My ramblings on preparing for Radiotherapy

4 minute read time.

I have been thinking more and more recently that I never really wrote about my preparation for Radiotherapy Treatment. It might be useful to other people reading the blog and so I am going to add it now.

In the run up to treatment starting .......

I tried to look after myself with a good diet and exercise. Having recently recovered from surgery I was keen to try and keep some level of fitness as I had been training to run 10km prior to surgery and finding out about cancer.

I was (and still am) suffering from depression. It is not debilitating, but I think it is fairly inevitable when you have a cancer diagnosis. For me, this meant I comfort ate and put on around a stone. "No worries" I thought because, based on everything I have read, I will lose weight anyway. For me this has not happened - I am still eating a more limited diet. So, it is worth working out your expectations prior to treatment, and being prepared for what might need to happen a) if you do start losing weight or b) if you had put weight on and then didn't lose it.

Sleep .... can be limited as your mind runs around in circles with 'what if .....?' 'why me .....?' etc.etc. I knew I had to do something about this .... it's important to be as rested a possible prior to treatment starting. I tried meditating and relaxing, but still found the night times led to me being awake for hours at at time. What to do? I haven't ever had sleeping tablets and was apprehensive about starting now. I saw my pharmacist and expressed my concerns. She was great and suggested starting with a natural remedy (Nytol) and if that transpired to now help it would be necessary to see my GP. Fortunately I didn't need to see my GP, the Nytol worked and once the RT started I was tired anyway so no longer required help to sleep.

Shell (mask) fitting ..... an image is below 

 

I had the mask fitted and it was actually fine. I had no idea what it would look like, half-expecting a plaster of paris type cast. I found this picture above and thought it might be useful? The mask was stretched and made pliable before it was placed onto me. This was done using warm wet towels. I wore a spaghetti-strapped vest top and just pulled the straps to me top and bra down my arms ... that way I didn't need to get too undressed. I have continued this approach throughout treatment - so if it sounds a good idea to you (assuming you're female of course) then just make sure you have a few days worth of vests in your drawers.

Once the mask had been fitted and then cooled (the cooling makes it hard), I went for a CT scan (a positioning scan) with dye via a canular ...... and for this I had my first experience of being bolted to the table while the (hard) mask was being worn. I just relaxed and tried to focus on my breathing. Good old visualisation techniques helped ... the one I always tend to use where I am laying on a beach listening to the ocean waves (**** NB, I am very conscious that my cancer has been possibly caused by prior radiation, maybe from sun exposure, but now is not the time to alter my visualisation!).

Then it was the wait for treatment to commence. In the meantime, I started appropriate skincare, using aqueous cream to try and build up some moisture and I also tried to continue with the diet etc. I spent time reading through treatments accounts and blogs, here on the Macmillan website - forewarned is forearmed. That said, it has to be remembered that everyone's response to treatment might be slightly different .... different areas of the head and neck are being treated, individuals are all of different ages and this can affect skin resilience etc., pain thresholds vary, treatment plans differ .... so there is no one-size fits all. What I do know is that using the online Macmillan community has been the best support for me .... whether through writing my (boring) blogs or linking up with people as friends and being able to ask direct questions as well as starting discussion threads.

Finally, I made plenty of arrangement for support for my young family. I set up a rota of other parents who would be able to pick up my daughter from school or entertain her during the Easter holidays - to prevent her having to wait on the school steps if I got delayed and also to ensure she didn't need accompany me on the daily treatment treks during the Easter holidays. This has been invaluable and everyone has been so supportive. 

Just prepare yourself for the battle that is cancer treatment. It certainly isn't a walk in the park, but rather a necessary evil. It remains important to stay positive and to try and focus on the end date. The treatment is there to help and whilst there will be challenges along the way, your team in the hospital really want to help. I am doing it and so can you x

Anonymous
  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hello BronB.  I think it's great you've written this.  I'd have loved to have read all this detail before my treatment and seen a picture of the mask.  I'm sure others will find it very helpful. 

    Best wishes for your recovery x