Burns from radiotherapy

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Hi All

Quite embarrassing to ask this new side affect I have. The skin inside my private area is burnt, I am suffering from incontinence from the radiotherapy and the sting is bringing tears to my eyes, I have tried Vaseline as a barrier cream but that isn’t helping, I have used almost a full tub of sudocrem overnight and still stinging. Has anyone else had this issue and if so what helped? 
Thanks in advance 

  • Hi  

    This sounds horrible for you-you need to speak to your consultant or CNS as soon as you can. Is your radiotherapy treatment finished yet? If you are still having treatment, speak to the nurses when you go for your next appointment.

    The reason I say speak to your team is that is important, if you are still having treatment, that you only use creams or lotions which are compatible with radiotherapy, and not all are. 

    I did not have burns, but terrible radiation cystitis, so I know how awful even that can be. I was prescribed Aquafor cream initially, and then another one but have forgotten the name. After all my treatments were finished, I was prescribed another cream which I had not been allowed to use during treatment. It was really good and my cystitis cleared up quickly.

    Please don’t suffer through this-it’s honestly not embarrassing at all, and I can assure you that the staff have seen this countless times before.

    You still need to keep drinking water, even though I know it’s painful going to the loo. I used a jug of water to pour over the area while I had a wee and that helped. Also, when you’re able to, it’s good to lie on your bed, legs apart, underwear off and use a hairdryer on a very low setting over the whole external area to cool and soothe. DAB rather than wipe yourself dry after the loo-soft dry wipes are good for this.

    I hope you’ll be able to speak up and get some help with this-let us know how you get on.

    Sarah xx


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  • Morning Sarah- I spoke to the girls yesterday when I went for radiotherapy and they gave me some cream which has been an absolute godsend. The relief was instant! 
    the only issue is I have to wash it off for my radiotherapy so I will be stinging on the journey there but I think I will bring it with me in my bag to apply after therapy as I have a 2 hour pre op appointment also for the brakatherapy next week which I am petrified of. X

  • I’m glad you got something to help  

    It’s not long now until you’re done with treatment, so you’re nearly there. I can understand you’re scared about the brachytherapy, I think everyone is nervous about it. Hopefully the pre op appointment will help you with advice and some reassurance.

    Sarah xx


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  • Hi

    sorry for the late replies, I’ve not felt very well. I completed my final radiotherapy session yesterday and am due to go for brachytherapy on Tuesday, they didn’t explain it to me at my pre op and I feel like I am going in blind not knowing what to expect. My consultant did try to explain it to me when I first met with her but I couldn’t take it all in as I was still trying to process my diagnosis and listen to the intense treatment plan. 
    Has anyone else had brachytherapy and could try and explain it to me in the least scariest way possible as I am such a nervous patient and panic about everything from the epidural, a canular being put in, how I am gonna feel etc etc

  • Hi  

    I’m sorry you feel you haven’t had enough information about the upcoming brachytherapy-I was given a booklet explaining the process-did you get anything like this? 

    Hopefully others will be along to share their experience, but try to remember that everyone is different and it may be that some have had experiences you may not like to read if you are very anxious. 

    You will already have had experience of having a cannula for chemo, and if it’s inserted correctly there should be no pain or discomfort from it. I’ve had 2 epidurals before, one when I was having my first baby and one when I was having my cervical cancer surgery. They were very different experiences! 


    Sarah xx


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  • Thanks Sarah

    i cried everytime they put the canular in at Chemo- I get myself in such a tizz, my veins collapse and they have to do 3 attempts. My anxiety is at an all time high- I’m trying to relax with meditation otherwise it’s going to be a long weekend for me! 
    I don’t know if I’m better off not knowing or needing to know. 
    thanks for mentioning the book- I think they did give me a book about it in the beginning but I have honestly lived in a blur the past 5 weeks with one symptom after another- I don’t know who I am anymore and can’t remember anything . I must have a look for the booklet. 
    Thanks for always finding the time to reply, I remember you helping me through my trapped wind haaa that was a panic as it was trapped in my chest- thort I was having a heart attack! 

  • Hi  

    With your levels of anxiety, I’m not sure it would be helpful for you if you read any negative experiences from anyone who’s been through this. Your experience will be unique for you. Also, there are different types of brachytherapy so again this can make things be different for you. 

    All through my own cancer and surgery, I chose to have the minimal amount of information I needed to proceed with each step, as that was my way of dealing with it, and keeping my anxiety levels down as that was important to me. Especially when it came to my surgery, I read nothing and relied on my surgeon to give me only absolutely necessary information. But I understand that approach is not for everyone. With my surgery I was worried I wouldn’t want to go through with at all, as it was so scary, but ultimately I’m very glad I did. 

    Sarah xx


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