Radiotherapy side effects

Hi RainbowRobins

Well done you for getting this far through the radiotherapy.

At tomorrow's  session, you must tell your Radiography team how you  poorly you are feeling. They should arrange for you to see a Doctor.  At the very minimum you should have a blood test, as the feeling down etc may be a sign that your blood count is down.

The Oesophagus pain can be very painful and this will naturally be affecting your appetite.  Hang in there; it does tend to ease quite quickly once the radiotherapy sessions are over.

I hope you get sorted very soon, and I wish you the best possible outcomes.

Kegsy x

Thank you so much for your reply. It's comforting to know that I can message on this forum and be instantly re assured. Just got to hang on in there. 

Thank you 

I went through the same, I lost 3 stone as I couldn’t swallow , I ended up with a feeding tube which I attached at night to a feed machine and also a syringe driver for the pain. I would never go through it again so I know how you feel. Don’t give up the end is in sight but make sure you tell your team they are so helpful. It will get better 

Good luck

Hi , well done getting this far , I had 4 weeks of radiotherapy and something like you my throat was affected , though I did manage to eat I was on a soft diet more or less . Do you not get weekly reviews to see how you coping with radiotherapy ? I was given a medicine ((can't remember name) to take before meals , it eases the pain in your throat , I also got bloods taken every week .

Yes it does take it out of you , I felt really tired when having treatment but I was warned beforehand it would make me tired .

You're almost finished so just hang in there but do speak to your radiologist team and tell them how you are feeling , and it does get better when treatments finished , may  take it's time it will ease .

Take care x 

• Thank you for your reply. I was warned about the side effects but had no idea how hard it would be. I have only lost a little bit of weight so far and it's being closely monitored. I am now taking Oramorph which I hope will help. Yes on the countdown now and was hoping that no intervention would be needed. 
• Thank you. X

Thank you for your reply. Yes I do get a weekly review and have got some Omoprezole to take but also use Gaviscon and Rennie. Just can't wait for it to be over and to start hopefully feeling a bit better. I am not having bloods done though. Tiredness is overwhelming for sure. 

Thank you 

Hi RainbowRobins I am sorry you are experiencing the horrible side effects of radiotherapy. I remember how painful my oesophagus was, I had 5 days of intense radiotherapy. I agree with everything everyone else has said, but will add that the thing that helped me was lots of ice cream and ice lollies. The radiation has burnt your oesophagus and you need to cool it down. It is horrible, I am not surprised you do not want to eat. 

Thank you for your reply. Yes I have some ice lollies and ice cream and that does help to ease things a bit. I am on the last final push now so will try and keep going.

Thank you. X

Hi RainbowRobins

I was the same I had 4 weeks of radiotherapy and my throat was very painful , I lost around a stone and slept quite a lot, 

it’s a tough treatment but gladly it’s gets better not long after finishing I can eat now and started putting weight back on the pain  eased and the tiredness got better, hope you manage to finish and soon recover sending love 

Donna xx

Thank you Donna. I can't wait till I feel better and actually eat food again. Craving crusty bread and butter ! Really appreciate your reply. Take care. X