Miscellaneous I also had endometrial cancer, stage1, grade 1B, and had a complete hysterectomy in Dec 2019. I had the 3 sessions of brachytherapy in March of 2020. The sessions themselves were painless, just a bit of discomfort and feeling of invasiveness. I found deep breathing & focusing on something other than what was happening in my vagina helped get through those very long 10 minutes. I had a little booklet with mindfulness tips that I read and practised during the sessions.
I used the dilator daily for the 1st 6 months, now just a couple of times a week. Both the gynecologist and oncologist said this was important, so I eventually got used to it. I find using it in the bath is most comfortable. I also had a couple of sessions with a pelvic floor pysiotherapist who helped me with exercises and understanding what was happening with my body.
As for long term side effects, there is some scarring to my digestive tract, so I no longer tolerate fats or milk in my diet. No bacon, butter, peanut butter, ice cream, mayo, etc in my diet. A small amount of chocolate is still fine, so I can live with that! I'm fairly small, so I was told the scarring happened because my organs are all fairly close together. Also, the urgency for a bowel movement or urination seemed unpredictable at first, sometimes I felt I really had to go, but nothing happened, other times it really was urgent. This has been settling down over the past year. Sex isn't the same as it was before the surgery, but my husband & I have found alternatives to the traditional. It's still good.
On the upside, I had a CT scan in December and met with the oncologist this week, and there is no sign of cancer. I don't have to go to appointments at the Cancer Clinic anymore, just 6 month followups with the gynecologist. I am cancer free!! This makes any changes to my body due to treatment totally worthwhile.
I hope this helps, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
Lorna
