Hi all! I was just diagnosed with stage 2b and I know I will have radiation, chemo, and braccy. I know everyones treatment is different but what are some of your experiences with how many and how often you had treatment.
I just am tryiing to get an idea from those who have had treatments.
Thanks!
Hi Andie
I was diagnosed with stage 2b last year and had 25 radiotherapy, 5 scheduled chemo (completed 4 due to low blood counts) then 2 long (17 hours ish) Brachy sessions, I found the treatment much more manageable than I expected and found it went really quickly, do you have a date to start? I wish you the best of luck x
Hey. 2B here. I had 28 sessions of external radiation, 4 cisplatin (was scheduled for 5 but missed one due to low bloods) and three brachytherapy. I had the type where the rods were left in over night. Didn't really experience any side effects apart from the occasional bit of fatigue. Lots of water and apply e45 regularly. Good luck with your treatment I hope it all goes well! Xx
Hi Andie :-)
I'm a former 2b girl myself :-) I had 25 external beam radiotherapy, 5 Cisplatin chemo and two blasts of brachy which, where I had it done, was short blast high dose, so each blast lasted only 320 seconds but it took place in a lead-lined concrete bunker.
So what you need to know is that once treatment begins, it shouldn't be interrupted, it's definitely a case of hard-and-fast and that is why so many of the women above me have ended up missing out on the odd chemo and in some cases, having extra radio in its place. You will have to attend hospital every day (Mon to Fri) for at least five weeks. You will have radiotherapy every single day and chemo once a week. It becomes such a routine that when it's all over you may well feel lost. Be ready for that.
I was put on a draconian diet but perhaps that is why my bloods stayed good enough for Chemo number five? Who knows?
Radiotherapy makes you really tired and gives a lot of women diarrhoea at about the 2 - 2.5 week stage. Chemo can make you feel nauseous so it's really important to take your anti-nausea meds and ask for more if you need them.
Pay a lot of attention to anything unusual and report it to staff immediately.
I wish you well on this exciting journey!
Be lucky :-)
Tivoli
i like Tivoli, had 25 external beam radiotherapy and 5 chemo then 18 hours of pulsed rate brachytherapy as the hosptial I attended didnt do the short burst type.
yes diarrhoea started about week 2.5 and i actually was very careful what i ate-imodium helped and fibogel .
i worked (im a consultant engineer-so all desk work) all through my treatment -apart from chemo days and I drank 2litres of water every day.I used lyonsleaf calendula and marshmallow ointment on my tummy and nethers immediately after my radiotherapy and didnt get any soreness whatsoever. I used sanex bodywash in the shower and appleid the ointment afterwards and i would say about 4 times a day including after radiotherpay. i ate a lot of live yougurt too to help the good bacteria in my tum.
yes i got tired, but walking and a bit of light exercise(stretching and pilates) seemd to make the tiredess a little less.
we went out with friends and tried to keep it all as normal as possible, which helped in my case-some people are very private about having cancer and treatment, i certainly wasnt as i wanted to spread the word that smear tests are important, but if you are diagnosed with cancer, then it can betreated in most cases
good luck with your treatment
