Sickness.

Hi Babou  and welcome to the Online Community but I am sorry to hear about your diagnoses and ongoing challenges.

The cancer journey can be such a stressful and challenging time but reaching out to the community will give you the opportunity to ask questions and getting support from others who are navigating the ‘exact’ same journey.

I do see that you have posted in a thread in our Womb (uterus) cancer support group. This is a safe place to talk to others with a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and get support.

The best way to connect is to join group by clicking on the “Bold Link” I have created above then once the group page opens click on “Click to Join” when the black banner appears or “Join” under “Group Tools” (this all depends on the device you are using)

You can then put up your own post when you’re ready by clicking “+new” or “+” in the top right next to the group title. You can copy and paste the text from this post into your new post. You can also scroll through other members posts and click “Reply” to get involved.

Our Support Line teams are available 7 days a week, 8am-8pm on freephone 0808 808 00 00, email or live webchat where you will find one of team there to help you out. We also have our Ask an Expert section but do allow a few working days for a reply.

Talking to people face to face can be very helpful so do check to see if you have any Local Macmillan Support in your area, do also check for a local Maggie's Centre as these folks are amazing.

Do get back to me if you need further help.

Good Afternoon Babou

Welcome to the community.

I am sorry to see that you are feeling sick due to your external radiotherapy.

I also had external beam radiotherapy and found that I suffered from nausea that built up as the time went on. I had 25 sessions and was given anti nausea medication after the first few sessions. It helped particularly if I took it about 30 minutes before treatment. When I got home from treatment I used to feel very nauseous for a couple of hours and very tired. I also had very upset stomachs. I also felt very shivery/shaky at times but this might have been because I wasn't eating properly.

I would encourage you to talk to your radiotherapist at your next session and hopefully they can give you some support. 

There were several medications that were offered to me and it took a bit of time but once I found the ones that suited it did make a difference. I was told it was very common with pelvic radiotherapy. I even found trying to drink the water 30 minutes before the treatment would set me off. Strong smells, anything really. They also helped look at what I was eating and gave me advice on that. Very bland food, little and often, low fibre etc helped me. I tried ginger tea but didn't like it. I did buy some ginger and lemon thin biscuits that did help me as it was something that I could nibble on. 

I was seen for a review once a week but each day the radiotherapist would ask me how I was and would be supportive. I felt more sick from the radiotherapy than when I had chemotherapy. I also found that when my bloods were low (iron, magnesium) etc and I was given supplements some of them affected how I felt. I also found the traveling backwards and forwards was very tiring. 

I don't know how many sessions you have left but hopefully now they have started they will countdown faster than you think. Mine did. 

Talk to the radiotherapist, don't suffer from the sick feeling- it is a horrible feeling. If its any consolation I found that the nausea finished soon after my radiotherapy ended.

I see below that you have been told about the womb cancer group. If you want to have a look and join it there is a radiotherapy thread pinned at the top. This is for ladies who have gone through radiotherapy and might want a bit of an idea about what to expect.

Take care

Jane

PS I also found flat lemonade helped me

Hi Jane, thankyou for sharing your experience and advice. I have had 2 sessions out of 25 so I hope they can find something to stop the sickness.

I am sure they can find something to help get it more manageable.

The radiotherapists are able to give you a prescription for certain medications.

The main thing they said for me to do was to take them regularly and not to wait for the sick feeling to start.

Good luck

Jane