On Friday 21 March, met up with Doctor Kumar at UCLH who is conducting research on the muscles of the rectum in different situations. My contribution is 'before' and 'after' radiotherapy. My R/T starts on Wednesday 26 March, so this was the 'before' stage.
Finally got to my appointment 5 minutes late and he whisked me straight in. First, the consent form: did I know why he was doing the research, did I know what was going to happen, had I had a chance to ask questions, did I consent? Yes, yes, yes and yes. So, down with the trousers and pants and up on to the couch, with legs drawn up and backside carefully positioned at the edge. First thing was a 'bit of ointment' which he applied using his finger and asked me to squeeze, using my anal muscles. As many will know, the pelvic floor exercises, which I do daily, come into play here and he was very pleased. There then followed two stages with different sets of equipment; one was the old stuff, the second was a new and updated version, sort of on test.
Anyway, up went the catheter and I was not to worry about the slight wetness as that was water coming out of the catheter. The first stage involved taking different readings at five points within the rectum, involving a squeeze and relax, a squeeze for five seconds and relax and a sharp cough, noting the readings at each stage. He initially had trouble finding a nurse to note the readings and so proposed entering them onto his mobile phone. Fortunately, a nurse was found and his mobile remained pristine. One of the tests was a sudden expansion of a balloon attached to the catheter to get the reaction and pressure reading. Needless to say, this was the most challenging part of the process which he acknowledged with the phrase 'sorry about that', before each expansion. Thankfully, it only last for a fraction of a second. The second stage was identical to the first using the new equipment. Following all of that, I was offered wet wipes and tissues to clean myself up. I don't think I made a mess.
After my R/T, between 3 to 6 months after, another set of readings will be taken to compare with the original set and determine how my rectal muscle control has stood up to 33 sessions of the R/T. I'll let you know. Exciting times, eh? Phil
