RT Nerves

I am sure someone who has been through the treatment will be able to provide a bit of guidance and good luck, will be following your updates. 

Good morning.

I am six months on from completing 37 days of radiotherapy.

It takes a couple of days to get into the rhythm, and then it become routine.

There is no pain and, in my case at least, managing the right level of bladder fullness became much easier as time passed.

The only problem I encountered was wind in the third week. I was advised to drink peppermint tea to forestall the problem.

That worked.

I probably overdid it, because I now loathe peppermint tea with a passion. 

I turned up about 30 minutes before my appointment, and sat and waited. I was called in, bladder checked (ultrasound), and then waited a little longer.

Quite quickly after that I would be summoned, be arranged on the table, and the treatment would commence.

All you have to do is lay there watching the machine go round. No pain or sensation at all.

When you are done the staff re-enter the room, lower the table, allowing you to get off the bed, rearrange your underwear and clear the space before the next one.

The radiotherapy was no bother at all. Side effects were minor. A little extra fatigue which helped me avoid household chores for a couple of weeks.

My only problem was that I damaged my back in a completely unrelated incident about 2 weeks in, which made the journey and getting on and off the table more exciting than it should have been.

Now all of that is past, and I am back to normal. 

Normal for me that is....

We were both in such a state of nerves before the radiotherapy, also. That was wasted energy! Our oncology staff were wonderfully professional and reassuring! My husband grew to absolutely hate the enemas, though, and did suffer with some bloating part the way through. Just tell your team about any problems and they will come up with a remedy eg diet , fluids etc. The biggest problem for us was the daily drive and parking difficulties. I did the driving and was exhausted! My daughter took over the chauffeur role for week 3 and that was a big relief. We did not think my husband was up to driving at the time.

Spot on from Steve there ,I finished a week ago and once you get used to the bladder situation it's a doddle I also drank peppermint tea and had a good walk before my appointment.     All the best