How was your 20 doses of RT...?

User

Posted 28 Sep 2026 at 19:00

Dear, All

Hope you are doing as well as possible.

Next week I go for my CT planning scan ahead of four solid weeks of RT. Can I ask you how it was for you so I have an idea of what to expect -- from the CT scan through the hefty four weeks of week daily RT treatments...?

I`m apprehensive to say the least. As an added complication I have a very gassy digestion so keeping that at bay for four weeks will require me to completely change my diet to bland foods that don`t create gas.

I mentioned this to my consultant I as I thought he might decide to put in a spacer to protect the bowel, but he felt it unnecessary.

Your replies will be much appreciated by Mr Worry Guts.

Thanks, LB

User

Posted 30 Sep 2026 at 01:10

Al Tony
Different to husband's experience. Enema was non negotiable! The ' procedure' was explained first at planning session. Appointment was with the machine. I'll go through it as he was told.
Appointment 9.30am with machine.
Arrive 8.30am
Drink 2 cups of water , do a wee.
8.40 take enema
8.50 to 8.55 after enema has worked drink 4 cups of water.
9.am log in with bar code and walk down to waiting area.
9.30 called in to machine.
This worked literally like clockwork.
I went every time and a couple of times I had his 4 cups lined up as he was in the loo a bit too long! I was also there to chat to. But some guys on their own and women waiting for RT too
Superbly organised. He was seen on the dot 18 times out of 20

User

Posted 29 Sep 2026 at 19:58

Husband finished 4 weeks in July. Overall it went very well.
He didn't have a spacer either. The oncologist said they'd found them more of a hindrance with new machines.

Before he started it he asked his GP for 5mg Tadalafil as although its not proven and in doubt there is a school of thought the extra blood flow helps prevent upper urinary tract damage so his GP approved it
Staff were excellent. I did go with him everytime. We got into the routine and only twice were they a few minutes late calling him.
He ate a lot of chicken and mash ! We erred on the safe side.
The hardest thing possibly he said was his bowels getting used to not having the enema afterwards. If you have an early morning appointment it's perhaps easier to get your bowels into a routine. A few days he did havevlater appointments and once or twice the machine had broken down so he got a much later appointment. If he'd already been to the toilet that day he was told to take the enema anyway and if nothing happened not to worry. There was guidance at every step of the way
Parking can be an issue but I think you'll be fine. I wish you all the very best

Edited by member 29 Sep 2026 at 22:19 | Reason: Extra information

User

Posted 29 Sep 2026 at 22:35

Linkbekka,

avoiding greens, beans and fizzy drinks helped me. I forgot and ate cauliflower one time which did cause some wind so I was sent out to walk it off.

I found a brisk 2,000 steps helped shift the wind just before going in for a session.

I was sent out a couple of times but they said everyone gets that so do not worry and after more walking was ok on the second try.

20 sessions is pretty good as some people have 33 or 37 which must be a drudge.

I didn't really need the enema and it did cause some burning so gave it up part way through. I wish I had given it up sooner.

User

Posted 30 Sep 2026 at 18:37

I had 7 weeks of RT back in 2016. Overall I'd say it was no problem. I'm fortunate that I live less than 10mins from Clatterbridge, Wirral where I had treatment.
Process for me was more or less stick to same diet as sometimes a major change creates issues, although advised to avoid wind causing veg.
I'd get to hospital, use the mini enema and let that work. Go to waiting area, they'd ask you to drink 3 cups of water once they knew you'd be up soon. Get on table, moved around a bit to get you lined up with tattoo marks etc&watch the machinedo its thing.
Treatment itself no problem. It did affect bowel&bladder after a while, had a couple of accidents whilst out despite emptyi g bowel beforehand. That settled down & when I knew i'd be out for a while I'd use immodium which worked fine.Bowels & bladder did settle down. Think RT added to tiredness/fatigue (was on Zoladex, enzalutimide, abiraterone, prednisolone also).
As has been said staff are all great theres nothing theyve not coped with and will always help if any problem.
Not every centre uses enemas/cups of water etc the same way.
Peter

User

Posted 01 Oct 2026 at 13:27

I finished my 20 sessions in February. It took me 23 visits to get the full 55 greys planned. 2 of the days were down to me and the other a linac breakdown. All my treatments were at South Tees Hospital where mini enemas aren’t part of the system. The only time I had one was at myCT planning appointment.
We live only 15-20 minutes from the Hospital and , after I had my list of planned dates and times, I would phone about 40 minutes before my appointment and check they were on time. I would then drink 600 ml of water and come in. This saved a lot of hanging about, although , there were times when the ultrasound scan showed my bladder wasn’t full enough and I had to drink more, wait a while and get checked after another 20 minutes. The Hospital also gives free car parking to frequent users such as radiotherapy patients. As for diet, I was careful but didn’t change from normal food too much.
The staff were excellent, flexible, supportive and understanding.
There was some tiredness but the main side effect was on bowel movements which became looser and more frequent due to damage to the lower bowel lining. Continence was also impaired but pelvic floor exercises do the trick there.
Good luck.

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User

Posted 29 Sep 2026 at 19:58

Husband finished 4 weeks in July. Overall it went very well.
He didn't have a spacer either. The oncologist said they'd found them more of a hindrance with new machines.

Edited by member 29 Sep 2026 at 22:19 | Reason: Extra information

User

Posted 29 Sep 2026 at 22:35

Linkbekka,

avoiding greens, beans and fizzy drinks helped me. I forgot and ate cauliflower one time which did cause some wind so I was sent out to walk it off.

I found a brisk 2,000 steps helped shift the wind just before going in for a session.

I was sent out a couple of times but they said everyone gets that so do not worry and after more walking was ok on the second try.

