Hi AMF. Thank you for the update. I definitely can relate to being anxious to start but also having a fear over what is in store for you the next few months. Stay positive and go easy on yourself as you go through treatment. You will be surprised with how strong you really are! 
Thank you Ivy,
The help and support I have received from women on this forum has been invaluable.
I know the journey is only just starting but I am not going through it alone I will be relying on lots of passengers along the way.
Great to hear that your treatment is done and dusted hopefully life can start to return to normal.
Take care xx
Hi AMF,
Phew - youāve got your diagnosis and treatment plan - thatās a big step out of the way. Pleased to hear there are no lymph nodes involved. Wishing you all the best for the start of treatment - and keep us up to date! X
Hi @IvyGardener
Thanks so much for the update, and itās so lovely to hear youāre coming out the other side and feeling better every day!
Iām officially half way with my treatment now. Like you, theyāve gone aggressive with my plan, so weeks 1- 4:
Monday Chemo Radiotherapy
Tuesday - Friday Radiotherapy
From week 5 (next week) its the same, but Brachytherapy on a Wednesday instead of Radiotherapy and the same for week 6.
Ive been doing OK, except on a Friday afternoon where I generally feel absolutely awful, no energy and just low. So far the only effect has been a very slight drop in my potassium which Iām now on supplements for, but otherwise physically I seem to be standing up to it, aside from the fatigue, which I would class as mild to moderate. I can do housework, take short walks, but definitely need to rest afterwards. Itās cumulative though, Iām more tired this week than last, so Iām pretty prepared for that to change after next week.
Iām so nervous about the Brachytherapy. Theyāre planning 4, but they do 2 in a day at my hospital, so Iām in overnight Wednesday night after the treatments.
Thanks for the vein advice, mine are awful too. I have a bucket of hot water waiting for me on Chemo days that they soak me in - seems to work as theyāve managed first time since starting that!
@AMF Iām glad you got your diagnosis and plan, even mid way through the treatment I still say that the waiting was the worst part, it just takes such a toll mentally.
All I can say is, even though the treatment is hard, the support, both from Joās and the Oncology team and radiologists has been amazing. They have seen me at some really low points and are always willing to give the time just to let you get it out.
Asking for help from people has been hard for me, I hadnāt really realised I was so independent before, but one thing I will say to anyone starting this process is do it, ask for the help. You canāt predict how youāre going to feel, even almost on a daily basis, so having support around has been invaluable. Itās broken down a barrier my sister and I spent 30 years building up between us and now sheās bonding with my son in a way I didnt think was possible, and has been my biggest supporter. There are definitely positives that can come from all this. X
If I feel up to it, Iāll update again next week after Brachytherapy. In the meantime, I wish everyone the very best. We can do this. X x
Thanks for the advice. Thankfully I have plenty of help and support I have 8 sisters all living close by so can call on them anytime.
Glad that you are almost done my journey will soon be starting Keep in touch xx
Hi all
Just thought Iād update before my brachytherapy starts tomorrow and ask a question of those of you who have been / are going through the treatment I am, Chemo radiotherapy - cisplatin + brachy.
Iām in week 5 of 6 now, done 5/6 Chemo, done 21/28 radiotherapy and I have brachy sessions 1 and 2 scheduled for tomorrow.
Iām nervous about tomorrow, and the fatigue is definitely hitting me harder now,
especially toward the end of the week (Fridays for some reason I always seem to feel my worst) but so far with lots of barrier cream and the occasional painkillers for very period pain like cramps, itās been manageable. Bit of a scare on Friday with my heart rate, but it turns out I may have a preexisting condition that makes my heart rate a bit erratic anyway - gave me quite a fright, which probably didnāt help the heart rate 
My question is about an unexpected side effect Iāve had the past few days - insomnia, has anyone else had this? The first
2 days I put it down to being woken by some bad cramp pains, and I did eventually fall back to sleep. But the last 3 days Iāve been waking up at 3.30am and ping, thatās it. Iāve always struggled to sleep on Chemo night, I think because of all the steroids, but this is a 5 day stint since Friday. I donāt know, it may just be nerves about tomorrow, but Iām mentioning it to the team today when I go in for treatment. Just wondered if anyone else had had it?
Tisha
Hi @Tkd1985 !
I also was VERY sleepless in the night after my chemo, not sleeping a wink and sometimes not the day after either. Besides that, I didnāt experience too much insomnia.
I donāt fully know your situation/condition but I wouldnāt be surprised if itās anxiety from the upcoming brachy. Itās totally understandable, but just know you will be okay!! Itās not a fun process but youāre strong and you can do it!
