Chemoradtion treatments over but ….

My first chemotherapy infusion and radiation treatments were on 23 September 2024, that is 7 weeks ago. I was hoping for some improvements in energy levels and reduction in nausea after treatments finished. I must admit that there have been some small improvements but I now feel exhausted, rundown, and well and truly over feeling poorly. I spoke to a dear friend who went through cancer treatment herself 14 years ago. She told me that the 2 weeks after her treatments technically finished were hard. That made me go searching the oncology journals for further evidence that side effects can keep going after treatments finish. Sure enough, week 7 is documented as the period when symptoms peak, especially fatigue, nausea, sadness, and depression. Strangely, I found it reassuring to hear of another cancer patient’s experiences and read the common experience of others whose symptoms also peaked after cessation of treatment. It is Friday 8 November, almost the end of Week 7 😉. My radiation treatments only finished 6 November 2024, so the counting of 7 weeks is a bit more complicated than usual. Hopefully only 7-10 more days in the complete doldrums and then the sense of recovery starting. Day by day, slowly slowly. 😘😘

[I uploaded an article about post treatment symptoms to the Resources section.]