lakeswim wrote:Curious about lack of chemo. I thought W&W involved everything upfront. But I’m still learning so perhaps your tumor hadn’t spread beyond your rectum (like mine has - hence the chemo and chemo/Rad up front).
I’m also curious if the radiation effects get WORSE over time as it continues to work on the tumor? Because I’m a week out from the end of radiation and my stool is better than it was BEFORE I was diagnosed. (Still a little concern about urgency but I think it’s more paranoia.)
My tumor is apparently large too (though it diminished a bit with chemo).
Yet it’s interesting that the RadOnc said the radiation only continues to work on the tumor and normal tissues should start healing right away. I wonder if location plays a big part in this or it’s just the individual.
The radiation shrinks the tumor but it takes a while to get started and then it gets going to the point where it makes passing easier. I noticed this one to two weeks before finishing as well. The pain from the radiation's effects were there and they continued for two weeks. But the time after those two weeks were the best - the tumor was so small it didn't slow things down and the effects from the radiation were healed up.