feeling hopeful

Yay for finishing chemo!!

That is an acomplishment so celebrate!! Congratulations!!! As far as the brachytherapy....well I don't have experience with that but personally after my journey of being stage 1A and supposedly cured after the surgery.....I would do everything possible to prevent any little beasts from returning! But it's your body and your decision. All the best! xo

Congrats! Ribbons!!!!!

Major milestone. Congrats on finishing chemo. Now, give yourself plenty of time to heal. It took me about 18 months to get back to an almost normal level. I am 3 years out now and feel great most of the time. I did do brachy - 5 lower doses instead of the 3 higher ones to prevent damage. I stopped using my dialator about 6 months ago and am still sexually active a few times a month. So far, no problems. For me, doing everything possible to prevent a recurrence was the right decision. I do have some vaginal itching at times and use a vitamin E suppository that takes care of it. That has been my only issue and is truly mild and easy to resolve. I consider myself lucky. 

There is a thread titled 'Let's talk about radiation' that I think will help you in your decision making. I hope you take the time to read through it.

Love and Hugs,

Cindi

Here is the "Let's talk about

Here is the "Let's talk about radiation" thread:  https://csn.cancer.org/node/296985

Lots of good stuff there. 

I had brachytherapy

The new NCCN guidelines recommend for stage 1a High grade serous is for chemo and brachytherapy after a study showed that the combo was more effective for overall survival. However, I was still torn especially after reading the stories here about people's struggles with radiation and it's after effects years later. Brachytherapy today is very targeted and is appropriate for Stage 1, but it still scared the crap out of me. After reading what I could I decided to go forward because the vagina is one of the first areas to recur. And in my case my idiot gyne instead of just biopsying my tumor, decided to remove it and the polyps because he was convinced it was just a fibroid issue.  He removed the tumor without knowing what he was removing and then proclaimed that I had no cancer despite the fact that he had no pathology report. When the pathology came back USPC, I realized that he (a surgeon but not an gyne oncologist surgeon) may have spread cells, tissue during the hysteroscopy, into the vagina. My oncologist said not to worry because any residual cells would be killed by chemo and radiation. Sorry this is a round about way of saying that if there are any remaining cells, hopefully the brachy would zap them. The other alternative they said is to not have brachy, and hope you do not recur in the vagina. I had a very long discussion with the radiation oncologist about this so I would suggest that you ask them about each alternative so you can make your own informed opinion. My take is that for me, I trust my docs, but I need full disclosure and options. No one wants to distrust the advice and treatment they receive. 

 

Congrats for finishing chemo. I fininshed in late October 2018, and am feeling pretty good now that four months have passed. Hair started regrowing around Christrmas. You have completed a really difficult step.

 

xxoo

Denise 

My take on bracky

I was a 1a- no lymph so doc had me do 3 carbo/toxol and 4 bracky. One year later, had lesions on vaginal wall and had to do 25 external, chemo and 4 bracky!  Granted, the 8 bracky has scarred me badly, but so far, NED now a year out. I think I should have had external rads the first go round or the 5 carbo/toxol. I think my doctor was considering my age and stage, so less the 1st round.  Get a second opinion and make the right choice for you.