external radiotherapy

Many thanks to all the Sisters ,whose words have helped me in the last 5 weeks post op.
I am now about to start external beam radiotherapy.Feeling very anxious about this!
Can anyone advise and educate ?

Hi,

I had external radiation therapy five days a week for five weeks. The procedure itself is painless and only lasts for a short time. The first time you go, they will probably do a simulation, i.e., they will have you lay on the treatment table, take x-rays and identify your treatment field with a marker. Where I went, once they were sure that they had the field marked correctly, they tattoed the quadrants. At least then I didn't have to worry about the marking rubbing/washing off.

You will probably meet with a nurse or a radiation oncologist several times during your treatment. If you are having any side effects, like diarrhea or bladder irritabilty, be sure to tell them. There are medications to help you with these common problems. Also, be sure to ask them what foods, if any, you need to avoid during treatments. I found that I couldn't eat raw vegetables without getting very bad diarrhea, but cooked veggies were fine.

Be sure to get as much rest as you can and I'm sure you will do fine. I found that the anticipation of the radiation treatments was much worse than the actual treatment.

Good luck,

Jan