That’s great George - you got the gas and air. I really think this is the most important factor. Not everyone’s management of pain is the same. We need to be respected individually and given the medication needed to make the process positive and bearable. Where this is not happening the experience can be traumatic - where the appropriate pain cover is given, women can cope with it well.
I had brachy as an in patient for 3 days. Had an epidural to have the rods etc put in.
Was given pain relief before they moved me to hook me up to the radiation machine as I had to go out of the hospital and 5 mins down the road in an ambulance twice a day. Which meant sliding me out of my bed etc.
For removal I got nothing. It wasn’t pleasant but it wasn’t really painful. Just very uncomfortable. But they did it as quickly as they could.
So for anyone having to have it done please try not to worry.
Hi Jacks!
No, no hysterectomy even though I wanted one since I was 30 years old. I was a DES baby so KNEW cancer was in my future and I’d not wanted kids but dumb doctors figured they knew my mind better than I,
I was 1B2 and was able to get surgical opinions from only two sources as limitations on insurance. The response was, “we need to ensure clear borders otherwise you’ll have to have radiation anyway”. MY response was “SO WHAT?”, I wanted the darn parts that caused me tremendous issues since i had my first period when I was 9 years old GONE. I insisted upon a hysterectomy but the yammer kept coming back about wanting clear borders and wanting to make a federal case out of a 1B2 tumor, I just plain wasn’t having anything to do with the nonsense and attempts at instilling fear into me. She went so far as to tell me (this was in September, 2019) that I’d be lucky to see February, 2020 if I didn’t succumb to HER methods. I didn’t and unless this is some sort of residual afterlife I’m “living” here, I’m fairly certain I’m still alive. It’s kinda’ hard to keep the house clean and I’ve grown rather lazy and ache a lot often and it’s harder to groom my little dog BUT I’m pretty sure I’m not spirit matter as I keep paying bills and companies keep accepting the money SO I THINK I’m still alive.
I’ll be COMPLETELY honest. I research the living s&^% out of EVERYTHING and I learned that chemo is pushed in cases where it’s absolutely NOT indicated and in MANY cases actually detrimental (in the United States, I speak of) because it is so very profitable. It is the ONLY drug which a Physician may purchase and LEGALLY mark up THIRTEEN TIMES the cost as profit. That figure does not include the various and many costs of administration, etc. In short, it’s the most profitable drug on the face of the planet EVER to a Physician and yields Oncologist profits ON TOP of any fees any other Physician or Specialist can EVER HOPE TO earn. That is why Oncologist will prescribe, without even taking the individual’s needs/desires into account, right off the bat, for EVERY SINGLE GRADE of cancer there is REGARDLESS of the effectiveness or influence on ultimate outcome. In the case of a 1B2 tumor confined (with my particulars) the increased effectiveness of added chemo ON THE TUMOR would have been +.00003% but the effects on the rest of my body probably would have killed me. .00003% is so minuscule it’s barely calculable YET the idiot, who is a “top, highly regarded, one of the best in the United States” Oncologists, actually had her underlings calling me at my part time RETAIL job (I’m fairly sure everyone knows retail workers can’t take personal phone calls) at least NINE TIMES with idiotic questions such as, and I’m quoting, “Wouldn’t it be fun to look into chemo?”; “Don’t you think it would be a good idea to discuss chemo?”, etc,. This was AFTER I’d already had plan mapped out with Radiology Oncologist and ready to start radiation which, BTW, zapped tumor and a few escapee cells (to lymph nodes) completely and I’m 100%, eyes to thighs, clear to this day.
The way it’s done here (United States) is that some kind of contraption is inserted into the uterus and left there through the duration of treatments. In and out of hospital for the zaps is how it’s done, I’m familiar with the 3 day version and found it unpalatable.
The whole thing was a nightmare from hell, to be honest. I don’t know HOW I ever survived it. I think it would not have left such a bad impression and residual emotional effect had they just been HONEST. It’s NOT surgery. Stop SAYING it’s surgery. They put one under because it’s over the top painful to get the darn things in but they don’t seem to care about how painful it is to get them out.
My vagina is super tight to start with as I learned the fine art of Kegal when I was very young and I’ve only been with 3 men in my life… years apart plus no babies (DES makes it difficult to carry a fetus but I never desired kids to start with).
I’m just grateful it all worked.
The BOTTOM LINE for ANYONE WHO IS ABOUT TO UNDERTAKE THIS IS:
DO IT and get it over with. But go in KNOWING it WILL be very painful but will soon be over with and the tumor gets super up close zapped. I’d not opt for 3 days in but in the manner I got it (individual choice but I’ve got very severe RLS and cannot be still for even a few hours).
Best to all that are facing this. Just do it and it will be behind you but DON’T go in like I did, being lied to that it’s a big surgery, etc. Truth is it’s just extremely painful and that’s why the GA. If you can get them to GA you upon insertion and then again upon removal (a few hours later) it’s best. Odds are you won’t be able to get anyone to do that though so make sure you TELL your Radiologist you already KNOW how painful removal is and to PREPARE for it!
Kat 
