Radiation burn treatments

husband2
husband2 Member Posts: 9
in Anal Cancer #1
My wife has severe burns in her crotch, which spread to her anus today. She finished 30 days of radiation 5 days ago and chemo 10 days ago. She was hospitalized 3 days ago with dehydration, low white blood cells, red blood cells, potasium and a host of other problems. But her burns are horrible and getting worse and the hospital doesn't seem to have a better regimen than keeping her hydrated, infection away and pain reduced. Is there something that she can do for her burns? She is 51, stage 4 with a small spot on her liver. Ideas please?
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Comments

  • Phoebesnow
    Phoebesnow Member Posts: 600 Member
    #2
    Burns
    They usually recommend silver sulfadiazine cream. I am allergic to sulphur, so used aquaphor a lot, reapplying as often as once an hour. I was burned pretty badly also, and had a home nurse. She would clean the burns with the saline and that felt really good. I would stand in the tub and just hold the hand held shower on cool sometimes for an hour. I think sitz bath helps some. This is such a scary time, I know, but she will be ok. U r a good husband to be so caring. Keep in touch.
  • AZANNIE
    AZANNIE Member Posts: 445 Member
    #3
    Radiation burn treatments
    I empathize with your wife. I was hospitalized in May with the same symptoms as your wife. One doctor suggested saline solution. So I poured that on the area. The hospital wound nurse was called and she prescribed xenaderm ointment which was applied to the area and then desitin was applied on top of that. That helped. It does get better...
  • AZANNIE
    AZANNIE Member Posts: 445 Member
    #4
    AZANNIE said:

    Radiation burn treatments
    I empathize with your wife. I was hospitalized in May with the same symptoms as your wife. One doctor suggested saline solution. So I poured that on the area. The hospital wound nurse was called and she prescribed xenaderm ointment which was applied to the area and then desitin was applied on top of that. That helped. It does get better...

    Burns
    Sitz baths help, too.
  • ShellWell47
    ShellWell47 Member Posts: 8
    #5
    Lush
    thank the Lord she finished treatment! Now healing of the area can begin without interruption. For me, the only thing that provided any temporary comfort was a bath, I had some friends buy me Lush (they are online) bath products which really made me feel nice and pampered. The variety of choosing different "bath bombs," etc. was always something to look forward to and none of them bothered my burns and I would soak soak SOAK! That might be a nice surprise for her! She is at the low point, just finishing treatment. I pray she finds a little relief every day.
  • cap630
    cap630 Member Posts: 151 Member
    #6
    ShellWell47 said:

    Lush
    thank the Lord she finished treatment! Now healing of the area can begin without interruption. For me, the only thing that provided any temporary comfort was a bath, I had some friends buy me Lush (they are online) bath products which really made me feel nice and pampered. The variety of choosing different "bath bombs," etc. was always something to look forward to and none of them bothered my burns and I would soak soak SOAK! That might be a nice surprise for her! She is at the low point, just finishing treatment. I pray she finds a little relief every day.

    Burns
    I was also hospitalized after treatment with burns. Sitz baths helped and I was prescribed Biafine cream. Relief will come. I will pray for her. ~Carol
  • BeaRose
    BeaRose Member Posts: 45
    #7
    cap630 said:

    Burns
    I was also hospitalized after treatment with burns. Sitz baths helped and I was prescribed Biafine cream. Relief will come. I will pray for her. ~Carol

    burns
    I too landed in the hospital at 6 weeks into a 7 week radiation regimen. My wbc was at 100 so I was in isolation. While in there I received whirlpool burn treatment and they prescribed silvadene cream. The radiation had burned my ilium to the point that it quit functioning. That caused me to be unable to absorb nutrition. I also stopped producing blood and had to have 4 units whole blood, 3 units plasma, and 12 units of platelets. The worst part for me was when I had to pee. It made me cry it hurt so bad cause it went all over the burns. One of the first things the doctor did was order a cath. He will forever be my hero. It remained in place for the next 3 weeks until I was released from the hospital, and finished my last week of radiation.
  • husband2
    husband2 Member Posts: 9
    #8
    Phoebesnow said:

    Burns
    They usually recommend silver sulfadiazine cream. I am allergic to sulphur, so used aquaphor a lot, reapplying as often as once an hour. I was burned pretty badly also, and had a home nurse. She would clean the burns with the saline and that felt really good. I would stand in the tub and just hold the hand held shower on cool sometimes for an hour. I think sitz bath helps some. This is such a scary time, I know, but she will be ok. U r a good husband to be so caring. Keep in touch.

