Radio / chemo together

Hi Shabettyboop and welcome to our group.

Almost all of us who have stage 2 and above cervical cancer have gone through this same protocol as you are facing, so that’s quite a lot of us in the group! Yes, it’s an intense course of treatment, but some ladies sail through it with very little side effects at all so try not to anticipate or be fearful of things before you start. 

The Cisplatin chemo is a low dose designed to enhance the effects of the radiation, so you may not have much in the way of side effects from this, and you won’t lose your hair.

Personally I found the radiotherapy more difficult as it made me very tired, and I had some bladder and bowel issues 3 weeks into treatment, which is common, but not the same for everyone. 

Anyway, there’s lot of experience in the group of exactly this treatment plan, so plenty of encouragement and support for you going through it. Please feel free to ask any questions you need to and we’ll be happy to offer advice based on our experiences. 

Do you know when your treatment will start? 

Sarah xx

Hi Sarah

Thanks very much for your response,  very much appreciated and makes me feel a little less nervous. 

I have various tests in the next week or two with a planned actual start date of 24 Nov. Had hoped a tad earlierto be done by Christmas but hey ho. 

As per your feedback,  I've been wondering if I'll actually make all 5 bouts, so let's see and

Sounds like radio is a challenge in itself!

Is chemo on day1 of radio?

Regards. Sharon xx

Hi Sharon

It’s different for everyone I think in terms of the timing of treatments. My first chemo was 2 days after my first radio for example. The radiotherapy is daily Monday to Friday, and the chemo might be any day, but the same day every week. My first radio was on a Wednesday, and my first chemo was a Friday. So on one day a week you’ll have both chemo and radio. 

Most people manage all 5 chemos quite easily, but you have your blood tested each week beforehand (mine was done the day before) and I wasn’t able to have my last session due to my platelets being too low. 

I finished my treatment on  Christmas Eve after having extra radiotherapy and thought I’d be fine for Christmas but spent the day sleeping so missed it all! 

I’ve not seen anyone in the group before with mesonephric adenocarcinoma, but I do appreciate it’s very rare. However, this line of treatment will the same as the rest of us, so we’ll still be able to help out with questions.

Sarah xx

Thank you Sarah xx

Hello.

I'm at a similar point iny journey to you.I have adenocarcinoma of the cervix which was initially staged at 1B2 however they have found cancer cells in 3 of my lymph nodes that were removed during a radical hysterectomy.

I am now awaiting a start date for chemoradiotherapy and I've just had a PET CT scan and bloods taken In preparation. I too am scared of the side effects and how I may be affected. I am scared that the treatment won't work and I'm scared that the scan may show more spread than previously. I'm scared of everything right now.

I cant live in fear all the time though so i keep reminding myself that We have to trust we are in good hands and take each day at a time so that we aren't overwhelmed. No-one knows how their body will respond to treatment. I wish you the best of luck and know you are not alone and you can get through this

Morning,  I'm sorry to hear about the lymph nodes.  I have my CT scan for radio tomorrow and I too am scared that it may show something more. 

This fear is awful isn't it and difficult to control but yes, we're in good hands,  the hospital have been brilliant and I think we all have to hope for the best. 

I hope your treatment works well! xx

Hi Sharon

Is this your planning scan for radiotherapy where you’ll get marked up with the little tattoos? I’m presuming you have had an mri and CT scan already as part of your diagnostic process? 

Sarah xx

Hi CJ86

The fear really is one of the worst aspects of all of this I think and it’s very hard to control. Definitely one of the best pieces of advice I got at the start was to take one day at a time, one treatment or procedure at a time because it can be so overwhelming to think ahead and can lead to unnecessary panic.

I didn’t really know a thing about radiotherapy or chemo before my treatment-I just trusted my team to know what they were doing. I didn’t Google and wasn’t on forums then, so I didn’t have anticipation of any side effects because I didn’t know what they might be. As you rightly say, no-one knows how treatment will affect them personally and it may be that it’s more straightforward than you fear. I certainly hope so. I said to myself every day that the treatment would work and I’d be well again, so while I do understand it’s very hard to be positive all the time, it does help to try to keep that mindset.

I really hope your pet scan shows nothing new and you can get on with your treatment as planned. Keep us posted! 

Sarah xx

Hi Sarah, yes had all my scans before hysterectomy,  this is for radio and tattoo xx

Ah, well it should be very straightforward then! I had 3 tiny tattoos-one on each hip and one at my pubic bone. When I went, they said my bowel was too full and I had some wind, so they couldn’t do the scan. I was sent away with suppositories and had to go back again, so I’d make sure you try to have empty bowels before you go! I wish I’d be warned in advance to save the 3 hour round trip to hospital. 

Sarah xx