Well I had my first round of vaginal vault brachytherapy yesterday. Everyone was very friendly but it did seem a bit like the poor relation of the cancer services. It was located in a rather run down basement and I glimpsed the consultant on the way in sitting in a shoe box sized office. We had to carry our clothes around with us because the lockers only took old £1 coins.
I had already completed a consent form when I saw the consultant last month at the oncology clinic so I was just asked a few confirmatory details by the radiologer. Then I got changed into a gown and went into the treatment room. I sat on a couch with a sort of metal bracket on it and arranged my legs either side of this with my knees bent. Then a harassed looking doctor came in and connected a vaginal insert of the correct size to the bracket on one side and inserted it into my vagina on the other side . I asked for some local anaesthetic gel as my vagina is still a bit sore at the entrance from where I had a vaginal hysterectomy last month. It was sore but not impossible.
Then I laid back and they tied the whole thing up round my body so it did not move and propped a couple of pads under my knees. I had taken a CD with me which they put into a CD player and turned on. They went out saying if I needed to speak to them I should call out and they woud hear me over the intercom. It should take about ten minutes.
So I lay there listening to the tracks and hearing occasional beeps in the background. After 4 tracks I called out to ask how much longer but there was no reply. Then there was a rapid set. of continuous bleeps for about 5 minutes. I called out again to ask if it had finished and waved an arm. Still response but ghen the nurse appeared and said Sorry about That. It seemed that just as they were about to send the radioactive pod into my vagina, the computer had frozen and they had to turn it off and start all over again.
It must have turned off the intercom as well as she said that she was calling out to tell me this but I could not hear. I said I had waved my arm to attract their attention but the nurse said they could not see me from the room where they operated the computers, I assume because they would normally see me on the computer which had frozen. She said the CD player probably prevented me from hearing me on the intercom but I don't believe that. The CD was very quiet and only playing in a stand alone player. The intercom was either off or it stopped working with the computer.
Anyway they seemed unfazed by it. The nurse said they to turn the pc computer off and on again (they being the nurse and a young radiologer) and that the second time it worked. I said I was concerned I might have had double the dose of radiation but she assured ne that was not the case. The radioactive pod was only in my vagina while the rapid contininuous bleeps were sounding. Everyone assured me it all went OK apart from the false start but it did all seem a bit casual and under resourced. I am assuming they know what they are doing as the consultant in charge won a merit award from the hospital, voted by his colleagues, 18months ago.
I was given a confirmed list of appointments and told to return on Thursday. I was warned there might be some blood spots but have not had any yet. I have written this up in detail to explain what happens at a vaginal vault brachytherapy session. Well mine anyway.