    Burns
    She had been using the Silvadine, but that made the area more red and irritated and was painful when applying. She used the aquaphor as well, but she seemed to be getting worse. Maybe it is just the progression, but I'm hoping we can get her a better day asap. Thank you
  • husband2
    husband2 Member Posts: 9
    #9
    AZANNIE said:

    Radiation burn treatments
    I empathize with your wife. I was hospitalized in May with the same symptoms as your wife. One doctor suggested saline solution. So I poured that on the area. The hospital wound nurse was called and she prescribed xenaderm ointment which was applied to the area and then desitin was applied on top of that. That helped. It does get better...

    Xenaderm
    I will mention this item to the doctors. Thank you.
  • husband2
    husband2 Member Posts: 9
    #10
    ShellWell47 said:

    Lush
    thank the Lord she finished treatment! Now healing of the area can begin without interruption. For me, the only thing that provided any temporary comfort was a bath, I had some friends buy me Lush (they are online) bath products which really made me feel nice and pampered. The variety of choosing different "bath bombs," etc. was always something to look forward to and none of them bothered my burns and I would soak soak SOAK! That might be a nice surprise for her! She is at the low point, just finishing treatment. I pray she finds a little relief every day.

    Not quite over
    The radiation doctor wants to give her more "directed" treatments, but will wait for some healing. They also "surprised her by mentioning a probable rectal or colon cancer. I will look into the Lush. Thank you
  • husband2
    husband2 Member Posts: 9
    #11
    cap630 said:

    Burns
    I was also hospitalized after treatment with burns. Sitz baths helped and I was prescribed Biafine cream. Relief will come. I will pray for her. ~Carol

    Burns
    Thanks for the biofine idea. I appreciate the help.
  • husband2
    husband2 Member Posts: 9
    #12
    BeaRose said:

    burns
    I too landed in the hospital at 6 weeks into a 7 week radiation regimen. My wbc was at 100 so I was in isolation. While in there I received whirlpool burn treatment and they prescribed silvadene cream. The radiation had burned my ilium to the point that it quit functioning. That caused me to be unable to absorb nutrition. I also stopped producing blood and had to have 4 units whole blood, 3 units plasma, and 12 units of platelets. The worst part for me was when I had to pee. It made me cry it hurt so bad cause it went all over the burns. One of the first things the doctor did was order a cath. He will forever be my hero. It remained in place for the next 3 weeks until I was released from the hospital, and finished my last week of radiation.

    Burns
    I don't think her wbc was quite that low, but she was in isolation. She also had a cath put in, but she hates it. But maybe she would hate the pain of peeing more. She is very swollen and the cath is just a pain. They discussed a transfusion and haven't ruled it out yet, but most of her counts are getting closer to being in line. Her radiation doctor doesn't seem to know what to do about burns as he specializes in radiation (argh). The local hospital doesn't seem to know a lot about deep radiation burns and certainly not down there. So I think the real answer for me is to find a bigger better hospital that has seen this before. Thanks for your help.
  • Phoebesnow
    Phoebesnow Member Posts: 600 Member
    #13
    husband2 said:

    Not quite over
    The radiation doctor wants to give her more "directed" treatments, but will wait for some healing. They also "surprised her by mentioning a probable rectal or colon cancer. I will look into the Lush. Thank you

    Wife
    Did she have pet scan colonscopy b4 treatment?This is an odd time to bring up the possibility of a new or different cancer. I think u do need to change to a larger hospital and get second opinion. U should start to request copies of everything, so they will be ready for transfer. U should advise your area and maybe someone can chime in with recommendations for doctors/hospitals. There is also the rare cancer alliance website that has a lot of anal cancer participation.

    Good luck to u both.
  • husband2
    husband2 Member Posts: 9
    #14
    Phoebesnow said:

    Wife
    Did she have pet scan colonscopy b4 treatment?This is an odd time to bring up the possibility of a new or different cancer. I think u do need to change to a larger hospital and get second opinion. U should start to request copies of everything, so they will be ready for transfer. U should advise your area and maybe someone can chime in with recommendations for doctors/hospitals. There is also the rare cancer alliance website that has a lot of anal cancer participation.

