Radiation or not after surgery for endometrial cancer?

Had brachytherapy 5 treatments to the vaginal cuff following surgery. Recommended because it is a likely place for recurrence.
Have Stage 1a endometrial carcinoma however it is Clear Cell. I had zero problems with the radiation. Nothing.
The radiologist oncologist also has follows me every 3 months. I'm 15 months postop so I have a way to go...clear cell is aggressive and I have the p53 gene. Been told I have done everything I can do at this point. Have the brachytherapy- be cautious but don't skip it if you're worried about side effects. Good luck.

@round2 I did not have cancer before I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer (endometrioid adenocarcinoma, FIGO Grade 1, Stage 1a) in 2019. I had been using estradiol for about 6 years prior to that diagnosis. It's a confusing controversy however my gynecologist and the providers at Mayo's Menopause and Sexual Health Clinic told me that minute amounts of estrogen are absorbed in the bloodstream when administered vaginally - which is essentially as if you are rubbing it on the back of your hand called "transdermal". Still, since my cancer diagnosis my doctors have told me I can no longer use estradiol. I guess it's why take the chance? The estradiol worked very well for me. I now use a vaginal lubricant two times a week that contains hyaluronic acid. You can purchase these products over-the-counter.

Which non-hormonal cream does your doctor recommend?

@ffr Doc said “maybe” the two are related. Also, I used Estradiol vaginal suppositories after anal cancer for 6 years to help heal the effects of radiation, but now they want me to change to a non-hormone cream because of possible recurrence of endometrial cancer from using Estradiol. Hmmm…. Hope that makes sense — I think chemo-brain is kicking in a bit!

@round2 many thanks

@pweichler,, thank you for sharing your experience , much appreciated

Hi, I also had early stage carcinoma sarcoma uterine cancer with total hysterectomy last March, 6 chemo treatments, and 3 brachytherapy sessions. I was also told the brachytherapy would reduce the recurrence by 5%. The radiologist and two gynecologic oncologists from two different clinics also recommended it. The radiologist said the side effects were lowered than with pelvic radiation. The first two sessions went fine. I may have had some fatigue. A few days after the third session I had intense pain with urination and touching the red, swollen area which extended forward for about 1 and 1 /2 to 2 weeks. I had been told I might have some vaginal dryness. They had recommended lidocaine, but I declined thinking it would slow healing. Probably would have been a good idea. The only relief I had was sitting in water. I dipped tissue in water if I needed to wipe the area. The radiologist later said they used a stronger dose since I had an aggressive cancer. Now that it's past, I don't seem to have other side effects. It would be nice to know what the radiation does to other tissues that it reaches. Hope this helps.

Brachytherapy is weird. Not painful, but the radiation protections and protocols were a grim reminder of what’s going inside your body. I had 2 treatments.
Do your oncologists think that your two cancers are related?
Please post updates. I’ll be rooting for you.

@ffr
Thank you for posting—I’m going through a similar scenario. Am meeting with radiation doc in a few weeks — only looking at brachytherapy treatment. I had anal cancer with chemo/radiation in 2018…now stage 3 Endometrial cancer with full hysterectomy (2 lymph nodes were positive) and half the chemo treatments complete. They can’t do external radiation because of history. Let’s stay in touch and share info. Hoping all goes well for all of us!

@ffr Many thanks and much appreciated

@ffr we wern't offered a mix radiotherapy , external and internal , it was mostly ,either or ,,Much appreciated ,