still pain and inflammation after 16 months

sephie
sephie Member Posts: 650 Member
edited March 2014 in Anal Cancer #1
hey, I was stage 2 no nodes, no mets. I get checked every 3 months by either DRE or proctoscope and CT. but they can never tell me why i have inflammation and pain on the left side of anus except that it might be radiation damage. or even perhaps something trying to come back. i still have pain during BM's on left. scares me but all i can do is keep having check ups. do any of you still have pain after this long???? thanks sephie

Comments

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #2
    Hi Sephie
    I had painful BM's for a long, long time after treatment ended. During one of my follow-up appts. to the colorectal doc, she observed a "cut" in my anal area. It took forever to heal up because of the radiation. What you are experiencing could very well be due to the radiation. It's called radiation proctitis and is, indeed, inflammation. One thing I can highly recommend is a daily stool softener. It has helped me tremendously and I rarely have pain with a BM anymore. I think the cut has finally healed up because BM's are not as traumatic as they once were. I just use a generic stool softener that I buy at Costco and it seems to do the trick. I wish you the best.
  • sephie
    sephie Member Posts: 650 Member
    #3
    mp327 said:

    Hi Sephie
    I had painful BM's for a long, long time after treatment ended. During one of my follow-up appts. to the colorectal doc, she observed a "cut" in my anal area. It took forever to heal up because of the radiation. What you are experiencing could very well be due to the radiation. It's called radiation proctitis and is, indeed, inflammation. One thing I can highly recommend is a daily stool softener. It has helped me tremendously and I rarely have pain with a BM anymore. I think the cut has finally healed up because BM's are not as traumatic as they once were. I just use a generic stool softener that I buy at Costco and it seems to do the trick. I wish you the best.

    pain
    thankyou. will try stool softener. sephie
  • lil lady
    lil lady Member Posts: 36
    #4
    sephie said:

    pain
    thankyou. will try stool softener. sephie

    pain
    I am 15 months post tx I was stage 2 no nodes I am still having pain with BM's and also bleeding sometimes does anybody else have occasional bleeding
  • lil lady
    lil lady Member Posts: 36
    #5
    sephie said:

    pain
    thankyou. will try stool softener. sephie

    pain
    I am 15 months post tx I was stage 2 no nodes I am still having pain with BM's and also bleeding sometimes does anybody else have occasional bleeding
  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #6
    lil lady said:

    pain
    I am 15 months post tx I was stage 2 no nodes I am still having pain with BM's and also bleeding sometimes does anybody else have occasional bleeding

    Bleeding
    Occasional bleeding can be caused by radiation proctitis, where the blood vessels in the anal canal are much closer to the surface because the lining of the intestine has thinned. This is a common side effect, however, always bring it to the attention of your doctor. Again, I recommend trying a stool softener. Hard BM's and constipation can cause episodes of bleeding.
  • grandma2selena
    grandma2selena Member Posts: 199
    #7
    Hi Sephie
    I too had pain after treatment, and I still do you might ask if you have some scar tissue in there where the tumor was. I know this is my problem. Stool softeners, or my Onc told me to take vitamin E to help lubricate so the stool wouldn't hang up on the scar tissue. I think once we relearn about our bodies after these treatments and discover more of a pattern to diet, water intake, the better these things get.
  • grandma2selena
    grandma2selena Member Posts: 199
    #8
    grandma2selena said:

    Hi Sephie
    I too had pain after treatment, and I still do you might ask if you have some scar tissue in there where the tumor was. I know this is my problem. Stool softeners, or my Onc told me to take vitamin E to help lubricate so the stool wouldn't hang up on the scar tissue. I think once we relearn about our bodies after these treatments and discover more of a pattern to diet, water intake, the better these things get.

    One Other Thing
    I was also told that honey in tea worked great as a lubricant for bowel movements to help prevent any pain.
  • z
    z Member Posts: 1,414 Member
    #9
    sephie
    Hello, Sorry your having pain. I am 18 months post tx and have a slight pain on the left also. Now I had a biopsy there previously, and I think its still healing. The pain is on the opposite side of where the tumor was. It only has pain when there are hard stools. I do have blood occasionally, but I think thats also related to hard stools. I hope if you try the stool softners it will help. I probably need to do that too. I wish you well. Lori
  • sephie
    sephie Member Posts: 650 Member
    #10
    z said:

    sephie
    Hello, Sorry your having pain. I am 18 months post tx and have a slight pain on the left also. Now I had a biopsy there previously, and I think its still healing. The pain is on the opposite side of where the tumor was. It only has pain when there are hard stools. I do have blood occasionally, but I think thats also related to hard stools. I hope if you try the stool softners it will help. I probably need to do that too. I wish you well. Lori

    pain
    thanks. we have the same thing. but my stools are soft. I was putting KY jelly on the anal area when I first woke up to lubricate before i have BM and small amt. of lantaseptic cream after cleaning thorougly but the doctor said to stop putting creams on because I might be hindering healing or causing bacteria to stay there. so i am trying this but yes, i do have small bleeding because i still go too many times even though I have been doing bowel training for 16 months. not working yet to decrease the # of stools. i was better when i could put the KY on. i always cleaned the area very well in order not to trap bacteria but i will try what they said. sephie
  • duckyann
    duckyann Member Posts: 159
    #11
    sephie said:

    pain
    thanks. we have the same thing. but my stools are soft. I was putting KY jelly on the anal area when I first woke up to lubricate before i have BM and small amt. of lantaseptic cream after cleaning thorougly but the doctor said to stop putting creams on because I might be hindering healing or causing bacteria to stay there. so i am trying this but yes, i do have small bleeding because i still go too many times even though I have been doing bowel training for 16 months. not working yet to decrease the # of stools. i was better when i could put the KY on. i always cleaned the area very well in order not to trap bacteria but i will try what they said. sephie

    Hi Sephie,
    I am 18 months
    Hi Sephie,

    I am 18 months post treatment and I have a little bit of pain on my left side which is also the opposite side of where the tumor was. I also had a biopsy done 2 months ago there and I think that is what it is from. I hardly ever bleed but I do once in a while because I go to the bathroom too much. I do not get hard bm's mine are always soft and I go any where from 3-5 times a day. Sometimes I go more often and that is when I start experiencing more pain and a little blood. I really think that it is all radiation damage. Hang in there!

    Nancy
  • amn
    amn Member Posts: 2
    #12
    I had stage 3 rectal cancer
    I had stage 3 rectal cancer and 2009 was a complete marathon of chemo and radiation treatments. Was done in October, 2009 with chemo. Radiation was done in February, 2009. Last surgery was a year ago in December, 2009 for reversal of ileostomy. Still get loose stools and some constipation and never feel I am done with bm. My last colonoscopy was in August, 2010 and everything was fine. I still get depressed and am trying not to worry, does that ever go away?

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