Did anybody do chemotherapy without radiation

Hi , I had stage 1a grade 3 serous and I underwent 4 sessions of chemo then 3 brachiatherapy . I am now on 4 monthly check ups  ..

Did you have nasty side effects such as damage to your bowels?  That’s what scares me. 

The only side effects from chemo was sickness feeling but medication sorted that out ,it's a bit of trial and error to get it right 

Ihad no side effects from the brachiatherapy and I finished that in June

Thanks.  Very glad to hear that. Best of luck. This is a horrible disease

Hi

I had stage 1 grade 3 Endometrial Cancer last year with P53, I was due to have 3 cycles chemo with carboplantin  and paclitaxel but took a severe allergic reaction on 1st cycle - 4 days later.  I had 3 brachytherapy which I had no side effects. 

Just found out recently I have Stage 4 lung cancer with no chance of recovering.  I wasn't offered radiotherapy as an option but was also given 2 all clear check ups.  Sorry I don't have a good report.

Hello DidiOntario

I also had a grade 3 aggressive cancer but was stage 1b. I had paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy and then 5 weeks of pelvic radiotherapy. 

I have side effects from both treatments but do not regret them. I am now 2 years post treatment and remain well. 

I remember when I finished chemo and considering whether I needed to actually go ahead with radiotherapy. I had had enough at this stage of hospitals and appointments and treatments. I was worried about long term effects. I listened to my consultant and took in a list of questions that we went through one by one. 

The treatments are different- chemo mops up any cancer cells whole body wise whereas the radiotherapy targets the areas where local recurrence is most likely. 

Knowing what I know now, I would still have both treatments- it was tough at times but I know I have given myself the best chance possible of remaining cancer free. I remember my consultant saying with these grade 3 cancers (and mine was early stage- not locally advanced) that it is far better to deal with any of the tiny cancer cells while they are at the stage that they can not be seen on a scan, rather than wait for them to have the chance to set up somewhere else and potentially be harder to deal with. 

Maybe you could give the Support Line a call and talk things through. Its a big decision but I wish you well whatever you decide.

Jane

So sorry to hear about the lung cancer.   I hope the oncologists find a treatment to control it.  

Thank you for good reasons to consider the radiation therapy.  I have a family friend who received radiation therapy for womb cancer 20 years ago.  Her bowels ended up badly damaged and she lived with a bag for the  rest of her life.  She did live to 89 however,   This story scared me.

Technology has come on in leaps and bounds and radiotherapy today is very different - eg machines that can more precisely target. I had 25 x radio and 2 x brachy in 2022 with hardly any side effects at the time (just some bloating and urgency in week 4) and things back to normal within 2-3 weeks of the end of treatment. I’ve never regretted having it and personally would fear recurrence more than possible side effects.

The radiotherapy is much more accurate than it used to be so there is less potential damage to surrounding tissues. At my hospital I had to have a mini enema to ensure an empty rectum and drink water to have a full bladder. I was told that this would limit the amount of radiotherapy that would affect these- there by helping to prevent any issues. So the radiotherapy was more targeted to where it needed to go. Not all hospitals do the enema but this was my personal experience. 

Most people can have some effects during treatment and a lot of the time these can be managed and will clear up when treatment has finished.

A few may have longer term effects. I am one of them but the effects although inconvenient at times, are on the whole manageable.