Radiotherapy support

Thanks Jane.  Well I suppose number 13 of the radio had to cause some issues. Four times today before they could zap me. Ultrasound saying I didn’t have enough in bladder, so asked me to drink another cup. Next ultrasound OK so they did the scan before the zapping, but scan then said too much in bladder. So asked to go and wee a cupful, I did three quarters. Ultrasound number 3 said bladder wasn’t full enough. At this stage I requested that I completely empty bladder and start the drinking from scratch. Ultrasound no 4 said good to go, and the scan then agreed so zapping could take place.

it makes me laugh, each time they do ultrasound, they have to ask if I have had a hysterectomy, I have a massive vertical scar right in front of them. However today one of them said they have to check as there is a different setting in the ultrasound machine, which now makes sense.

I always thought that was strange too- being asked if I had a hysterectomy- after having endometrial cancer and have the red marks on my tummy where the instruments went in. 

Good luck for the rest of the sessions. I found they went quickly once I had passed the half way mark.

Jane

Hi, joining this discussion as I've just been told I'm going to need radiotherapy following my hysterectomy as although all lymph nodes were clear the cancer had spread down towards the cervix, so I'm now classed as Stage 2. So I'll be waiting for an appointment to come though to discuss options and find out more.. 

Hi Poohsticks, I too was upstaged to a stage 2 post histology because of some cells on my cervix. I had 25 x radio and 2 x brachy in 2022. 

Hi, I had an initial appointment yesterday for radiotherapy to discuss options - mine starts next Tuesday. Histology after hysterectomy moved me from a 1a to 1b. When I was initially told I needed brachytherapy it came as a bit of shock because I had been told that all I would need would be the hysterectomy. Now that it has been explained to me it sounds a lot less scary. I hope you get your appointment soon.

Chipmunk1   Thanks for that. Do they do anything like a CT scan beforehand ? (I suspect it's not necessary for if you are just having brachytherapy). Was there any mention of external readiotherapy as well ? How  many sessions are you down to havev?

Best of luck with it all 

I'm still waiting for my appointment with the oncologist to come through.  I'm going away for a short three day break next week (something I've had to postpone twice due to surgery & medical issues and this will lbe my last chance) so am hoping that any appointment won't be for then, but knowing my current run of luck I bet it will, (in which case I can hopefully rearrange it )!

I was told I will need to have a CT with the cylinder in place on the first day to make sure they are using the right size and it is in contact where it needs to be and will have my first treatment the same day. When I was initially told about the brachytherapy was told it would be 3 treatments on consecutive days but yesterday was told it would be 4 days. I didnt get to find out about yesterdays appointment until Saturday teatime because somewhere along the line my notifications had been set to silent. Without the phone call on Saturday I would never have known I had an appointment - but in saying that they did me a favour I only had two nights in which to worry about it. From how it was described yesterday it sounds a lot better than what I had built it up to be. I won't need external. I just want to get everything out of the way asap now.

My only concerns at the moment are that I dont want it to make my bowel issues worse which I have been warned could be a short term possibility and also tiredness as this is something else I already have issues with but if it means I have the best chance of nothing coming back then I just want to get it done + I was told that brachy would have less side effects for me

Hi P00hsticks, you could always phone your CNS to tell them when you’re away and they can then let the oncologist’s secretary know.

Just for info, for brachytherapy I had a very mini planning CT to check the right size for the casing for the thing that delivers the internal radiotherapy. It was literally just a few minutes, With my hospital they did that at a separate appointment and I had my two brachy sessions one week and two weeks later. I was still having my external radiotherapy sessions so they fitted in with that. It was quite nice to only have a brachy appointment on those days instead of a radio one as it was much quicker! And the brachy suite was quieter, the care felt more personal and the appointment was on time. No need to drink water beforehand either!

Hi, I have had 3 of my 4 chemotherapy sessions and reducing to just having Carboplatin has made the world of difference to my side effects. My oncologist has now decided to bring up radiotherapy as follow on treatment, most likely 5 days a week for 5 weeks. I have other health issues that are going to be seriously exacerbated by such intensive treatment and am worried about how I will cope. For many years I have been dealing with M.E. Fibromyalgia and restrictive lung disease and these make me very tired and worried that radiotherapy will make me even more tired. I struggle with daily activities as it is. But there are other diagnoses that worry me even more with radiotherapy. I have had irritable bowel syndrome and a long list of foods my body cannot tolerate already. I get cystitis regularly and protein is always found in my urine, although nothing shows up in my blood work so its ignored. I also had 4 fractures in my pelvis from an accident years ago, and the fractures were as follow; 2 on left pelvis bone, 1 on tail bone and 1 on pubic bone. Should I mention all of these diagnoses to my oncologist along with my concerns or are some more important than others. Feel like its a rather long list is all. Thank you for any input.