Radiation or not after surgery for endometrial cancer?

External beam radiation (EBRT), which is apparently what you had, has many more immediate and long-term side-effects than does vaginal brachytherapy, where the radiation is very short-range, and really only affects the vaginal wall. This is clear both from people on this forum and from clinical trials on these procedures. So your experiences probably aren't so relevant to @marceyw's decision.

I'm sorry that you're still having side effects and that your cancer came back anyway. That's really rotten. (I know; mine came back 10 months after I finished chemo and brachytherapy. I have been wondering if my outcome would have been better if I had had EBRT, and I'm working on trying to find someplace where I can get it done now.)

I had 25 rounds of radiation after my endometrial cancer surgery in 2020. I went along with whatever the doctor said and never questioned the oncologist/surgeon,radiologist/hemotologist. Now that I am more knowledgeable I would never have radiation again. It was brutal while having it and all these years later I have late side effects that have been very difficult to live with.
I had recurrent endo cancer earlier this year with 6 rounds of chemo and keytruda and finished up in May. Pet scan showed all clear and had another petscan in Nov. Next one is Feb.21. I will be on maintenance as the very tiny cells were impossible to remove. As you all know,treatment after the first time is much more difficult. My vision is poor, as is my hearing.Neuropathy in hands and feet make like difficult and the joint pain is tough.
All of you who have praised radiation have been very fortunate but not every one has the same experience.

I had the complete hysterectomy and several nodes removed on 1/9. I am feeling remarkably well. Since it was done robotically through 5 small incisions and removed vaginally, I didn’t take pain medication for more than 4 days. Then I moved to Tylenol for another 3-4 days. I haven’t had to have anything else. There is still a lot of fatigue and my other organs trying to sort themselves out to their new spots when I cough or laugh. I still have to restrict heavy lifting for a couple of weeks. However, I’ve been able to return to running our business and cooking meals. I can drive again. I’d say fatigue and moving or stretching wrong causes the most discomfort. Prayers that your Grandmother does well.

I should know more after my appt with the radiologist on the 20th. She comes highly recommended. I’m trying to write down all of my questions. Thank you for responding.

I also had 3 treatments with brachytherapy and think that it is worth doing. It is somewhat uncomfortable and very undignified for 10-15 min each time. I had no immediate side effects. After a month or so you need to either start using a vaginal dilator or engage in sexual activity to avoid long term issues.

If there are stray cancer cells in your body, diet and lifestyle probably won't do much to prevent recurrence.

If your cancer was Grade 1 or 2, a recurrence would probably still be curable, but that's still really worth avoiding if possible.

I had 5 sessions of brachytherapy (for stage 1b figo 1 endometriod
adenocarcinoma), and had no problems at all either during the course of treatments, nor any side effects afterward. (They do recommend dilator use several times a week for 10 min forever afterward to prevent vaginal scar tissue which can occur). I too had been worried about any possible side effects, but knew that I would never forgive myself if the cancer came back and I had not done everything possible to reduce the odds…

Hello @marceyw

Maybe we can help each other.

My grandmother (age 88) stage 2 endometrial carcinosarcoma with spread to cervix just completed 3 brachytherapy treatments and 5 weeks of radiation. Other than gas and diarrhea, she did not have any other side effects. One of the brachytherapy treatments was uncomfortable for her (the removal of the applicator) as she was awake and refused pain medication. Following that, she did request medication and they ended up just sedating her briefly to remove.

She is scheduled for a hysterectomy on Tuesday and would really like your input on the recovery. Her surgeon did NoT want to operate first- hence why she did RT before surgery.