Recurrence in pelvic lymph nodes (radiation treatment)
I was diagnosis sept/17 with stage 3 high grade serous carcinoma. I underwent a radical hysterectomy 9 days after my diagnosis (HUGE tumour). I lost most of my abdominal wall to the tumour. They put me back together with mesh, which developed a life threatening infection and I underwent a second major surgery in Nov/17. I began carbo/taxol in Dec/17. 7 rounds. I finished in May/18 and my CA125 immediately began climbing. Aug/18 I underwent a CT and it was discovered that it was back in my pelvic lymph nodes. Stage 4. I am about to begin 30 treatments of radiation. I am married with 4 teenagers. This is HARD. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Chemo made me desperately ill. I am wondering what I should expect from radiation. The Rad Onc tells me I should only experience diarrhea and fatigue, but I’d love to hear from my sisters...
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Yes, please connect with your DR team to get a handle on how to prepare for the side effects so you can try to be as comfortable as possible. Hoping those who have experienced radiation can offer you some tips.
Welcome to the chat site and we hope you will view the other topics and find much support here.
Here is the link to order By Your Side and/or Still By Your Side, which is geared for women dealing with a recurrence.
https://ovariancanada.org/living-with-ovarian-cancer/support-resources
Your health care team should also be able to provide a handout or information about radiation and what to expect. If not, you could ask your nurse or the patient library at your cancer center. Did you receive anything in writing?
Anyway, it seems to me that a few months after the radiation was all finished, I had a bit of food poisoning or something, which caused diarrhea, so I had that burning that @ErinB mentioned, so I used Penaten Daily Clear Protection, which they sell in the baby products section of the pharmacy.
I found that eating a bland diet was helpful but didn’t eliminate diarrhea. Leafy greens, fried foods, and dairy will not be your friends. I would also use unscented baby wipes instead of toilet paper when I felt very sore. The cream sounds like it would be helpful but I didn’t use it. I drove myself to and from radiation so fatigue wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t do that.
I did find morning appointments better for me and I would go into the rad appt without eating. I’m not sure why but if I ate before rad I would feel more nauseated.
I became sensitive to eggs and even more lactose intolerant after treatment ended. Still have those sensitivities. I also still have fatigue 2 years later but it was most intense about 2-4 weeks after treatment ended. I was not expecting that!
I wouldn’t say it’s worse or easier than chemo, just different. Please feel free to tag me if you have any questions now or during your radiation treatment . 💓
You are getting great feedback - hope it helps! Thank you to @ErinB @Elsie13 and @cdot for sharing your thoughts and tips in dealing with radiation....