Fibrotic tissue in anal canal

texasgirl2023

I am 3 months post chemo/radiation treatment of stage III anal cancer. At my recent post treatment appt my colorectal surgeon did a digital exam and said I had fibrotic tissue in my anal cavity. I have a colonoscopy and examination of my rectum scheduled for June. I have had extremely narrow stools and take MiraLax daily, sometimes twice a day. Sometimes I go days without a bowel movement. My stomach is a mess. During my treatment I had grade 4 mucositis of the mouth and was hospitalized for 8 days. My 2nd round of chemo was reduced to 50% due to the severe reaction. My colorectal surgeon said since I had such a severe reaction it is best to have a colonoscopy to see what is going on. That maybe the Nicosia also impacted my colon. Has anyone else been told they have fibrotic tissue of the anal canal that is causing stool narrowing? If yes, what was done (if anything ) to fix this?

redgar

This may have been resolved by now, but will add my experience. I’m 16mos post treatment and still nothing about my bowel movements is “normal”. I tend to have diarrhea and broken or narrow stool. I think narrow stool is fairly common. I have proctitis which is not unusual when you have this amount of radiation to the anus. I haven’t been diagnosed with, but suspect I may also have stenosis. I have adapted to live with these problems, I take Imodium daily and take Metamucil to try to build up fiber. I take a probiotic as well. I think I will always have bowel problems as the radiation is just so damaging to that whole area. I have proctitis in my vaginal canal as well. I don’t think some of these problems can be “fixed”. It’s more of a question of how to live with and control them as much as possible.