    Good luck to u both.

    Wife
    I guess that they hinted at it when they originally diagnosed the anal cancer. They said that she was stage 4 anal with a spot in her liver and several lymph nodes. Their indirect hint was that they wanted to treat the anal cancer, then look at the liver to figure out what kind of cancer that was. I don't recall what they said was "off" in her blood sample, but whatever it was was an indicator of a different cancer somewhere between her mouth and rectum. I think that they just wanted to look forward to getting through a step.
  • 7243
    7243 Member Posts: 249 Member
    #15
    husband2 said:

    Wife
    I guess that they hinted at it when they originally diagnosed the anal cancer. They said that she was stage 4 anal with a spot in her liver and several lymph nodes. Their indirect hint was that they wanted to treat the anal cancer, then look at the liver to figure out what kind of cancer that was. I don't recall what they said was "off" in her blood sample, but whatever it was was an indicator of a different cancer somewhere between her mouth and rectum. I think that they just wanted to look forward to getting through a step.

    Hello Husband2 ... what a
    Hello Husband2 ... what a sweet man you are.

    Okay ... my radiation oncologist had me use Domeboro's solution. You can get it from the drug store over the counter I think ... I mixed it up, soaked gauze pads or telfa in it and laid it on the burns. I laid bottomless on a towel with my butt raised on a pillow with the soaks on my burned area. I hadn't thought of this in a while ... it was horrific when I look back on it. This did provide some relief for me. Check with the radiation oncologist to see if this is okay for her to use.

    check out this link ... i used the powder packs. www.bayercare.com/domeboro.cfm

    Soaking in the tub helped ... using a warm sitz bath bag on the toilet helped me too. Every time I went to the bathroom i filled that thing with warm water and spritzed it on my butt and bottom until the bag was empty... it helped too.

    Aveeno Oatmeal baths were helpful as well ....

    Narcotics are necessary ... Fentanyl patches work well, or oral meds work too, but make sure she takes Senocot S so she doesn't get constipated ... that is insult to injury.

    As for second opinions ... I hope you are at a large cancer center or have access to one ... There are many who handle colon cancer. Consider going to MD Anderson in Houston, Sloan Kettering in New York, MAYO Clinics Minnesota or Arizona, Moffitt Cancer center in Florida, UCLA in California, Dana Farber in New England, University of Pennsylvania Abramson CA Center, Roswell in New York or one of the other big ones... not sure where you are.
    Here is a link to top colon cancer centers ... http://www.coloncancerresource.com/best-cancer-hospitals.html

    Hope this helps ... God Bless you and your wife ... xoxo
  • husband2
    husband2 Member Posts: 9
    #16
    7243 said:

    Hello Husband2 ... what a
    Hello Husband2 ... what a sweet man you are.

    Okay ... my radiation oncologist had me use Domeboro's solution. You can get it from the drug store over the counter I think ... I mixed it up, soaked gauze pads or telfa in it and laid it on the burns. I laid bottomless on a towel with my butt raised on a pillow with the soaks on my burned area. I hadn't thought of this in a while ... it was horrific when I look back on it. This did provide some relief for me. Check with the radiation oncologist to see if this is okay for her to use.

    check out this link ... i used the powder packs. www.bayercare.com/domeboro.cfm

    Soaking in the tub helped ... using a warm sitz bath bag on the toilet helped me too. Every time I went to the bathroom i filled that thing with warm water and spritzed it on my butt and bottom until the bag was empty... it helped too.

    Aveeno Oatmeal baths were helpful as well ....

    Narcotics are necessary ... Fentanyl patches work well, or oral meds work too, but make sure she takes Senocot S so she doesn't get constipated ... that is insult to injury.

