of any kind, once the stiches/staaples are removed or dissolved, I put Vit E oil on the area--it has lessened scarring for me, too. You can find Vit E oil on line, not the capsules but the oil itself. You only need a little bit at a time. I usually put it on two times a day. I hope yoiu do find soemthing that helps! Let u s know.
Ok i have had rad burns and this is exactly what i did. Firstly only use goat milk non fragrance soap to wash. I also air dried them after showering, literally i laid naked until they were completely dry and laid on my bed just so they got fresh air.
I also made my own healing salve which is coconut oil, shea butter, avocado oil, whipped in my kitchen aid mixer which i kept in my fridge so it was cold. All organic products!
I did not wear bras! I got breast petals to stick on if i has to go somewhere.
It took awhile but ut works perfectly! With open wounds i would talk to your onco too about hyperbaric chamber as well.
Best to you
My mother suffered from breast wounds from breast cancer and I know how miserable they can be. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. We went to two wound care places and didn't find much that was helpful. She did try manuka honey and I think it was somewhat helpful. She suffered with this main skin wound for about a year before the oncologist finally referred her for radiation. She had 10 doses and that cleared it up a lot and made it less weepy for awhile (the effect of the radiation was more significant in the weeks after she completed the radiation than it was during the period when she was getting the radiation). But then she started getting skin lesions on other parts of her torso, which turned into multiple other open wounds. She got very worn down with all the bandaging, care, issues and discomfort from all that and ended up choosing to go the hospice route instead of getting infusion chemo. The hospice nurses seemed to know more about how to take care of open wounds than we found via the oncologist or wound care centers. They used flagyl tablets (an antibiotic I think) , crushed them to powder and sprinkled it over the wounds, which seemed to dry them up and make them less weepy and less in need of multiple bandage changes per day. Maybe you could try that? I wish she could have gone back for more radiation to those areas, but she was just too worn down to do it. We looked into the hyperbaric oxygen chamber at a wound care center and found that it costs many thousands for a treatment and insurance does not pay for it for any condition other than severe burn wounds. Sending you hugs and hope you find something that gives you some relief.
My heart goes out to all you beautiful warriors. This is the first post I can relate to. I never knew MBC would grow on the outside. It began with a small womb that I tried to heal with everything mentioned above but no luck. It kept oozing, growing and spreading, such an ugly thing! Last June I had my left breast removed which included the large womb. It’s the best thing I’ve ever had done. Everyday is a challenge, I can’t begin to tell you how much you ladies mean to me. Love and happiness for the holidays and beyond.
Thanks so much for the great information. I am waiting for an appointment with a surgeon. May I ask how old you are generally? I am 79 and generally healthy I think my age is a hindrance for me. The only medicine I take now is for my thyroid which hasn't changed in 25 years.
May I ask if you healed nicely after the surgery? Sounds like you did. Yes every day is a challenge given the secondary cancers that affect our body in one way or another. My breast cancer went to my left hip and hasn't moved in 6 years. I walk with a cane or for longer distances, I use a walker. That I can handle.
I would appreciate any information you can give me.
Cheers, June S.
I was told if I didn't have the womb aka "the queen bee" removed now it would grow so large I wouldn't have enough skin to close the incision. My oncologist said it would continue to grow and eventually smell like spoiled lunch meat ugh! It had already eaten my left nipple. My womb was sensitive it didn't like getting wet so I'd let shower water run over it then I'd pat it dry immediately. I'm 76 years young. I was on faslodex/ibrance for 8 months and loved this treatment. No side effects except fatigue, evidently it stopped working so the doctor put me on Xeloda Nov 4th, 21 days on 7 off. 1,000 mg morning and night. So far so good. I keep Aquaphor on my feet. Eat 30 minutes prior to taking meds and so far no side effects. First year I was on Vercenio/Letrozole, awful side effects, lost 35 pounds. I had a mbc tumor fracturing my humerous and had a titanium rod inserted into my right arm. Pain was gone immediately. I don't see many mentions of my situations and am grateful for your question. I've accepted this as the new normal and thankful for every day. God Bless you, Mary
Answer part two: I re-read your question. Yes, I healed quickly but it may be due to it was an elective surgery. I was thrilled to have the womb removed. My onc said it could rear its ugly face again, I'm hoping Xeloda keeps it quiet. My tumor also spread to my left hip and I walk with a cane when outside.
See a doctor or nurse practitioner who specializes in wound management/wound care. They may be able to help. Wish you the best.
Cafeole2, I’m glad surgery was an option for you... I wish it had been offered to my mom. We asked about surgery and oncologist said it was not an option for MBC. I wish they had just done surgery as a palliative measure because these open, fungating tumors are miserable. I wonder if it depends on the oncologist? My mom also used a colloidal silver spray on her wounds. She tried all kinds of bandaging to try to find the most absorbent and comfortable. She used nursing pads for a while with various bandaging over them. She also found various foam type bandaging and even a seaweed type bandaging. It seemed like whatever meds she was on (ibrance, faslodex, xeloda, tamoxifen) kept wounds under control somewhat...once onc told her tamoxifen wasn’t working and my mom stopped taking anything, the wounds got much worse. They ended up causing a lot of pain too and opioids were the only meds that helped. It seemed like radiation got her the best response for a little while. Make sure you have a good interventional radiologist. Thinking of you and wishing I could think of all the various remedies my mom tried so I can share. If I remember more, I’ll let you know.
I haven't reached that point yet but I can share what happened with my mom as I was caring for her. She had lived with her cancer for 15 years or so when she decided to try the radiation. For the first couple weeks after it did seem to be working. But then suddenly her tumors started popping to the surface. First it made a small wound that first made a crusty cover and then that would fall off and make a scab for a week or two. But then it would just become an open wound that would not heal. One at a time the tumors would surface and then follow the same cycle, making the would bigger and bigger. Our only solution was to just keep it from getting infected. We were dressing it with something called Xeroform. It is like a medicated firm that is coated the a medicated substance similar to Vaseline. We used that to try and keep the would from bleeding when removed and changed or from day to day moving.
I don't want to tell you anything that might make your situation bleak. Please know that, while we had to change the dressing every couple days or so, she lived on about 4 years with it and she cherished every day.
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