Radiotherapy

Hi SazzyJ

Just popped in to say Hello and its good to hear that you have had your appointment with your consultant and that there is a treatment plan in place.  I have no personal experience of radiotherapy, but I'm sure that others will be in touch very soon.

I hope your treatment goes well.

Take care,

VickiLynne

Hi SazzyJ,i had chemo & radiotherapy at the end of last year, i got through it with no side effects, the thing that worried me was losing my hair, but as the radiotherapy was on my pelvic region, it had no effect above that area, the only thing i got was a black & blue bottom due to the treatment,and i also felt much more tired,  i cant answer about work as i dont work,luckily  the treatment shrank my Tumour ,and at my operation it was removed,and has gone now, but it had spat spots out to my lungs, which now means i have to have more chemo, i wish you every success with your treatment, and im sure someone on here will be able to answer any questions you have about work, and other things, All the best & a big hug sent your way x.

Hi

I had 5 weeks of chemoradiotherapy back in 2016 although I think they are sometimes doing an intense 5 days for some patients at the minute? 

My tumour shrank from 40mm to 10mm and they were able to remove it with clear margins ie. with a surrounding clear area and I had 2/17 affected lymph nodes. There are times when the radiotherapy completely blitzes the tumour and you could be offered ‘watch and wait’ whereby you are scanned regularly to check that the tumour hasn’t  returned but then there are cases where the tumour has returned and surgery is then necessary however that would be another discussion if it were to happen.

Everyone has different experiences of chemoradiotherapy and it will also depend on what you do for a job. Chemo reduces your immunity so if you had a job that meant you could be exposed to lots of germs then it might not be advisable - it would be best to discuss this with the oncologist. I worked part-time in an office and worked throughout my treatment. I used to ask for an early morning appointment (less waiting around) then go into work straight after. The chemo is taken in tablet form and helps the radio to work. The tablets are quite big so I just pretended they were vitamins and just tried to carry on as normal really.

You may suffer from fatigue so rest if you need to. I was also given some diarrhoea tablets, a special shower wash to use and moisturer cream. Your skin may become a bit sore from the treatment and it’s important to only use the cream they give you as you don’t want to use something that contains any small metal particles like sudocream or zinc oxide. 

Hope this helps give you an idea of what to expect. If there’s anything you’d like to know then please ask - I’m 3.5 years clear now and it all seems a long time ago but I accepted everything they offered me treatment wise and carried on with life as much as I could (ok, maybe buried my head in the sand a bit) but it’s what worked for me

Take care

Karen x

Hi Karen,

Thanks for your detailed reply, it’s very helpful. My tumour is also 40mm. I think they are offering intensive 5 days courses now but I should soon find out more. 

Sarah x

Thanks VickiLynne.