Hi Linda,
I'm Susan, a 40 yr old mom to my sixteen yr old daughter. I'm like you....
never missed a pap. Stage 2B. I had 5 rounds of cisplatin with my 28 rounds of
external radiation and then followed up with 60 straight hours of brachy - aka hell.
I've had no surgery....tumor was too large for a hysterectomy. 7x7x7cm.
I was also given a dilator to use and lubricating gel. Does your dilator have different
sizes? Maybe you can find something even smaller to use. Try a store that sells
sexual products and explain what you need. (my oncologist referred me there for
a good lubricant, but I haven't gone yet as I still have some samples they gave me.)
My treatment ended late summer. I had my first 3 month follow up in January and not
they are watching something at the top of the vagina. I started having bleeding after
intercourse that was much more than the little bit of spotting I would have normally as
well. After using the dilator between the end of August and middle of October, when I
first went back after treatment, I was extremely nervous about the pap because I had not been
using the dilator daily, but a couple times a week, and had not tried to have intercourse.
My gyne oncologist used a 'baby' speculum and it wasn't too bad, so the dilator works.
I was then brave enough to try having sex and while I have some spotting, not bad bleeding, until
recently, and it was ok. I would usually have a little spotting after using the dilator too, but not real
bleeding. The top of the vagina will close off if you don't either use the dilator or have regular sex to
prevent it. And you need to keep it open for examinations.
Last week, after the larger amount of bleeding, my radiation oncologist (I have 2 oncologists) did some
damage control and used lidocaine to freeze the area and silver nitrate. Apparently I have an area that
is not healing like it should have and the bleeding comes from that and what they are watching, a lump,
which could be scar tissue or not. I am waiting for a date to have an MRI - not easy to get where I live.
Overall I feel fine. I am on hormone replacement therapy and take a multivitamin and calcium with vitamin D
to ward off the early menopause effects. My radiation oncologist says vitamin C is good for healing after
radiation. Maybe you can try some?
Try using the dilator, even finding a smaller one to start off and move up when you can. Use lubricant to make it easier
and relax as much as possible. I know it's not easy. But you really have to do this.
Please feel free to contact me directly if you need someone to talk to at rowe.susan@...
I'd be happy to offer any support I can.
Susan
--- In Cervical-Cancer@yahoogroups.com, "dtsetsa" <dtsetsa@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi Everyone,
> I am a 44 yr old mother of 4 (ages 25,23,21 and 2 yrs old). I was
> diagnosed with stage IIIB a year ago. I have undergone chemo
> (Cisplatin), radiation, and Brachy Therapy.I also kad a
> Ureatorecotmy (sp?) - they cut off the ureator from my kidney to
to
> bladder and reconnected a small piece from my kidney to the top of
> my bladder to remove the cancerous part. I wish they would do a
> hysterectomy but they say it's out of the question for someone in
my
> stage. I don't understand how I passed all my pap smears, was 6
> months late for my last one and in that time develop cancer to the
> IIIB stage.
> I have a question - I was given a dialator and was told to use it
to
> streach myself back to normal size (it had shrunk inside) and I
> haven't been good about using it. Now, between the opening of my
> vagina and my cervix there is like a wall blocking out like 90% of
> the area and the tissue bleeds very easily. I asked my Doc's nurse
> and she said that it was because I hadn't been using the dialotor.
> (I didn't know about the easy bleeding then.)Have any of you
> experienced this? If I try to use the dialotor it is very painful
> and bleeds all day afterwards. Is this normal?
> Thanks for all of you being here. - Linda
>
I too hate using the dilator, 2x the doc had to open up the vagina
to be able to do a pap. i even hear a pop when he did this,he said
the mucus gets thicker and cause the walls to stick to together. you
nedd to have your paps done every 3 months so i urge to to use the
dilator. they gave me 3 different sizes to use. also i found a good
gel from specers or olive oil. i bled a little I had a
hysterectomy after chemo/rad. beth 2a
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