i am just 5 weeks post treatment and would like to reiterate what all the other lovely ladies have said. This forum certainly kept me sane at times and it is good to be able to chat to others who really do understand what you are going through.
My advice would be to accept all help offered and not to try to ‘be brave’. I thought I would be able to cope alone (well with Darling husband) but once I accepted this was not the easiest way and let my family come and stay (one at a time) it was such a relief. Just having someone to shop/cook/hoover/chat to really helped.
Other advice, be kind to yourself, allow yourself to have a cry or a down day... but try not to wallow! And sleep as and when you need to! I am still in need of a daily nap.
Let the radiotherapy nurses know - honestly - how you are doing. They will know what will help. And don’t forget that it will get better and the treatment is saving your life!!
and those salt baths..... my daily treat!
dont be afraid to ask anything or just to chat on here it is all very fresh to me!!
Thank you all for your lovely words and advice. I’m glad everyone got through the treatment, with a few challenges but nevertheless I can see the smiles on your faces via the words you have writte. Half way through my treatment now, I’m pretty sensitive to the chemotherapy as I started being sick with 5 hours of having it, being and feeling sick, until they decided to put a driver in that gives me anti sickness 24 hours. My friends and family have been amazing and I would not be as sane as I am now without them.
Must admit I’m dreading the next few weeks, I struggle to sit down now never mind in a few weeks.
welcome to the forum....One thing I didn’t mention on this forum was I did used baby bottom butter from Waitrose..it was wonderful...soothing as you would expect for babies and smelt wonderful. I left my areas free from anything other than very regular salt baths...which got fewer the sorer it got. What you have to remember is it will get better once treatment has finished. A little peek occurs after treatment that feels the worse time but it will go quickly. Allow plenty of air to the area that’s sore. When you are home go knickerless...soothing water to the front of your girlie bits when you wee and sitting in water when you need to do no.2. Oh how we find talking about this area the normal now...keep your chin up and keep smiling..we are here to see you through! Any questions do ask. Mandyx
You are right at the part of treatment where it becomes more challenging and painful. If you keep your lady bits covered in some sort of ointment it will prevent the pee from hitting the skin and burning. But just make sure it's all washed off prior to radiation. Nothing really helped with the pooping pain, but pain pills help a lot but not completely. Allow the area to air. When I was in the hospital I stacked pillows around me so that I wouldn't just be exposed should someone enter the room. I still sit on a pillow because I'm underweight and I sat on my hip for the last two years. I think I've got my spine out of whack from sitting sideways. I apologize if I'm repeating myself. I didnt go back and read previous posts. I hope this time breezes by for you with minimal discomfort. Several months ago I started putting on headphones and listening to music or a podcast or watching youtube videos. It got me through some days that I wasn't feeling like doing cartwheels.
I live in Texas and wasn't told to go to radiation with a full bladder. Apparently this is to protect your bladder from the radiation. I also was not referred for pelvic floor physical therapy (not fun at all) but it is important to get that area back to what it was prior to radiation.
Your body needs nutritionn to fight the disease so try to keep your weight on. I lost around 34 pounds and it's be reallly hard getting it back on.
Will keep you in my thoughts. Bum1, Cathy I'm glad you are doing ok. xo Sheri
thank you for your words of advice, Texasgirl I will certainly take on some positive wellbeing. Luckily I can afford to lose some weight but it must be so hard form you to try and put weight on, sadly I can’t give you any ideas as I’ve always been a bit chubby myself. Glad everyone ok.
How are you feeling Sunnyshine? Hopefully the worse is behind you now.
Some of us should be hitting our 2 year anniversaries of when we were diagnosed. A little longer for our end of treatment anniversaries. Is everyone doing ok?
I have a lot of digestive issues and my bum still hurts (some days worse than others) and i still get fatigued easily. But so far, no evidence of disease. Yaaahoo!
I'm still here lol. Still getting on ok, my hospital appointments are down to every six months now, so all is ok there, I'm loving the summer months, me and my grandkids love the beach and as I live in a beautiful part of the world I get to the beach often. I still get tired easily and sometimes need the toilet urgently but I suppose that's a small price to pay.
I too think of our little group often, I would have been lost without you lot!
Unfortunately, I think the digestive issues are part of it. Every few days it hits me unexpectedly so I don't eat if I have to go out and about. I found some digestive enzymes that have helped tremedously.
What fun to be able to spend time at the beach with your grandkids! It has gotten very hot here. We are on our way to a record heat summer.
i am now 10 weeks post treatment and slowly but surely starting to feel human again... unfortunately I was struck down with a bad case of shingles... down my bottom and the back of my left thigh.... so just as I was starting to feel better I was once again unable to sit down comfortably... that has just about gone now although I still have some residual nerve pain... I must have been really bad in a former life!
My daughter had a beautiful baby girl (grandchild number 3) 5 weeks ago and the thought of being able to spend time with them really kept me going throughout the rigours of treatment. Unfortunately I was not well enough to visit when the baby was first born and then had to wait another month due to the shingles, but I am finally here and loving every minute! Today the sun is shining, I am surrounded by family and loving life! There have been times when I have wondered if I would ever feel this good again..
i know that I still have a long way to go, my oncologist was unable to examine me at my 3 month post treatment check due to the shingles so I still don’t know if all the blasting has had the required effect.. I now have an appointment in September and will have scans just before so I am trying to enjoy life, learn to walk like a human and forget about all things hospital related
Sunnyshine,enjoy the good weather and know that however bad it feels now it will pass and we are all here empathising and wishing you well... I really did value the long cool salt baths especially towards the end and after treatment.
Sherri I hope it’s not too hot for you.. I’m sure a good hot summer for us is equal to your mild spring.
Cindy, I am so sorry to hear about your bout with the shingles. A couple of my family members had them and they say it is the most painful thing you can go through. It sounds like it's behind you now and you are feeling well enough to enjoy the grand babies. That's wonderful! I miss having little ones to play with. Our 17 year old grandson lives with us which we love and my daughter’s girls are 13 & 9. The 13 year old is into her own thing and tolerates grandparents, but prefers to be elsewhere which is understandable. The 9 year old is full of *** and always happy. She wakes up super early excited that it's morning. I am definitely not a morning person.
We typically do not have much of a spring here in Texas. It gets hot pretty quickly by June and doesn't cool down until well into September and is still warm but bareable in October. It was on our national news tonight that France was experiencing record heat as well.
It was great to hear from you and your positive attitude. My grandson had a bad stomach virus earlier in the week and I caught it a couple of days later. It's a challenge to get my system back in whack AND to get the weight back on.
