Brachytherapy Breeze! (and an awkward moment..)

Having had my brachytherapy planning CT last Wednesday, I had my first brachytherapy session today. No enema or full bladder was needed for the CT, so I knew I wouldn’t need them for this either. (Note: different hospitals have different policies on this). So nice to have a day off from radio! Was called into the dedicated Brachytherapy Suite, which was a small reception area and office, followed by a short corridor and a room with a table in it that was thankfully more bed looking than in the general radio rooms. There was a changing cubicle too, and I removed my pants and trousers, keeping my top half clothes and jewellery on, and put on a gown leaving it open at the back.I sat on the bed and lifted one leg over the narrow short metal pipe in the middle of the bed. I laid down, shuffled down a bit, the applicator was gently inserted with lube and secured. It honestly didn’t feel much different from a tampon with applicator. I was then asked to let my legs go down one at a time and rest the backs of my knees on the little supports. The nurse explained that there would be three beeps as they left the room, then the treatment would last just 5 minutes and then they’d come back. 2 Bryan Adam’s songs and it was over. They came back, gently removed it (again felt like a tampon being removed), helped me sit up, I got changed and left! It was all an absolute breeze. No pain, no discomfort either during or after. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask!

And the awkward moment? Well, as I was leaving to get weighed, I called out “bye!” as I turned the corner. And then totally without thinking I added “See you next Tuesday!” and immediately regretted it and started laughing. The male nurse with me started laughing too and I said I bet he didn’t expect someone of my generation to know what that meant! (If anyone doesn’t know what it means, it’s a euphemism for a particular swear word, rather relevant to what I’d just had done!)