RBWH: Radiation Planning

I took some photos of my skin after my radiation planning session, which took place at my hospital, the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH), on 16 June 2009.

The main thing I remember from the session was having to lie VERY STILL and that it was COLD in the room. One of the technicians had lovely warm hands, which made a huge difference to my comfort. I got my little tattoos that day - you can see one tiny blue dot on my sternum and one under my arm. The tattoos didn't hurt: just a prick with a needle and a dab with some ink and they were done.

What's really interesting is that later, when the skin became red from the treatment, the red marks are EXACTLY within these lines. They said it would be accurate, and the were right! NB Blue patch is still from the SNB dye on 13 Feb 2011.

You can see more photos of my treatment on my website: www.hatiheri.com

Products: Aloe Range

Smell is very closely connected to memory.

"A smell can bring on a flood of memories, influence people's moods and even affect their work performance. Because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain's limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling it's sometimes called the "emotional brain," smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously." (http://health.howstuffworks.com)

Just as I avoided eating favourite foods during chemotherapy (which I am so glad I did), I avoided using favourite daily shower and beauty products. I highly recommend you do the same. Otherwise you will be reminded of this not-so-pleasant experience every time you use that product in the future ... and it will no longer be your favourite product.

I found that my skin became sensitive during chemotherapy, and especially sensitive during radiation. (In fact, during radiation I used special products for radiated skin.)

For regular use, I switched to the "Aloe Range" from The Body Shop for this period and found that it was ideal.
It's fragrance free, colour free, and moisturising - perfect for dry and/or sensitive skin. And mine was dry AND sensitive ... something I had never experienced before. I used the Aloe Gentle Facial Wash on my face, body, and bald head. I also used it as a shampoo when my hair was growing back. Definitely no scrubs or masks.

There used to be an Aloe Body Wash but I see that TBS now as a fragrance-free and colour-free "Earth Lovers" shower gel, which I am sure would also be perfect.

Unfortunately, I now have a negative association with the (mild) aroma of the Aloe range, but that's OK... I only used it temporarily and now I can use my favourite products again and enjoy their refreshing and delicious fragrances first thing in the morning!

Here are three of my current favourites: