Helpful hints for radiotherapy heads....

.....what helped me.

I had a very bad head with the radiotherapy, but some people will only experience hair loss. There are different degrees of how radiotherapy can affect the skin in the area treated. So don't panic it might not be that bad!!!
Oooooo aren't I the lucky one (again)

1. Buy everything you need before treatment starts e.g Cream, baby shampoo, shower cap etc (what the doc's recommend) I never used the shower cap.
   
2. Get a very soft cotton pillow case, 2 minimum is good. Or a sleep hat (I never tried this)
   
3. Cut your hair really short BEFORE treatment. Even if you look/feel like a complete twat. My head very quickly got sore (2 days in) and it was impossible to put cream on my scalp coz I hadn't cut my hair short enough. Also when mine started to fall out it felt like someone was pulling my hair out with each little movement.
4. CREAM CREAM CREAM. I creamed my head at least 3 times a day every day. Use the cream your doc suggested. Don't just buy/use a random.
5. DRINK DRINK DRINK. I'd say this is one of the most important. Will hydrate your skin and helps your body repair. I drank 4-5 bottles of water each day. Just try and avoid caffeine drinks
   
6. HATS. I personally brought specialised hats for hair loss. I started wearing hats on & off for a few months before my treatment started, to get used to them and then during/after treatment people would already be used to seeing me wear hats. I made sure all the hats I brought were really loose fitting.
   
7. Don't under estimate how losing your hair will affect you emotionally. I didn't think it would bother me as much as it did.
   
8. WASHING. My head was so painful my shower was too strong, so I washed mine with a jug (very slowly & carefully) I read somewhere not to wash your hair/head more than a max of 3 times a week. I washed mine twice a week and that was to just to mainly rinse some of the piles of cream off :-)
   
9. Nurses gave me cooling pads as my forehead was so 'burnt' (felt like sun burn) that helped.
10. Keep some of your hair. Weird for some I know!!! but I did