Anal cancer and radiotherapy side effects

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Hi Wave 

my mother in law has just been diagnosed with stage 3 anal cancer. MIL, my partner and myself all went to the oncology appointment together and was given the massive list of side effects. 

One thing my MIL is concerned about with radiotherapy is that because she is having it directed at her hips and lymph nodes that she is going to be so sore she isn’t going to be able to lay down, sit or sleep. 

Does anyone have any tips or tricks we can try, to try and ease the discomfort she will feel. Thanks

  • Hi  and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.

    It's natural to worry about side effects when you're presented with a huge list. However, they have to tell you about every possible side effect that's known even though you might not get any of them. I had 10 days of radiotherapy to treat my breast cancer earlier this year and, apart from a slight rash on my chest, I didn't get any of the numerous side effects that I was warned about. Hopefully your mother-in-law won't get any either.

    As you know, the online community is divided up into different support groups so I'm going to recommend that you also join and post in the anal cancer group as you'll then connect directly with people who have experienced radiotherapy for anal cancer.

    To join just click on the link I've created and then join and post in the same way as you did here. You can also join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.

    It would be great if you could pop something about your mother-in-law's diagnosis and treatment so far into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.

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