Radiotherapy

Hello Fredek 

Yes - it's easy and once you get used to it it works a treat. I was lucky I live a mile from the hospital so I did mine at home and went to the hospital after it had "cleared" me out - happy days.

Some guys checked in at RT - about half an hour before their appointment - then self administered the old enema and all was good. The radiologists know if you have done it so don't try and fool them. Once you get in to it you will be fine - It's just so easy.

Best wishes - Brian..

Hi

I agree with Brian, once you get the hang of it , very straightforward.

That said, I never trusted how fast it would work,  so waited until I got to the hospital. My trip was less than 6 miles and could take anything up to an hour - hence my reticence!

Regards

Stuart

Yes it was no problem to use at all.  When I went for my planning scan a nurse told me how to use it and I used one successfully in the hospital then to make sure I would be OK during my RT sessions.  I was only required to do this for the first 2 weeks of RT but different consultants, different hospitals may do things differently.

My OH is due to start RT in February- he has been advised to administer enema 2 hours before appointment then bring along his water to drink just before he has the treatment 

Also, this subject, he had been advised to give up coffee- which is almost a good group for us. Cut down on pulses, sprouts, and generally ‘windy’ food’ is this something that helps - can anyone advise 

a guide to beneficial foods would be appreciated too

Hi Sheridan

Poole hospital gave us a diet sheet of foods to avoid. So everything you have mentioned including caffeine, alcohol and no high fibre anything 

The way I looked at it was that, whatever is in a 'healthy- diet, is to be avoided.

Check if his hospital has a similar sheet, if not I still have e mine.

As a warning, and may not apply to everyone,I ignored the advice,  Christmas 2019, and ate a few sprouts and a couple of glassesof wine. Not funny!

Regards

Stuart

Hello SheridanD Between you and Scampidoodle you are spot on. It's anything that can give you "wind" as you don't want any movement when you are on the "sunbed". No Fizzy drinks is another one.

I am sure he will  be fine once he gets into the swing of it. During Radiotherapy make sure he tells the staff of any changes to his day to day bodily functions. The staff are really helpful and his RT will pass very quickly.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hi SheridanD.

I have attached an NHS guide to having pelvic radiotherapy. For my husband I found that giving him small meals little and often helped to keep him regular during radiotherapy but generally eat a well balanced diet, avoiding processed foods - carbonated drink - caffeine - wind producers etc. It is important to make sure there is plenty of protein on the menu, particularly chicken, turkey and fish but I also added Greek yoghurt into the diet to improve the gut biome as well as oats.

https://www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/your-visit/patient-information-leaflets/eating-and-drinking-during-radiotherapy-to-the-pelvis-ghpi1686_10_21/

Thank you all, this forum is so useful. Since first  registering have been reading and studying all posts, thank you.

Another point my OH brother was also diagnosed  in October, 3 months after OH diagnosis.

. OH brother had dificulty is receiving PSA test due to his young age, even though a direct member of his family was already registered as a cancer patient.  His local NHS moved much slower than he was mentally able to cope with so he opted for private help. His figures had increased rapidly and it was definitely the correct move in his circumstances. Pleased to announce his removal operation was completed last week and he is now home recovering. The more this horrible cancer can be bought to the forefront, 

Hi Fredek,

I think each hospital (Derriford Plymouth in my case) does things slightly differently regarding the micro enema.  I was given a large supply & had to start using them at home 2 days before my RT started.  As the hospital was about 45 minutes away from home by car I was advised to take 2 with me to each appointment (so that there was a spare in case the first one didn't have the desired effect) & had to use it an hour before my scheduled appointment time, wait 15 minutes & then empty my bowels.  Once done it was then a case of drinking the required amount of water over the next 15 minutes so that my bladder was full when I went on the sunbed 30 minutes later.  After the first few days it all felt like routine & was never any bother & each capsule only had a one off effect so no impact on the rest of the day.

As a bonus, weekends were enema free.

All the best

Brian

Yes I used them everyday during radiotherapy. I would get up and have a natural bowel movement then use a Micralax afterwards to completely clear my rectum. I found it worked pretty quickly so never managed to wait 15 minutes before things started moving.

I used them at home and never had to use one at the Hospital.

My daily routine was.

Get up and have a wee and bowel movement,

Have breakfast (porridge) no fluids

Use Micralax to completely empty bowels. 

Wait for things to settle then drive to hospital to arrive 45 minutes before RT session.

Slowly drink about 300mls water.

Worked for me and never had to leave RT table due to bowel or bladder state.

Rob