Being treated for anal cancer but my vagina is irritated...not my anus!

Hi mll, yes it quite normal for your vagina to become inflamed during treatment. I don’t actually know what the A D ointment is but people who have had the treatment on this site have use various creams to help with the effects. I suggest you speak to your treatment team for advice on what you will find helpful. Around the fifth week of treatment I became quite inflamed and my team recommended flamigel forte. This is good for acute and chronic wound burns. You are right to remove all creams before having the radiotherapy and hope you get some relief soon.

Hi mll , I had this irritation too, my vulva was affected as much as my bottom by the skin irritation, I also suffered from radiation cystitis & one of my radiotherapy girls advised I wash with an aqueous cream, they provided me with QV cream, I still only use this to wash with as it seems to keep the skin that was affected by the radiotherapy moisturised & helps stop it from drying out & splitting. You should be able to get this on repeat prescription. Just for reference I’m now 4.5 years out of treatment. 

Nicola 

I had reaction back to front, I'm afraid it's par for the course for radiotherapy.  If you look at the triangle between and under the little tattoos you get at your planning appointment the entire area is at risk of irritation.  Jaycee and Nicola have give you good advice about creams to use, I used the Flaminel Forte as well for quite some weeks after treatment ended.

But, take heart, you are half-way through.  I counted off the days and could have cheered on my last visit, I was so relieved, although in the grand scheme of things it really isn't long at all.  Let your team know if things start getting really uncomfortable.

Irene xx

Hi Jaycee12 really useful info thanks - are creams / gels prescribed by the nurses or is that particular type, flamigel forte, something you have to buy yourself? 

Hi mll I hope you manage to find some relief soon. May or may not help but I have dettol original soap that helps when I have skin irritation from the sun, I suffer with heat lumps / rashes at times.  I also have some natural beeswax & honey soaps, the beeswax and honey is naturally antibacterial and tend to only have one other ingredient in.  These can also be found with oats, or oat products in general help soothe the skin - my son suffers with eczema occasionally and oat based products always helps calm his skin down.  May be worth a try to help with the washing part in between using the flamigel or A&D ointment to help the radiation. Hope the rest of your treatment goes well x

Hello Em44 your hospital will provide you with the flaminal forte. When I became quite sore around the 4/5 week the skin nurse examined me and prescribed this and there is another one alongside this type but for a slightly different symptom. One was for a wet wound. I had a sitz bath and I bought some moogoo skin wash that is super mild and soothing. I also bought on Amazon some powders call domeboro which you add to warm water (instructions on packet) and soak a flannel in it and tightly wring out and place on your groin area to soothe and help itching and burns I found these super helpful. My husband purchased a long shower hose and a bidet tap at the end so I could sit on the loo and control the water flow on and off to help with washing when I had opened my bowels. Some swear by E45 for cleaning but unfortunately I couldn’t use it for some reason. My bathroom cabinet rapidly filled with creams and lotions so it was trial and error for me. The flaminal was well tolerated. The nursing team which you should have their contact details at all times are the go to people for help if nothing is helping. 

Thanks so much Jaycee12, all really good to know & very helpful. Really appreciate it x