Lower stomach pain with Chemo

Hi Kelly, Thanks for getting in touch with us and welcome to the online community. My name’s Ursula and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists. I can see that you have joined a few of our forums, I really hope you are finding them supportive and helpful. I am sorry to read of your husband’s diagnosis of rectal cancer and that he has been experiencing lower abdominal pain. It’s understandable that you want to know more about this, and what he can do to help. As nurses on the support line, we do not have access to NHS medical records or information. We are not able to say what is causing his pain. However, with any new, increasing, or worsening symptoms it is always important to report these, and this should be done TODAY. This allows the team to make a full assessment and decide if he requires medication or further investigations to manage these symptoms. You have said that your husband is currently receiving chemotherapy and has had 5.5 weeks of chemoradiotherapy already. He should have been given a 24-hour emergency contact number for his hospital or chemotherapy unit. As he has been experiencing this new pain, he can contact this number for further advice and support. If he does not have this number at hand, he can also call the hospital’s main switchboard and they can put him through. If he has any trouble contacting the emergency 24 hour number or chemotherapy unit, or develops increasing symptoms, he can contact the 111 services or call 999. The 111 services can advise or arrange help if this is needed. I do hope you find this information helpful, but please do not hesitate to get back in touch with us if you need any further support. Best wishes, Ursula, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email. Ref: UH/AMc