Hi

Hi there Etta J,

Welcome to the online community although I’m sorry you’ve had the need to find us. 

The treatment you’ve described is the typical gold standard treatment for anal cancer, it’s the protocol that most of us have had on here, there are some slight variations with a few of us being involved in clinical trials but basically the same so if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask, we’re a friendly bunch & will help wherever we can. 

Personally I’m almost 3 years post treatment & doing well, if you click on my username you can read a little about my journey there. 

Nicola

Hi Nicola, 

Many thanks for your reply. Although my diagnosis is officially recital cancer, it’s actually so low down it’s more like Amal cancer. 

Ny treatment is going well so far, only real side effect is increased boatload movements which are making me a bit sore. Did you, or anyone here, experience similar and could you recommend any cream I could apply? 

Many thanks  

Hi again Etta J,

Increased bowel movements & diarrhoea are unfortunately common side effects of this treatment as the bowel gets radiation fallout & becomes  irritated, I didn’t get this, instead I swung completely the opposite way & suffered with constipation! Your radiotherapy/oncology team should provide you with any meds or creams you need if you explain your symptoms, generally it’s loperamide for the diarrhoea & a variation of creams depending on your team. I begun by using QV cream which is basically an aqueous cream, I was then given Flaminal cream when my skin began getting sore from the radiotherapy & finally Flamazine once treatment was done as apparently this contains silver & can’t be used during radiotherapy, I was told not to apply any of these though immediately before a radiotherapy session but to lather them on afterwards & in between sessions which I did & my skin held up pretty well. Also I found salt baths really soothing for my sore skin, I used either Epsom Salts or Dead Sea Salts, those baths were my saving grace once treatment was over, it was often where I was most comfortable. I also stopped using toilet roll as soon as my skin started getting irritated & found it much more comfortable to either wash after using the loo with water & aqueous cream or used Water Wipes which you can buy at most supermarkets by the baby wipes. As I say different teams provide different medication & creams so speak to them at your next appointment & see what they advise, my team always had a good stock of things on hand to take away with me if needed. 

Hope that helps a little. 

Nicola

Thanks Nicola, that’s really helpful. I have mentioned it to my team but, as I don’t have diarrhoea they advised against taking meds at this point as I could become constipated. They didn’t mention any cream though so I’ll ask at my session later. 

Thank you so much for all your help

You’re more than welcome & yes Etta J believe me, from my experience you really don’t want constipation!! I had to take stool softeners throughout treatment & ate a pretty high fibre diet just to keep things moving! I’ve edited my post above to include washing with aqueous cream or using water wipes instead of toilet paper too & also salt baths, it’s just the little things such as these that’ll help get you through & that only people that have been through the treatment know, I picked up so many useful tips here when I was going through my treatment & it was sometimes the simplest of things that really helped. I hope today’s session goes well. 

Nicola 

Thank you so much Nicola, that’s a great help. I spoke to radiotherapy team this morning and they have given me some Cetraben cream along with some meds that I have been advised to only take if absolutely necessary for fear of them making me constipated. 
I’m so relieved it’s now the weekend as I’m looking forward to a break from the hospital and getting up early to take my meds! 
Have a lovely weekend

That’s great Etta J that you’ve been provided with some cream hopefully it’ll also provide a bit of a barrier when you’re going to the loo too. 

Yes those weekends off are truly a gift aren’t they? I remember looking forward to them so much, just like you no early mornings to get the meds taken & no hospital trips. 

You enjoy your weekend too.

Nicola 

Hi Etta J I see Nikki65 has welcomed you to the group and provided great advice already. I just wanted to say welcome to the group too. I also suffered with diarrhoea during treatment, I had to avoid fruit, veg, brown bread, rice and ate quite a plain low fibre diet. My Oncologist prescribed Loperamide for the diarrhoea which I found very helpful. Bev 

Thank you so much for your advice Nicola, it really is appreciated

Hi Bev, 

Thank you for replying. I have now been given Loperamide but, as mine are just loose at the moment, I have been advised not to take too many as it could cause constipation. What we have to go through!! 

I have just finished week 3 and am now experiencing some blood and mucus but the radiotherapy team said that this is normal. I’m just happy that my hands and feet haven’t become inflamed due to the chemo meds as walking with my wonderful dog is what’s getting me through this so the last thing I want is sore feet! 

Thanks once again - I find talking to those who have been through, or are going through, this really helps