Achy Brachytherapy

I've been avoiding trying to explain the next step...internal beam radiation or brachytherapy as the experts call it. I never knew such a treatment technology even existed, so the whole experience was a series of confusing and weirdly technical steps.  There are catheters and needles and probes, oh my.    All inserted in the vagina.  There is even a nuclear physicist involved. They would walk into the room with the radioactive "source" in a round metal cylinder.  They would "place" the source strategically in the vag and then the doctor (radiation oncologist) would check placement. Then all medical personnel...the doc, the nurses, the scientist, the cleaning lady, etc. would vanish--scattering in all directions to avoid exposure. Once they were safely out of range, a light would go on (literally the same sign for radioactivity you see in the nuclear power plant movies) and the clock would start ticking...something like 20 minutes at a time; laying there with what felt like a 6 inch diameter metal rod in your vag with your legs in stirrups.  I kept thinking about Chernobyl and 3 Mile Island between my legs.  I may have even seen a glow "down there".
Obviously I didn't understand it all, and looking back I should have asked more questions. Since this poor excuse of an explanation may not cut it for those who have been told they'll have to go through it, here's the official definition:
Brachytherapy involves treating disease by exposure to a radioactive substance. Doctors place a small radioactive source (pellet or seed) in or a short distance from a cancerous tumor. Brachytherapy allows use of a high dose of radiation while reducing the risk of damage to nearby healthy tissue and increasing the likelihood the cancer is destroyed.
Doctors may place brachytherapy seeds inside a body cavity, such as the vagina, or insert seeds into body tissue using hollow needles. Brachytherapy may be used alone or with radiation given externally. Radioactive seeds may be left permanently in place or removed after some time.
Brachytherapy is an effective option for some people who have prostate cancer or cervical cancer, and may be preferred for some women who have uterine (endometrial) cancer. Doctors recommend brachytherapy for people who are at risk for tumor regrowth in the upper vagina after removal of the uterus.

I had five or six of these treatments.  I guess it wasn't that bad.  Of course we say that about childbirth once it's over too. Bottom line is, this is the most powerful tool against this kind of cancer.  So who was I to oppose a little discomfort and humiliation?

They call it "therapy"... radiation therapy

Much like chemo, if you've never actually been there, it's tough to imagine what it's like. If you think about it, anything that you HAVE to do every day, whether pleasant or not, becomes a drag after awhile. So the first few sessions aren't bad, but you'll tire quickly of making the drive to the clinic (that smells like frying human flesh the minute you walk through the door) and the routine--wait, wait, wait, then drop your pants. 
Again, struck by the sheer volume of patients....who knew so many people had cancer?  Many are elderly and obviously frail...having been assaulted first by the disease, then by the treatment. I heard very personal stories in the waiting room...someone told me I was lucky to have breast cancer, because it was SO treatable.  Much better than throat or head, because radiation there makes you not able to swallow.  Perspective is good--always someone in a worse state...makes you almost glad to "only" have vaginal cancer. I didn't correct the guy...who wants to tell an elderly gent with throat cancer that you have cancer of the vag? Let him assume that every middle aged female there has breast cancer. They obviously have much better PR people than the vaginal cancer group...
Anyway, the treatment consists of young and artifically upbeat radiation techs leading you into the room and, in the case of vaginal cancer, lying on a table face down with your ass (discretely covered with a thin towel) up in the air.  You can't see much since you're facing the ground, but basically, they align the machine so the beams hit the area defined by tattoos placed strategically to get the radiation directed at the right area.  Each session takes about 20 minutes, excluding waiting time. Everyone's case is undoubtedly different; I had to do this every day for six weeks. Possibly the longest six weeks of my life. 
It gets difficult to explain to people at work why, when you usually work until 6 or 6:30, you suddenly have to leave every day at 4.
Radiation makes you tired; radiation to the pelvis gives you diarrhea.  That's it in a nutshell.