    As for second opinions ... I hope you are at a large cancer center or have access to one ... There are many who handle colon cancer. Consider going to MD Anderson in Houston, Sloan Kettering in New York, MAYO Clinics Minnesota or Arizona, Moffitt Cancer center in Florida, UCLA in California, Dana Farber in New England, University of Pennsylvania Abramson CA Center, Roswell in New York or one of the other big ones... not sure where you are.
    Here is a link to top colon cancer centers ... http://www.coloncancerresource.com/best-cancer-hospitals.html

    Hope this helps ... God Bless you and your wife ... xoxo

    Thanks for the ideas. I was
    Thanks for the ideas. I was able to get her an appointment with the wound specialist at the cancer center in the Cleveland Clinic, tomorrow. I feel better. Hopefully she will feel better soon. I hope they won't be at a loss for ideas. A little improvement would lift her spirits. Thank you.
  • AZANNIE
    AZANNIE Member Posts: 445 Member
    #17
    husband2 said:

    Thanks for the ideas. I was
    Thanks for the ideas. I was able to get her an appointment with the wound specialist at the cancer center in the Cleveland Clinic, tomorrow. I feel better. Hopefully she will feel better soon. I hope they won't be at a loss for ideas. A little improvement would lift her spirits. Thank you.

    Husband2
    Congrats on getting an appointment with the wound care specialist so quickly! When the wound care nurse saw me she knew right away what to do so hopefully your wife will get some relief soon. It's frustrating when the radiation doctor doesn't know what to do for the burns. My rad. doctor wasn't helpful either... You're a great advocate for your wife.
  • 7243
    7243 Member Posts: 249 Member
    #18
    husband2 said:

    Thanks for the ideas. I was
    Thanks for the ideas. I was able to get her an appointment with the wound specialist at the cancer center in the Cleveland Clinic, tomorrow. I feel better. Hopefully she will feel better soon. I hope they won't be at a loss for ideas. A little improvement would lift her spirits. Thank you.

    appt
    Perfect ... this appointment will be helpful I hope. And I do understand that any improvement will help! Best wishes ...
  • dianeboehm
    dianeboehm Member Posts: 2
    #19
    Radiation Burn Treatments
    Once radiation treatments were over, my burns actually got worse for several weeks and then eventually got better. The radiation is still working and takes about a month to start the healing process. Unfortunately it just takes time. I know that is hard to hear. I know how she feels, you finally get done with treatment so you think, ok, I should start feeling better.

    I was given Nupercanal after the treatments were done and it worked great. It helps the pain, but doesn't take all the pain away. I couldn't take pain killers as they made me constipated.

    I pray that she finds some relief soon.
  • Angela_K
    Angela_K Member Posts: 374 Member
    #20
    Burns
    The burns do get worse about 5-7 days after treatment ends. Then for me, the pain ended almost immediately. Healing was quick. Seek other advice from clinic/hospital with a team of gastrointestinal oncologists.

    Watching your wife enduring this has to be painful for you. Blessings to your family and please keep us updated. We're here for you.

    Blessings~ Angela
  • husband2
    husband2 Member Posts: 9
    #21
    Angela_K said:

    Burns
    The burns do get worse about 5-7 days after treatment ends. Then for me, the pain ended almost immediately. Healing was quick. Seek other advice from clinic/hospital with a team of gastrointestinal oncologists.

    Watching your wife enduring this has to be painful for you. Blessings to your family and please keep us updated. We're here for you.

    Blessings~ Angela

    I was wrong about seeing a
    I was wrong about seeing a wound doc. The doctor we saw was a radiation oncologist. I liked him as he seemed to have great knowledge and he could explain it to us.

    Doc confirmed what you just said. The visible effects of radiation follow the radiation by 7-10 days. So what you "see" on week 3 is from what happened on week 1 or 2. So on week 5, when my wife didn't think that the creams were working as the burns were worsening because of the continued radiation. The creams may have been fine, just the burn source (radiation) was doing its job.

    He said that the largest factors are: 1. medication for pain control; 2. cleanliness; and 3.some moisturizers but plenty of air.

    My wife claims the Silvadine irritates her, but she is going to try it again as the doc recomended it. He also thought that the Xenaderm which the local hospital prescribed was good as well. But no gauze, as they suggested. He said use one for several hours, then the other, then air. He suggested that the creams would build up, so the creams should be removed using a vinegar and water solution to break it up.

    The biggest thing (for my wife's sanity) was control of pain, for which he prescribed morphine.

    Since she is 7 days out of radiation, healing should start soon. Good. She seems much more comfortable now with the morphine.

    Good things take time. Thanks for everyones ideas.

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