My energy really really crashes after brachy so try to go easy on yourself if that happens to you too. Please visit us after your brachy and let us know how your experience was!
I also know you were concerned about your energy levels with your child during treatment, how has that experience been so far?
I wish you a lot of luck!!
Hi Ivy and
@Tkd1985
Lovely to hear your latest updates. My treatment starts 3 August. I currently feel fine in no pain whatsoever itās mad to think that in a couple of weeks Iām going to feel not so good. Not looking forward to it but getting my head around it.
Going out this weekend to have a final blowout before treatment then itāll be laying low and taking it easy.
Good luck with the rest of your treatment Tisha x
That was my situation too, I had no pain until the Pap smear that diagnosed me. To go from no pain to feeling completely knocked down from treatment was so odd because it felt almost as though I was going out of my way to feel sick by doing treatment. Obviously, it was for a greater good but going from no symptoms to a ton of side effects was crazy.
Iām glad youāre getting out and having some fun before buckling down for treatment! Enjoy!! Hopefully treatment will be perceived as going by quickly, it did for me, and hopefully youāll be back to it in no time!
Good luck as your treatment time approaches! Let us know how it goes for you.
Hi @AMF @IvyGardener
Exactly the same. No symptoms to speak of until my lletz procedure. Itās a very odd feeling to know that youāre feeling sick because theyāre curing you of an illness you didnāt know you had.
Short term pain for long term gain one of my nurses called it. He was right, but itās still a very surreal experience. My husband and I were saying only yesterday that sometimes it still seems like itās happening to someone else, and weāre spectators of our own lives as everything happened so quickly, you donāt have time to get your head round it.
Iām glad itās not just me that canāt sleep after Chemo. I feel like Iām vibrating most of that night .
@IvyGardener itās been hard with my son, but heās been amazingly understanding all things considered. His dad has been phenomenal too. The hardest part is how much I miss the bits I canāt do. Iām far to tired for all the hands on bits, and I canāt wait to get back to them once we get past all this.
Hang in there everyone, weāll get this done and be back to ourselves before we know it.
Tisha
@Tkd1985
Iām glad your son has been supportive and your husband has been fantastic through this!! Iām so happy to hear that.
Itās hard, but itāll come back for you as you heal up after finishing. Just be patient with yourself.
I am wishing you luck for the upcoming treatments!! Let us know how it goes!
Hi all
So Iāve had my first Brachytherapy, and as others have said before, it wasnāt nearly as awful as Iād built it up to be in my mind. I had 2 sessions on Wednesday, and mostly it was a lot of waiting around, numb from the waist down. There were a few uncomfortable moments when they hooked up or unhooked, but it was more a sense of weight and discomfort than any real pain.
I had a panic attack going in (massive needle phobia) but my anesthetist was brilliant and sedated me before doing the cannula and spinal, so I didnāt feel a thing, or even know about it really until after the fact. When they did the extraction at the end of the day they gave me something a bit like gas and air to breathe in, and not only does it numb pain, it also messes with your memory, so I have no real memory of that either!
The meds did a number on me, I pretty much slept all day yesterday, felt very woozy and light headed. I do seem to feel a little better today, but still a bit unsteady. Just going to take it slowly and rest as much as I can. Got a little bit of cramping and very light bleeding today, but otherwise I donāt feel much different from before.
@IvyGardener how are you feeling now? Are your energy levels picking up? I too have had some hearing issues from the cisplatin, so my consultant has cancelled my final Chemo on Monday, which worried me a little, but she said sheās pleased with the shrinkage so far, so thatās reassuring. I hope that the hearing issues clear up for us both going forward.
@AMF have a fantastic weekend, enjoy it. X
Keep going guys.
Tisha
I am so happy to hear that the brachytherapy went well!!! You are so strong! I am quite jealous that the gas they gave you when they go to pull out the device messes with your memory- that was for sure the worst part for me.
Just this week am I finally regaining my energy. Iām not normal still but I can do a lot more than I was able to do for a while. So it took me about 2 weeks to finally gain a good amount of energy back. It sounds like your brachy is broken up differently than mine so hopefully your recovery is faster than mine each time!
Iām sorry your hearing is affected as well! Iām going to a specialist to try to resolve it, but Iām not sure anything will come of it. What are you experiencing with your hearing?
Iām glad you got a brachytherapy down!! Youāre getting towards the end, you got this!!
@IvyGardener yes the drug, whatever it is, is pretty amazing. I spoke to my consultant today, and she had to go over a load of stuff we apparently have already spoken about, which is apparently common with this drug. Iām grateful for it definitely!
