Diagnosed last Wednesday

Hi Tinkz.  I know very well the anxiety of waiting for results and treatment plan but it is at this stage that they need to gather all the information they can to plan your treatment to rid you of all of this and not miss anything.  You will feel calmer when you have your results and treatment plan.  It helps you feel more in control.  I know this stage does seem to go on forever but you will soon be there and there is a fantastic community of ladies on here to support you.  It is natural to feel down every now and then, it's all part of this uncertainty and waiting.  Rest assured that they will put a treatment plan in place when they have all the info.  We are all here if you need us xxx

Hi Tinkz and welcome to the group!

Gosh, you’ve been through a lot of uncertainty and ups and downs already I see, but am I understanding correctly the diagnosis has now been made that it’s definitely cervical cancer? There is a lot of waiting at this stage in the process unfortunately, until the team have all the information they need to plan the correct treatment. I waited 6 weeks between a cancer diagnosis and treatment starting and in that time had an mri and Ct scan, followed by a further planning scan for radiotherapy as my cancer was too advanced for surgery. 

It’s very hard to be in this limbo stage of waiting for things to happen when we just want to get on with it, but it’s important your team have a full picture in order to plan the correct treatment. 

Hopefully you won’t have to wait as long as 6 weeks for the petscan, but waiting becomes a part of this whole process and is unlikely to change anything in the long term. 

Once you have all your results, a plan will be put together for the right treatment for you and this will give you something to focus on, which makes everything feel a bit better because you know what you’re dealing with. 

We have a lovely supportive group here of ladies at different stages in the process, so please feel free to keep posting and ask any questions, which we will do our best to help with based on our experiences. 

Sarah xx

Apologies for the late reply, thank both so much really appreciate it   

I had a call weds to go in for consultation on Thursday consultant confirmed its cervical cancer (first time hearing that out loud) he explained that they are looking at radical hysterectomy or radiotherapy. But I still hadn't had my pet scan so he tried examination there & then that didn't work so asked me to go in Thursday for eua then I had a call Friday to go for my pet scan on Saturday. Its been nearly 2 months of calls, letters & appointments my head is fried but am so grateful at the same time of how quick it's been.  Also feel a little ok as not definitely but a possible plan is in place just get Thursday done & that's every test possible done. 

Hope everyone is having a nice day

Hi Tinkz

Good to see you again! So many appointments and waiting for results at this stage, but at least you’re moving forward with everything and will have definitely have your plan soon. Keep us posted on how you’re getting on, we’re all here for support if you need it.

Sarah xx 

Evening

So I have stage 2 & it's to close to something beginning with p (not pelvis) chemoradiotheraphy is my form of treatment they are going with. Got my planning appointment on Wednesday I think it feels more real today 

Any idea on time frame after this appointment, how am i going to feel after my treatment days, just want to be prepared 

Thank you for the support 

Tinkz 

Hi Tinkz

Maybe parametrium? So chemoradiation is the standard treatment for this stage, and a lot of us have gone through this. It affects everyone differently, so it’s hard to say how you’ll feel, but hopefully others can pitch in with their experiences.

For me, chemo was fine. It’s a low dose, and didn’t seem to give me any bad effects. Radiotherapy made me very tired, and in week 3 I started having the runs. Then cystitis. Both of these are common effects of pelvic radiotherapy, but not everyone gets them. 

The critical thing is to mention any side effects to your team and they will give you something to help. I got pills for the runs, indigestion, and aquaphor cream for my cystitis. You need to be careful which cream you use on your “bits”, and it was only after treatment ended that I could use a more effective cream there.

You might be one of the lucky few who don’t appear to have any side effects, but you won’t really know until you start treatment how it will affect you. The effects of radiotherapy are cumulative, so for me were worse in weeks 3,4 and 5, but all of them subsided soon after treatment ended. Chemo days are very long, as the infusion takes several hours and you also have radiotherapy on the same day.

My treatment started a couple of weeks after my planning scan, which is a Ct scan to mark your tattoos for the radiotherapy to target.

Keep us posted with how you are getting on-some of the ladies are not long out from the same treatment and will also be able to help.

Sarah xx

Hi Tinkz.

I also had the standard chemo-radiation followed by brachytherapy as I was stage 2b. I agree with Sarah that not everyone gets a lot of side effects but the common ones tend to be tiredness and diarrhea, all easily dealt with through imodium and lots of rest. Tell your team how you feel as they are basically your GP during treatment and can help with most of your symptoms. Regarding timeframe, all hospitals are different but I was told from planning scan to treatment would be aprox 3 weeks and it was exactly 3 weeks later. So no delays there. I, like Sarah found chemo days quite relaxing, I went armed with fully charged phone, iPad and books and just had a chilled day. Pop back in and let us know how you get on with things.

Angela xx

Hi

Thank you both so much really appreciate the information you have given me. 

Big bang theory I have stage 2b too so it's really helpful to know what & how other people felt & that my emotions are normal & am not going crazy  I start treatment tomorrow & feel like a kid with a new toy but also anxious at the same time.

Am assuming the diarrhea is to do with the depositors we have to take for the Radiotherapy

All my work colleagues & some friends did ne a bag each of stuff for chemo days so will get a bag ready tonight hoping Am not to bad tomorrow as I was Friday, I had chemo blood in the chemo centre &ad to walk passed the rooms with patients in which hit me hard. Don't think I have accepted what is happing Am just focused on work & getting through this as quickly as possible

Thanks again 

Tinkz

Hi Tinkz

I was also stage 2b, and your emotions are definitely normal! I didn't have to take anything prior to radiotherapy, but I know some ladies do have to. Still had diarrhoea from week 3 into treatment, but just make sure to tell your team and you’ll get prescribed Imodium to help. Tell them about any side effect in fact, and there will be something to help with it. Don’t suffer unnecessarily with anything.

I never saw the chemo unit until I had my first treatment, and I remember being so shocked at how many people were there getting treatment. But all the nurses were lovely, and very kind. 

Just take it a day at a time, one appointment at a time, and remember each one done is another step closer to the finish line. I hope all goes smoothly for you tomorrow, and you’ll soon get into the swing of it once you know what it’s like. Keep us posted! 

Sarah xx

Hi Tinkz,

How are you getting on with radiotherapy? You must have had 1 or 2 by now? And will probably have your 1st chemo this week? It's not standard practice at my hospital to have anemas before radio, which I was thankful for but the ladies on here assured me that they're not too bad anyways, pop in and let us know how you're getting on. I've everything crossed for you.

Angela xx