MY WOMEN INTUITION, SAVED MY LIFE PART II (RADIATION THERAPY)

After the surgery, I was more scare, I was told to have Radiation Therapy. Something I hear before , but have no clue what is was about, how it work, what I need to do, it gone to be painful, and to many questions came to my mind, that why I feel so important to write about this treatment.

WHAT IS A RADIATION THERAPY?

Radiation therapy,also know as radiotherapy, is a local treatment that treats cancer in a specific area of the body. Radiation therapy uses high-energy ray to kill cancer cell or to reduce the risk of them reoccurring in the part of the body being treated. It works by damaging the cell so they cannot reproduce and therefore they die off without being replaced.

In preparation for radiation therapy women are seen by a team that includes a radiation oncologist, radiation therapist and nurse. Treatment is carefully planned and the process of planning includes visiting the radiation therapy clinic for special markings to be placed on the skin over the treatment area. Sometimes this may include a small dot tattoo. The marks are to ensure the radiation therapy is delivered to the exact place it is needed.

Treatment is given Monday to Friday, usually for about six weeks.

For the treatment, you are escorted into the treatment room and positioned on the treatment couch. This is a especial couch and usually there is no mattress on it.

Family and close friends may come with you but they will be asked to leave the treatment room during the time the radiation therapist are positioning you.

You position on the treatment couch will be assessed and adjusted, so that you are in the correct position for the treatment. Lines may be drawn onto your skin with a text like pen, you will be ask that when you are bathing that you so not wash these lines off. The staff will renew any faded lines daily. These marks are only required for the time you are having treatment and will not be permanent.

When you are in the correct position, you will need to stay still. The staff will give you final instructions prior to the start of treatment.

The treatment is painless and is usually complete within a few minutes.

Treatment involve a machine treating you from a number of different directions. The treatment machine can be moved from the control area outside the treatment room, so it may not be necessary for the staff to come into the room until your treatment is completed. You may be in the treatment room for up to thirty minutes. However, this actual time the machine is on from each direction is very short, often around 20 second. You will not feel or see anything while radiation is delivered, but you may hear the machine operating.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS:

Radiation therapy does not make you radioactive and it is safe for you to be with other people. Radiation therapy is painless, but there may be some side-effects localised to the treatment area. Usually this is a redness of the skin like mild sunburn. Some persons also feel tired toward the end of the treatment period, and this feeling of tiredness may last for a few weeks.

You will be given specific advice about caring for you skin in the treated area both during and after the course of treatment. If you get a skin reaction like mild sunburn, this will occur towards the middle or end of treatment.

It is important to get adequate rest, eat well and drink plenty of fluid during treatment to look after you general health. Regular, gentle exercise can also be helpful for your overall felling of wellness.

SHARING THEIR CANCER EXPERIENCE:
*** " I think you have to believe that things will get back to normal. When you're going through treatment that can be hard to do but focusing on the future is important" Carol
***" When I was first told I had breast cancer I lost a lot of my confidence. I didn't think I was ever going to feel strong again, I learnt though that I could get over this and feel like my old self again. Now I think I'm in some ways even stronger emotionally than before" Margaret
*** There were some positives. I'm not keen to go trough the whole experience again mind you, but there were positives. I think it's important for other women to know that. The things I learned I now apply to new situations and aspects of my life.Christine
*** I concentrate on myself a little more now. Not that I've become selfish but now I do what's right for me and my loves ones. I don't try to please everybody or be everything to everyone. I guess it's self preservation" Bronwyn.
*** I've brought more of the thing I enjoy into my life and I continue to do the thing I love. Humor was important to me during my cancer experience as well. I really valued people that could make me laugh. Having a good laugh, sharing a joke, or seeing the funny side of things is important to me" Helen.