How brachytherapy successfully treated my cervical cancer

"You get up one morning and they call you and say you have a tumour. This is terrible, you have a life ahead of you, many things still to do, so you start living your life." said Antonella, a cervical cancer patient.

Nobody expects to be diagnosed with cancer. We live our lives without thinking it might happen to us. Antonella didn't expect it either. She is 62 years old, has 2 children: a boy and a girl, and a 3-year-old grandson from her daughter. She lived in a small village near Rieti in Italy in the middle of the woods. She is a very positive person, has a healthy diet and nobody in her family has had cancer.

"I'm very satisfied with my life, the work I do, my family, with the place where I live. I live and work in a wonderful place surrounded by nature, so I wouldn't expect anything like that", said Antonella. Yet it was not enough. Cancer can happen to anyone.

When she was diagnosed, she felt sad because it was so unexpected. Who would expect it? It took her a while to digest it and understand her options. "I was offered a therapy that could even leave me intact. It wouldn't even take a piece of myself, of my body and this immediately heartened me. I mean, I thought, no matter how hard the therapy can be, to remain with my body intact is a very important thing, to not undergo surgery", she explained.

The physicians proposed three types of therapies that could be applied to her cervical cancer: chemotherapy, external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy. The staff who looked after her gave her information on what she was going to face. "I was happy with it because all the staff were there, all the personnel, from the doctors to medical staff. Everyone was very close to me and they participated in this difficult struggle, this fight against the tumour."

Knowledge not only helps patients to get more confidence but it informs them with all of the treatment options available to them. There is a lot of information to take in and understand about the treatment and sometimes the combined treatment, the side effects, the advantages of each treatment and the possible outcomes. Elekta understands this and has developed a helpful Patient Guide for cervical cancer patients and those with other cancer types. The guide provides a wealth of information for patients, their family and friends about brachytherapy.

Antonella's outcomes

Antonella told us that the tumour gave her the impression that she could die at any moment. "You get up one morning, and they call to say: you have a tumour. This is terrible, you have a life ahead of you, many things still to do, so you start living your life". she declared.

Our team in Elekta knows that this is a particularly difficult time for anyone diagnosed with cancer. Because of this, more than the technology that we have pioneered, we want to give hope to cancer patients and their families. It is very important to us that every cancer patient who can benefit from brachytherapy knows that it exists as a viable treatment option.