When I got the diagnosis and the doctor said, "We are going with concurrent chemoradiation," honestly, I did not really grasp what that meant. I wondered whether doing radiation and chemotherapy together meant it would be twice as hard, so I got scared first. Six weeks, that is, a month and a half. Now that it is over, it sometimes feels like that time was long, and sometimes I wonder how I endured it. If anyone facing similar treatment feels lost, let me write down what I went through, calmly.
The treatment ran on two tracks. On weekdays I went in every day for external radiation, and once a week I received a chemotherapy infusion. I was told the chemo drug plays the role of boosting the radiation effect, and perhaps because the dose was not large, nothing like all my hair falling out happened. Instead, for about two days after the infusion my appetite dropped sharply and I felt nauseous. Going for radiation finishes faster than you would think. The time lying on the table while the machine turns is only a few minutes. What was actually hard was the repetition of going to and from the hospital at the same time every day. It became as routine as commuting, but once I passed about three weeks, fatigue piled up bit by bit.
From the middle on, the effects on the pelvic area gradually appeared. It stung when I urinated, and I went to the bathroom more often than usual. Diarrhea became frequent, so I learned to avoid greasy or spicy food on my own. I ate mostly porridge and soft side dishes, and made a conscious effort to drink lots of water. My skin also turned as if scalded red and was sore, but applying the ointment I got from the hospital faithfully got me through it tolerably. I found it important to mention even small symptoms at every appointment. Rather than holding back and having it all burst at once, getting medication prescribed as things came up was much easier.
Toward the end of treatment I also received internal radiation, that is, what is called brachytherapy, a few times. It is a method of delivering radiation directly close to the tumor, and this felt a bit different from the external treatment. What I remember more than the procedure itself is the tension before and after. Once it was over, there was a heavy, uncomfortable feeling for a few days, but that too settled as time passed. Honestly, this was when my condition was at its lowest throughout the whole six weeks. I think I held on with the single thought that I was almost there.
Looking back, what helped the most was the ordinary daily management that was nothing special. Eating well, not overdoing it by making appointments, and just lying down when tired. Telling my family honestly that it was hard, rather than suffering alone, was also a big part of it. Treatment ending does not mean you become perfectly fine right away, so even after finishing it took a few weeks to recover. Still, feeling my body grow lighter week by week was such a welcome thing.
What I have written here is, after all, only my experience. Everyone's body and situation are different, so please be sure to consult your attending doctor about treatment methods and symptom management.