20 sessions is pretty good as some people have 33 or 37 which must be a drudge.

I didn't really need the enema and it did cause some burning so gave it up part way through. I wish I had given it up sooner.

User

Posted 30 Sep 2026 at 01:10

User

Posted 30 Sep 2026 at 18:37

User

Posted 01 Oct 2026 at 11:52

I really appreciate your replies. good to know about what to expect moving forward.

What about weight loss...?

I`m not Mr Beefy -- just a burger and chips under ten stone. But I am slightly worried about a month on a very strict bland diet which I assume I need to keep the wind away...

I have read of guys losing a fair amount of weight.

How did you get on?

Thanks.

User

Posted 01 Oct 2026 at 13:27

User

Posted 01 Oct 2026 at 14:33

Husband didn't lose any weight at all. I make my own bread so I made white leaves for a while. He did have a mild curry out one night with no real side effects. He didn't ear cauliflower or broccoli and kept up his water intake to 2 ltrs

He was told to drink 2 ltrs a day 10 days before his planning session.

One more thing. For several months before he was doing the Squeezy app for his pelvic floor. We both think this is a much underused underrated weapon against ED and incontinence. Its an NHS app that charges a one off fee of £4.99 and no more. He does a 3 minute session 4 x a day

User

Posted 03 Oct 2026 at 22:30

I finished my 20 fractions of RT yesterday. 🙌 I took notes each day and decided that I would write a post at the end showing what a session looks like. That post was just approved here Anatomy of a Radiotherapy Visit

Generally it went quite well, with minimal side effects. A bit of bowel irritation at times (but not full-on diarrhoea), which tended to get worse in the last couple of days. They say side effects can peak up to two weeks after it finishes, but my "intestinal uncertainty" feels quite a bit better already today. 😀

I also went to Oxford so had the daily Micralax enema (photo link in the above post), which I have to say gave me "void the bowels" urges within 5-10 minutes most times. After 20 of those in a month, my gut thanks me for not having to have one today. 🤣

I found I needed more than the 1 hour to get ready (the actual bowel emptying seemed to take longer than you might expect), so I always arrived at least 75 minutes before the "zapping time". I don't like hospital parking, but I do love riding bikes, so I rode in from the Park and Ride 2.25 miles away 19 out of 20 times (8.5 minutes best time 🚲). One of my appointments was postponed from a Friday to a Saturday due to machine breakdown. So I parked at the hospital that day (also in order to get my 3 months of free hospital parking on that car number-plate 😘).

I also found scheduling in a ride each day - even if only that 4.5 miles total was a good thing. I normally ride about 150-200 miles per week, but I scaled that back a lot during treatment. The thinking being that the excess energy my system is used to consuming can be given over to repairing the X-ray damaged tissue.

They say that fatigue will likely build up during treatment. I found I was needing a nap every afternoon in week 1. Thereafter I hardly needed any naps at all. Although I did have one in week 3 and one on the final day. I did however greatly reduce my riding in the last two weeks. (although I did a 49-mile club ride with a slower group than usual on the Saturday after week 3 - and had a beer afterwards, which wasn't the best idea but wasn't disaster either 🤣 - bit gassy)

Pelvic floor exercises. Yes. I did those too. I had a prostatectomy in 2020. This was SRT (Salvage RT) to zap some stray cells that got left behind. I built up very strong pelvic floor muscles in 2020 and did some extra exercises in the months prior to this RT to ensure they were still good. I never bothered with apps, but they work for lots of people.

I was told my pubic hair would fall out. Well it hasn't yet. It does seem a bit thinner though, although it isn't something I monitor closely. 🤣

Erections still work. Seems a little slower than before.

I gained about 1kg during the month.

No incontinence from either end, but maybe a little "dribbly looseness" from the back end when sitting down for the first wee of the day. Turned out to be mucous, which is a known thing.

I really enjoyed the telephone review this week on Wednesday...
"How many times are you getting up to urinate at night?"
"None!"
"Oh! Well if it becomes bad you can stop drinking a couple of hours before bed."

This may be unusual. I don't mind being the freak on this occasion.

I am a bit OCD with instructions. I follow them to the absolute letter. If you do what they tell you as closely as you can, things will go as well as they can. I had to drink my 6 cups (900ml) a couple of minutes before the 45 minute check-in time. I found it took me about 2 minutes, so I started that 47 minutes before zapping.

At no time was my bowel too full or my bladder not full enough. The reason for the full bladder is to minimise side effects to the bowel and other organs. A comfortably full bladder pushes those away from the beam.
People joke around the water cooler. One old-boy boasted "I'm supposed to have 6 but I only do half-cups. They haven't said anything yet. I've got away with it". 🤦
I nodded politely - what else could I do? Tell him "you just increased your side effects potential!" Nobody would thank you for that.

The whole process is a bit tedious. I found week 4 seemed to drag a bit, but it was helpful to think of each session as 5% of the treatment. So after week one 25% done. It's a month in the toilet and down the toilet. But hopefully now I can begin to get on with my (lengthened) life again. 😀

Bit tired today so I only did 22 miles 🚲 I've signed up for a 200km Audax on 7th November. I don't know if I'll be able to do it or not, but I hope so. (Did one in August, but it might be too soon after RT).

Anyway I hope this gives you some more information. None of it is scary. Enemas are very emotionally offputting, but actually they're not that big a deal. Just make sure you lock the door. Last thing you want is someone walking in on you while you're shoving one of those in 🤣

Week 1 is "stressfully exciting", by week 4 it's a tedious routine.

Edited by member 04 Oct 2026 at 10:51 | Reason: typo correction

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Two cannibals named Ectomy and Prost, all alone on a Desert island.

Prost was the strongest, so Prost ate Ectomy.

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