Feeling normal

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Hi,

I’ve just completed my 5 week chemoradiation and brachytherapy treatment.

It has not been straightforward as have also had issues with high blood pressure and a recent infection which resulted in additional stays in hospital.

I’m now back home, but would be interested to hear how long it has taken others to feel just slightly ‘normal’? I have no energy and just walking up a flight of stairs is exhausting (and I was fit before treatment). I’m also suffering from tummy issues (to put it politely!).

Thanks

  • Hi  and welcome to our group.

    It sounds as if you have only very recently completed your treatment and you’ve had a few issues along the way to deal with. I had stage 2b and did chemoradiation but not brachytherapy.

    I did have some side effects from radiation which kicked in at 3 weeks during treatment(diarrhoea and cystitis) and both of these cleared up for me about 2-3 weeks after treatment, and I didn’t have these again. My main effect from treatment was tiredness, and this did take longer to go. The tiredness during treatment was tough-I had to get a lot of sleep and rest generally. This definitely improved in a few weeks following treatment finishing and I felt much better energy wise.

    I would say don’t  be too hard on yourself or expect too much too quickly if you have just finished treatment and you’ve had additional stays in hospital. You need to remember that your body has been through intense treatment over quite a short period of time and you need to allow it to recover. It is in your favour that you were fit prior to treatment, so hopefully you will bounce back and regain your previous strength. Just cut yourself some slack for  now, and build up gently to doing more. 

    Sarah xx


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