cervical and radiation/chemo

[#1]

I know the thought of the internal radiation is frightening. I was terrified about what to expect, but I found it was the easiest part of the whole process. I had 3 sessions in total of the bt, it takes about 10 minutes for each session and only around 5 minutes for the actual radiation to be delivered. If someone had have told me before hand 'its not that bad', I probably wouldnt have believed them! HRT for me is a must, due to my age. The risk for me for heart disease and osteoporosis without the HRT is huge.  I have to use the HRT until Im about 50! But if you are in your 40's you may have other options.  

[louisa]

thanks for info, doctor im seeing in hospital told me she reccomends hrt, and that there is nothing wrong with it but this info says very different for someone in my position.  i am certainly not in favour of harming myself and have had a dissagreement with her already about the safety of hrt.  she's not so good at listening, i can only hope she's a great surgeon.  what are ssri anti-depresants? and what makes them different from other anti-depresants? and do they have any side effects? and can you take them whilst undergoing radi/chemo?

[#3]

Hi Louisa, Glad to hear you sounding much better today.  With HRT, you are basically replacing what your body does not produce naturally on its own anymore. There are some hormone receptive cancer patients that can not use HRT, but in my case for cancer of the cervix being non hormone related the risks for me are nearly zero as far as developing other cancers like breast I am actually better off using HRT than without. There is so much info out there you have to be careful to relate the info to what is correct for your own situation. When I asked my onco what he thought of a natural based therapy he said it would be fine if I was a 'plant', which I thought was funny. I stopped using the HRT for about 6 weeks and told him about it, he said get straight back on or you triple your risks for heart and bone disease. I am so lucky that I have a really great doctor. I totally trust his advice and know he wants me to live a long healthy life so thats the direction Ive always headed in.  But i always do my own research and his info is always backed up by scientific fact. Having said all that it really is just down to personal choice. I know that I went into menopause literally overnight due to my ovaries being zapped by the radiation, the discomfort from the symptoms were quite horrendous for me prob due to my age, I could not imagine being able to function without the HRT now. Why dont you just wait and see what happens. they should do a blood test to check your hormones when your treatments are finished or before if need be, then you can make a decision based on how you're feeling.      

[Beccnat]

Hi, You may have to really push to get the hormone level blood tests before you start treatment and you may have to pay for them yourself. I did. I'm glad I pushed though, because now I have a baseline for what my normal levels were and it will make tailoring HRT easier if I decide to go this route. I've just be reading some very scary information on femoral head fractures following pelvic radiation, and am now thinking HRT may be the way to go to preserve bone density as much as possible. There really are just too many decisions to be made! Beccnat  

[Beccnat]

Hi Louisa, Some quick links to SSRI information: SSRI antidepressants and how they are different to other antidepressants:  http://www.australianprescriber.com/magazine/22/5/106/8/ Here is a basic introduction to hot flashes and SSRIs: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E5DE1F3AF930A15756C0A9669C8B63 SSRIs for hot flashes seem to be effective at half the dose prescribed for depression, and have a much better "adverse effect profile" (what ever that means - but it sounds good!) SSRIs are also being used to alleviate fatigue during chemotherapy with good results. On the down side, SSRIs have been linked to loss of bone-mineral density, which only compounds the effects of bone loss from chemotherapy and early menopause. Beccnat

[louisa]

ok but this info does say it is not advisable for women undergoing chemo to take hrt.  SSri anti-depresants seem a better option while on chemo then  i will ask onco about any side affects likely for me, i am a little worried about the bone density thing

[Beccnat]

Hi Louisa, I asked my onco about the loss of bone mineral density thing and his approach is to test at six months after the start of chemo, because then I will qualify for a free bone density scan. I'm thinking "How will I know if I've lost any bone mass if I don't have a baseline to measure it against?" It was the same when I request my hormone levels to be tested. Beccnat

[Beccnat]

Hi everyone,My long wait is finally over and I start chemo tomorrow, just in time for Christmas!I had a port-a-cath installed just under my collarbone today and the family is now joking that I'll be able to dock with the MIR spacestation!I'll be receiving Paxlitaxel IV over 3 hours, followed by Carboplatin IV over 1 hours, preceded and followed by a number of anti-emetic, antihistamine and hydrating fluids. Whole process will take around 6 hours I'm told.I had a tour of the chemo centre yesterday - I'll have my own flat screen tv and wireless internet access! Don't think I'll take the laptop tomorrow though, because it's going to be very quiet and the chemo nurses have promised to play dress-ups with the entire wig and turban library with me!I'm just feeling very blessed that this unit has opened (in February 2008) only 1km from the university where I work and I won't have to trek 3-1/2 hours every 3 weeks for my treatment. I just really, ferverently hoping that I respond well to the chemo and can start back at work part-time at least. They need me and I need the money!Hope everyone has a very joyous holiday season! It's starting to feel like Christmas here; the temperature hit 31° and it feels like there

[#9]

Hi Beccnat, Hope  your first chemo experience went okay today. The extra fluids and meds take twice as long as the chemo itself so a little annoying but they do the trick. I found lime cordial (heaps of ice) the best thing to drink as it helps with the queasy feeling and also keeps you well hydrated, dont know if they have you measuring your wee but it sure helps with that!! Hope you enjoy your christmas Not sure how Louisa is going but hopefully well.  

[Beccnat]

Hi Butterfly, I had to take Dexamethasone last night and again this morning. They didn't warn me that I would be wired as all get out! Finally managed to get to sleep at 3am last night. The chemo itself was pretty straight forward. Six hours in a recliner! Got to watch the American football on ESPN which was a hoot. I had my whole family come to watch, as the chemo nurse had explained that it would be a really quiet day and it would be good for my younger kids to see what was going on, before their imaginations created all sorts of tortuous procedures. Came home and promptly fell into a deep sleep. Just woke up at midnight for a snack after eating very little all day! Beccnat