Iām starting to feel it all a bit more now, very sore and still tired. But all in all Iād definitely say not as bad as I feared. Thank you so much for the kind words. I was very low yesterday when I woke up in hospital, and Iām certainly not feeling particularly brave right now, but Iām determined not to let this beat me.
Iāve been having a weird sensation in my ears, kind of like there is water in them, a bit like glue ear I guess, and a tiny bit of tinnitus. My consultant said on balance, as Iāve already had 5 cycles of Chemo, sheād be happier to stop the Chemo now in the hopes of not having any permanent issues, especially as sheās happy with the shrinkage sheās seen from her brachy scans. What issues have you had? I know the tinnitus is meant to be fairly common, but no one seems to know whatās causing the other, and Iāve had a hearing test and health check on my ears which came up clear.
Iāve been told that the aftermath should peak at 10-14 days post treatment, so that ties in with what you have said. Iām looking forward to the day climbing stairs doesnāt wear me out 
Hi Tisha and @IvyGardener,
I start my treatment tomorrow will let you know how I get on.
How are you both doing?
Hi all
Iām 2 weeks post treatment now, so I thought Iād give a bit of an update.
My final Chemo was cancelled due to tinnitus, and Iām really glad it was, as I had my second brachytherapy that week. While my first went well, I did feel very dizzy and tired for a good 4 days after it. The second one I didnāt get any of the dizziness at all, and although I still got tired, it wasnāt as intense as the previous week.
The last 2 weeks have been hard going. The first week I did a lot of napping in the afternoons, and ended up spending my first week free of treatment mostly at the hospital to have my bloods checked, as my white blood cell and neutrophils dropped really low, and I ended up severely neutrophenic.
Theyāre on the up now, slowly but surely, but with Covid levels on the rise again, Iām not risking going out anywhere unless itās all outside and not crowded. Definitely donāt want to risk getting ill with a compromised immune system.
Iāve still got a pain in my left arm from one of my cannula sites, but my tinnitus seem to be getting better, and I havenāt had an afternoon nap in a week. Iām actually feeling surprisingly good in myself.
@IvyGardener did they ever get back to you about your hearing issues?
@AMF how are you doing? Did you get through the first couple of weeks OK?
Wishing everyone the best
Tisha
Well done, Tisha - youāve had quite a journey! If youāre only 2 weeks post treatment youāre probably still finding climbing the stairs is like tackling Everest - at least thatās how I felt! I too had some tinnitus with treatment, but this seems to have cleared up now. I had a sound like the jangling of electronic keys in my left ear at one point - but that passed. Hope all will be completely cleared for you.
You will get stronger week by week, but just try not to get frustrated if you arenāt jumping up and down with energy as quickly as youād like to - the treatment takes a real toll on your body.
Wishing you all of the very best, and always great to hear updates from our ladies on here! X
Hi hope you are both well.
Great that you have finished your treatment Tisha and things are moving in the right direction.
It will take time to get back to normal, if thereās such a thing. But life will slowly return to what you had before and you will be able to put all this behind you.
I have just had my third chemo session and almost at half way point of radiotherapy sessions. Up till now no issues feeling good. I just take one day at a time if things go downhill Iāll just have to get on with it.
Hospital have been great so far no complaints.
I have MRI scan on 6 September to see how things are and if Iām suitable for brachytherapy it will be 10th, 15 and 16 September not looking forward to it but I know its a main part of the treatment and I want to be rid of this cancer once and for all.
Onwards and upwards 
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Hi!
@Jacks133 yes, stairs are the worst! Even if Iām having a good energy day, I still find that stairs knacker me out! Iām really glad your tinnitus cleared up. That ringing is really annoying, Iām glad mine seems to be getting better. Itās so great to hear from someone whoās been through the treatment successfully. It seems like such a long wait for the results, so itās comforting to see it has worked well for others. X
@IvyGardener fantastic, Iām so glad to hear youāre doing so well. 
Try not to stress too much about the brachy. I was terrified before hand, and built it up to this big monster of a treatment in my head, but the truth is that whilst it isnāt pleasant, itās nowhere near as awful as I expected. I also have a massive needle phobia (which made Chemo each week a real hardship) and very bad veins, but I spoke to the brachy team and anesthetist before and they were brilliant, I was able to be sedated pre cannula and spinal, which really put my mind at ease. After that, itās a lot of waiting around for treatment, which you canāt feel at all whilst itās happening, and then having the bits taken out, which I honestly donāt remember at all because of the drug they gave me at the time (a bit like gas and air, but stronger).
Congratulations on being nearly half way through, youāve got this. X let us know how you get on.
As always, best wishes to all
Tisha
