External radiotherapy

Hi Cariad1228

I also had 25 sessions of the external beam radiotherapy but didn't need the brachytherapy. There are however some ladies on here who have and I am sure they will offer support.

I remember worrying that I would not cope with 25 sessions but I found once the first few were done and I got into the routine, the time did go a lot quicker than I thought it would. 

I found the travelling tiring and it did build up for me. Although the actual time taken for the treatment is not long, it was the journey to the hospital, doing the mini enema and waiting for it to work and then the drinking the water and waiting for 30 minutes. I was away from home for around 3/4 hours most days and a bit longer when I had my weekly reviews. 

My main side effects were tummy related and I found following dietary advice does help. For any diarrhoea there are several different medications that can be used, if you do get it. My advice would be to bring up any symptoms you get at the early stage and then they can help you. Mine gave good support throughout. 

Here is some general diet advice. 

https://ruh.nhs.uk/patients/services/radiotherapy/documents/A5-documents/A5_Eating_and_Drinking_during_Radiotherapy_to_the_Pelvis.pdf

People do seem to vary a lot in how they are affected. Some people have only very mild side effects whereas others do have more challenging ones. Everyone is different so do not be afraid to speak up if you do get some side effects or if they happen earlier than expected. I had an upset tummy from around the 3rd day which is more unusual. I also had some nausea. 

With skin care I was given a barrier cream on my first session and this worked for me. They also will check your skin in the area. if you do get any redness or soreness, do tell them.

With the mini enemas, I found the idea was worse that the actual doing them. I had to do an hour before my appointment for the first 10 days only. I was told after that, most people would be having some diarrhoea and would not need them. It certainly was the case with most of the people I met each day. 

I would say the best advice would be to go with the flow and just keep talking to the radiotherapists. They are there to help. The actual treatment was painless and the machine does not touch you. I was asked about music and it used to take 2/3 songs from start to finish. 

I used to feel a bit claustrophobic and panicky and although they need to leave the room during the treatment, they can still see and hear you. They used to give me a running commentary of what was happening and that really helped. 

Hope this helps a bit. it is scary when facing something new but if you have a similar experience to me, after the first couple, it becomes a lot easier.

Jane

Hi Cariad1228, I can still remember going for my first treatment - not knowing where to go, what to do, where to wait etc - feeling like it was all so new and strange, and yet for everyone else it seemed like routine and ordinary. Regarding eating, I followed the dietary guidelines from my hospital leaflet re pelvic radiotherapy: switched to white bread or very plain wholemeal (no granary/seeded or sourdough), no broccoli, sprouts, onions or other veg that tend to produce wind, no fizzy drinks, nothing high fibre and especially not potato skins). I had asked for afternoon appointments as I’m an hour away, so I had breakfast in the morning, kept myself well hydrated in the morning, had a very light lunch before going, but took a snack with me for immediately after treatment - I believe this was important, usually a banana and a bag of Quavers! And then a light meal when I got in, including a treat like ice cream or chocolate as it’s important to keep up the calories during treatment as the body uses up more energy than usual making healthy new cells. I relaxed my eating slightly at weekends - I’d sometimes treat myself to a McPlant on the way home on a Friday! 

I was fortunate in that my hospital didn’t require mini enemas as long as you’d had a bowel movement in the last 24 hours. Re side effects, I had none till half way through week 4, when I had a little bloating and urgency, but no diarrhoea. I told them and was advised to take just one Buscopan, and that sorted it.  Re skin care, I didn’t do anything special and they told me not to use any moisturisers or other creams in that area without asking them first. I didn’t have any dry or sore skin there during treatment so never needed to ask. Any questions please do ask!

Thank you for your reply x 

Thank you so much for your reply x

Hi can i ask whether these are daily or more spread out? Have been told today i will be having radiotherapy but no idea how many yet

Hi external radiotherapy is daily - 5 days a week. Brachytherapy is different ( but I didn’t have that). I had 25 sessions. Was daunting but soon got into the swing of it!!

Thank you!

Hi Tangle, external radio is daily, typically 5 days a week, except bank holidays. I had 25 sessions, I know others who’ve had 28 or 29. I started mine in April 2021, just before Easter, so there were a few bank holidays during my 5 weeks, so one week I had a session on a Saturday, as the requirement is that we have a certain amount of radio in a given time period, and I needed to catch up. 

Hi, hoping your treatment is going well and that you are getting into some kind of routine with it all. I start my radio on Monday 30th Sept. I had a meeting at Christies yesterday to discuss my Brachytherapy which they said would start a week after my external radio had finished.  Please keep us updated with your progress if you feel up to it. I know lots of the ladies in this forum have been with me through my robotic hysterectomy, chemo and now my radio. Im happy to share my experiences if you are feeling apprehensive. I will be a week behind you in treatment so maybe we can help each other through it all. 

Daily !  I have 23 external session and 2 bracky internal , 3 down feeling OK staff have been amazing worse part are the suppositories!