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What Kind of Radiation Did You Get for Your Gynecological Cancer?
Gynecologic Cancers | Last Active: Sep 9 8:02am | Replies (136)Comment receiving replies
I’m about a month post-op a radical hysterectomy for Endometrial Cancer, grade 3/2C with all female reproductive organs removed including my cervix, 48 lymph nodes and part of my Omentum.
I suffer from colon and bladder complications post-op. When I pass gas or a bowel movement the pain that engulfs me can make me cry. The pain can be a 9-10/10. The gas never goes up to a 9 or 10 max is a 7.
When I live in a bubble: no stress, 100 ounces of water and green tea a day, stool softeners (my stools are not constipated at all, formed, smaller ) no real stress with movement, focus on relaxing my pelvic floor and lightly rock or slightly tip or twist instead of pushing, much cleaner diet, chew my food throughly, get 8 hours of sleep a night. The primary bowel pain can go down to a 3-7/10
The pain impacts my bladder too. If my bladder is more than half full the pain starts to climb. A full bladder could be a 7/10 pain.
My pain tolerance allowed me to deliver 2 babies at different times completely natural, no pain meds, and move through 2 broken ribs without pain meds.
I’ll be starting radiation soon. I didn’t know the bladder needed to be full. I don’t think I could handle that. Never had bladder issues before. Does it need to be full for Brachytherapy too? How can I protect my colon and bladder when a full bladder is used for the protection?
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@junglepeach Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer (endometroid adenocarcinoma) in 2019. I did not have the symptoms you describe after the hysterectomy. Since you were stage at 3/2C and from your description I wonder how the nerves and tendons were affected in your pelvic floor. Have you talked with your oncologist about your symptoms and asked these questions? The pain you describe makes me cringe as it sounds so excruciating.
Like you I had a radical hysterectomy. I was staged 1a so no other treatment in 2019 however I had a recurrence in 2021 and that’s when I had radiation therapy. I was advised to have a full bladder for the external pelvic radiation and this protects other organs. Considering the pain you describe I think if this were me I’d be asking the radiation oncologist lots of questions about how to prepare. Before your radiation therapy you will have a “simulation” that will provide the preparation for the actual radiation therapy. When I had the simulation I also had CT scans. Perhaps those scans will provide additional information for your radiation oncologist.
I did not have to arrive with a full bladder for brachytherapy. Some people here have shared that the brachytherapy they had where a radiation device is inserted into the vagina was very uncomfortable for them. I was comfortable throughout brachytherapy. I wonder now if some radiation oncologist used a radiation device that was not the right size for the woman - too large. Think of the speculum that is used in your pelvic exams by your gynecologist and how a size that is too large will painful or uncomfortable. Again, another question to ask your radiation oncologist.
When do you see your surgical oncologist again? And when are you scheduled to begin radiation therapy?