Anal bleeding

Jet1204

i am almost 2 years out from anal cancer. How does everyone keep the stool soft and keep from bleeding? All my scans are clear from cancer. Its so aggravating when I go to the bathroom.

knowwhentowalkaway

Hey Jet1204. I am a year out October 14th. I have changed my diet so many times before and after treatment. Turns out the constipation before diagnosis was caused by the cancer. Now, after treatment I have more regular bowl movements but have constant gas and gel spurting out. Sometimes a small grape sized stool just rolls out on its own. And, when it is a hard stool, I still bleed. I think it is from an earlier hemorrhoid and scar tissue from the treatment. I have been unable to discern which foods cause very hard, painful stools.

From the comments I have read here, these may be permanent side effects from treatment. The docs are trained and focused on treatment to get rid of the cancer. I don’t think they know much about the permanent effects of treatment. My one example would be that I asked the group if treatment would cause teeth problems. My radiation oncologist said he didn’t think so. I went to my dentist for my annual exam. She was beside herself saying she had never seen anything like she was seeing after my exam. I had only four cavities my whole life and had good dental hygiene practices. I had 15 cavities!! I was in shock because I had asked about teeth.

I would like to think the docs know everything but I realized going to one of the best hospitals in the country, (Fred Hutchison Center in Seattle) they do very well with how they treat but not so much on the after effects. I had a nice talk with my radiation oncologist. I said I only hope he will recommend people get their teeth checked in the future. He was very open to listening to my experience. And, I realized doctors are practicing medicine. I still research my cancer and the best answers are coming to me through the experience of others. We are all different with different bodies.

Thank you for sharing yours. M

Cheryl59

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/329805/anal-bleeding

I go through that. My Dr told me to use fiber, Meta Mucil and lots of water. I am not consistent, I was told the tissue is fragile back there thats why there can be some bleeding

Jet1204

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1725635#Comment_1725635

Thank for your response. You are very correct about getting teeth checked. I was told people should see a dentist before starting treatment to make sure everything is clean. I have had a few cavities after treatment, but cannot say if it was from treatment or from inviasline.

Jet1204

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1725677#Comment_1725677

Thank you. I will definitely try adding more fiber and water.

eprogers

You may want to have your iron level checked. I am 3 months from chemo and radiation. After treatments stopped I had rather severe anal bleeding. The cause was anemia/low iron. I’m now on 65 mg of iron a day with orange juice and no bleeding. If I neglect to take the iron I will get mucus with fresh blood and then blood flow. It takes a couple of days back on the iron to stop the bleeding.

Jet1204

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1725680#Comment_1725680

I like that suggestion. I will definitely go check my iron. Thank you.