Oh, Radiotherapy, it’s easy, right?

This week sees the end of my active treatment – as 5 weeks of radiotherapy, and more importantly, 10 months of cancer treatment comes to an end, so I thought it was about time I popped something up about this stage of what’s been going on! 
I’ve lost count of the people who’ve told me in the last month that I must be glad my treatment is over. Or being told how easy radiotherapy is. Mostly by people who haven’t experienced it. But I guess they, like me a month or so ago, don’t realise just what a pain in the bum radiotherapy, rads, is! They don’t know about the side effects that mean your skin might blister and become sore and they don’t realise just how draining it is. How the fatigue will wash over you and leave you on the sofa for an age unable to drag yourself up. Or how sheltered I was having chemo at the private hospital because being in the radiotherapy department every day is overwhelming and full of people much sicker than me.  
If I am honest, I went into radiotherapy knowing more about the moisturiser I should buy to get through it than the treatment itself. That might still be true. But my radiotherapy has consisted of 23 sessions, over nearly 5 weeks. 15 of them were full boob radiotherapy sessions and then 8 boosters to the site of my lump. The boosters are apparently recommended for women under 40 so I’m taking my oncologists advice and having them too. 
But from what I’ve learnt from my nurses is that radiotherapy is essentially controlled high energy x-rays, targeted at the area of my cancer, that mops up and destroys any rogue cancer cells that might have made it through the chemo and the lumpectomy. 
So I now have a series of tattoos to help the nurses line me up on the machines. I get to wear these beautiful gowns whilst I’ve waited for the treatment. I’ve been shifted around and lined up to be fit with the soups and the infs the nurses chat about daily – I’m 24 this way and 92 that way. I’ve chatted to other people having treatment. I’ve read hardbacks. 
As for what happens during a radiotherapy session – I thought it best not to film it for you because my boobs are out and no-one needs to see that. But I lay on the bed, my hands above my head, clamped on to two bars, whilst the machine moves round me, shooting the rays in to me. And then for my booster, because this uses a different type of ray that doesn’t travel very far into your body, there’s an attachment that concentrates the effects. 
And as for the side effects. Man the tiredness has floored me. And it’s a strange tiredness that comes in waves. Hits you when you least expect it. And inconstantly. But until this week I thought I was doing pretty well with the skin based side effects – I had redness, what I assume it’s like if you’re sunbathing nekid and burn your boob, but I thought I was going to get away with missing out on the ‘skin breakdown’ I got warned about so much. But nope, just as I come to the end, my skin has to split. Which is so frustrating as I really don’t have the time for my skin to be all gross! Plus, it’s pretty painful.

But there you go, a bit about radiotherapy, well, the radiotherapy I’ve received anyway. I can’t praise my nurses highly enough. They’ve been wonderful, even when it’s clearly been a stressful day, but boy am I ready to not have to see them every day! 

9 comments

  1. I know the feeling. Tomorrow my last day of 16 days. All sore, red skin. The fatigue, anxiety and panic attacks are out of this world!! The only ones that under stand are the ones that have been thru it.

  2. I have just completed 34 days of radiation. Thankfully, I did not require chemotherapy after my lumpectomy, and my prognosis is very good. I’m 73 years young with very fair skin, blue eyes, and graying blond hair. I prayed my way through each session for healthy skin without burning and skin breakdown, and I’m blessed beyond measure because my breast skin is healthy with no burning. I’m only about 10 days out and all redness is gone! PTL! I’m hopeful the fatigue will soon leave. It’s been very hard for me to pace myself and rest. It has been a long seven weeks, but this WILL PASS.

  3. I to had radiation therapy. Had prostate cancer. The prostate was removed.
    Had 7 weeks of radiation treatment.
    Now I am a engineer , I like knowing things.
    So I took the tone to learn how the
    LINAC machine worked.
    After a time I was taking parts like used in the machine to make the X-Ray.
    Did not have many side effects.
    Just tired some time.
    I was teaching the good folks how
    The parts in the LINAC worked.
    I guess the information I got and the
    Show and tell I got to do made it better
    For me.
    The machine uses high velocity electrons
    Striking a tungsten target to produce the
    X-Ray. The beam can be shuttered to hit
    Just the spot needed.
    The strength of the beam can be adjusted
    For what is needed.
    All in all you might say it was almost
    Fun.
    I learned a lot. I taught a lot .
    My PSA is zero.
    All turned out good.
    By the way the machine is made by
    Phillips to some iris known as NORELCO.

  4. I opted for mastectomy and not lumpectomy, so I didn’t require radiation. I was diagnosed when I 39 yrs and now I’m 40 years

  5. I start my radiation treatments next week no chemotherapy needed
    I had a lumpectomy on June 6, 2023

  6. Hi there, my daughter 31 years old will start radiation soon we do not know nothing about it but your experience and comments help a lot. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

  7. I’ve had a mastectomy, in my 3rd course of chemotherapy out of 4 and then radiotherapy thereafter. I get anxious but I’m going to see it through. I hope I’m blessed enough to escape the skin reactions.

  8. I finished 21 treatments following lumpectomy. The tired is like no other. I was three weeks out from the radiation. My breast was healing really well then I developed a fever and began swelling with redness. No one told me that infections post radiation are a thing that can happen. Ended up having emergency surgery with powerful antibiotics in the hospital for 5 days. Came home with a wound vac. I’m ok. Just frustrated that I wasn’t told this was something to watch for

  9. I had 19 sessions of radiation for breast cancer. I had chemo first then a lumpectomy and a node removed near the arm pit. it all went well for about 5 weeks. then my skin started to split and was very tender. The area of radiation then stated to peel off and became infected with a staf infection. it took another 9 weeks to clear it all up. Daily dressings, antibiotics, creams, pre op solution gradually got rid of it all. I would have chemo over radiation any day.

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