HDR brachytherapy

Hi Kasher

I had womb cancer. I had chemo and then the external beam radiotherapy. It was also 5 times a week for 5 weeks. It seems to be the standard dose/regime. My oncologist said that they divide the total dose into the 25 sessions because it is the safest way to do it. To do it over less sessions would risk causing more damage to healthy tissues. 

I know after my chemo finished I was really worried about being able to cope with further treatment and also concerned about the side effects. 

I am sure ladies on this forum will respond soon but as you asked about womb cancer I have popped a link below that will take you to the radiotherapy thread in the womb group. 

The brachytherapy that is more commonly used for womb cancer is different to the brachytherapy that is more commonly used for cervical cancer so it is worth bearing that in mind. However the external beam radiotherapy is normally the same. 

Radiotherapy support - Macmillan Online Community

Hope this helps

Jane

Hi Kasher and welcome to our group.

Could I just check if it’s cervical cancer you have, please? I notice that you’ve joined the ovarian and womb groups in addition to this group, which is absolutely fine, but these cancers are different in type and treatment plans, so I’d just like to make sure we are giving you the right advice and support, which is for cervical cancer here in this group. It would perhaps be helpful to update your profile, and let us know a little more information like the type and stage of your cancer, and the chemotherapy you’ve had so far.

My cancer was cervical cancer, and my treatment followed the standard protocol for cervical cancer at the time in 2018 which was concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy-ie. chemo once a week, with daily radiotherapy.  

Can I just ask were you doing a combination of chemotherapies first, (maybe carboplatin and Paclitaxel?) before starting your next part of treatment? You haven’t mentioned chemotherapy with the daily radiotherapy, so is it radiotherapy alone you’d be doing?

As Jane has said in her reply, the external radiotherapy should be the same for cervical and womb cancer, but the brachytherapy can be rather different. 

I had 32 sessions of external radiotherapy, and 4 out of 5 sessions of Cisplatin chemotherapy. I was scheduled to have HDR brachytherapy but wasn’t able to have this as I wasn’t able to undergo a general anaesthetic at that time. This is why I had 32 doses of radiotherapy instead of the usual 25. My case is unusual, and not the norm.

We are told about all the possible side effects which can occur from radiotherapy in order to be able to give our informed consent to the treatment. However, that does not mean that you would experience any or all of them. My main side effect from external radiotherapy was fatigue, and three weeks into treatment I did suffer from radiation cystitis and diarrhoea. All of these were managed when I reported them, and I was prescribed tablets for the diarrhoea and cream for the cystitis. These things subsided very soon after treatment ended and I was left with no lasting effects at all-everything went back to normal for me. Some people do have lasting effects, but not everyone.

The main treatment for cervical cancer is usually radiotherapy and brachytherapy, so they are a very important part of the plan. I can understand that you would be concerned about them, and I think we are all nervous in advance of this treatment starting, but many of us have been through them very successfully and come out the other side.

If you can give us a little bit more information, it will be easier to give you the right type of help, so I hope we can chat again.

Sarah xx

Hi there.

I had the exact same treatment back in the summer but for cervical cancer. The radiotherapy was fine, just a slog going there every day for five weeks!

I was TERRIFIED about the brachy as it sounded so awful!  I had the procedure done under general but that was a personal choice. They give you the option of an epidural.  I woke up uncomfortable but not in too much pain. I was given a morphine pump that I could self administer. 

The treatment itself is completely painless and very quick. About as long as a radiotherapy session.  The bit I was most worried about was the removal of the internal parts.  They gave me a green whistle and she did it before I had even noticed!!

Afterwards,  as with any other cancer treatment, I was very tired. There is some discomfort, a bit like a urinary infection.  And I constantly felt like I needed the toilet. 

This is of course my personal experience! I don't know if they do it differently for womb cancer.

If you want to dm me for more details or reassurance feel free! I am not good with pain at all and it was all very bearable even for me.

Best of luck with it all, lots of love

Ali xx