Hello 6 weeks ago I completed a series of 28 radiotherapy sessions together with chemo tablets every day. Since then like many I’m experiencing fatigue, but I’m okay with that. I’m more concerned - very - that now my appetite and taste buds have returned to normal I feel the need to pass stools more frequently and am in more pain each time than at the beginning of the recovery. My anus has now developed haemorrhoids as a result too. Each passing is so painful it makes me shudder and shake and I believe that the pain is causing my lower legs and ankles to swell greatly.
If anyone has experience of this continuing pain and burning, which is not improving and swelling of legs and frequency of stools say 3-4 times a day, please let me know how you’re dealing with it. I have my first follow up telephone appointment with the oncologist this coming Thursday.
Hi there Nana42,
I’m sorry that you’re having what sounds like increasing issues right now. If you’ve suffered low appetite during treatment & now you say your appetite has returned to normal then that could explain the increase in frequency of bowel movements, increased input = increased output so to speak. Are your stools difficult to pass? If so maybe stool softeners such as Laxido or Movicol would help, I still use these intermittently over three years out due to stenosis. Also has a Dr diagnosed the haemorrhoids? If not I would explain to your treating team the discomfort you’re in & ask for a face to face appointment so that a physical examination can be performed to ascertain why you’re in increasing amounts of discomfort, at least this will put your mind at rest, I know the worry & distress that these hiccups can cause! Also you need some medical advice on the swelling in your legs & ankles, I know treatment can cause damage to the lymph system resulting in lymphoedema, but this needs mentioning also to your treating team. I would give them a call, when you’re in pain & discomfort such as you are next Thursday is still a way away, my oncologist always made it clear that he was there whenever I needed him between appointments if necessary. I hope your team can give you some advice that offers you some relief soon.
Nicola
Hi again Nana42, external healing was pretty quick, internal healing was slower. I’d had a biopsy & local resection surgery prior to chemoradiotherapy so a lot of trauma to the area in a short space of time & the internal healing was quite a gradual process. I was lucky that I didn’t suffer diarrhoea during/after treatment but found I needed to use stool softeners on a daily basis to make things more comfortable to ‘go’. Timescales are a bit of a blur to be perfectly honest but I would say by the time I was a couple of months out of treatment as long as I kept things soft it was manageable. Some days were better than others & up until this last year my skin would split & I’d bleed a little if passing a difficult bowel movement, this wasn’t prolonged bleeding though & would stop as soon as I’d wiped, the episodes of this happening have gradually got further & further apart & it rarely happens now. I also only ever wash the area with aqueous cream, this stops the ‘new skin’ from drying out & I find, even now, if I use even the mildest of wash products it burns a little & drys out my skin. Hope this helps a little.
Nicola
