I finished my radiotherapy on the 10th October and I am feeling so ill, I cannot seem to
Move and feel very light headed, also feel really down. Does anyone else have these side effects. I have had 3 days of this. Could anyone advise please.
Hi Lozzie
I think what you are describing is very common after rads ends. Although I didn’t feel ill as such, for a week or so after the last session of rads I felt a bit low and somehow a bit “lost”. I put it down to the whirwind of appointments - diagnostics, diagnosis, surgery, follow up post-surgery, rads, (particularly the relentless flogging up to the hospital each day for the rads), meaning that I hadn’t really had time to process the fact that I had had cancer, but once the rads ended I had time and space to reflect, and also didn’t have the “safety net” of meetings with professionals for a bit, so for a while I felt lower than I had at any point since diagnosis. And it gets better of course!!! I think this stage is one of the many that we pass through on our cancer experience, and maybe it is a necessary one even if a bit unpleasant at the time. Look after yourself, give yourself a few treats and rest as much as your body tells you to do, and then a bit more! xxxxx.
Thank you Optimissy, I have been positive throughout my treatments, and really have not let if effect my day to day living. I just cannot understand how rotten I feel after rads physically and mentally. I am have stopped taking hormone therapy as could not deal with 2 lots of after effects. Thank you for your helpful reply x
I reacted the same way, Optimissy. Was fairly upbeat & positive once the shock of diagnosis passed, then felt at my most ‘down’ in the week after finishing rads. In hindsight I was glad I took the time off work.
This does seem to be a phase quite a few of us have been through, Lozzie, hopefully you’ll feel better before long.
ann x
Me too, I think it’s the first time since diagnosis we are able to sit back and reflect on what the hell weve just been though and it’s a weird time , we went away for a week in the sunshine and it did me the world of good, I was just me again and not poor Jo with cancer , nobody knew me and I didn’t talk about it to anyone it was heavenly!
Took me a few months before the c word wasn’t the first thing I thought about every day but you get there and 2.5 years on it’s almost like I dreamt it all! Give yourself the time to reflect and you will find you start to feel a little better as the weeks go on Xx