Finished treatment 9 days post anal cancer treatment

lilacs35 · April 2015

Hi there,

Just like many others, I've been going through decussion board after discussion board making sure I'm doing the things that so many of you have recommended. Thank you for this site. It's my go to when I have questions.

I'm 44 years old and I was diagnosed at the end of February this year. I started my treatment the first of March. I had the same as most all of you. 6 weeks, 5-fu (2 cycles) and my initiation, continued radiation everyday except weekends.

I actually handled it pretty well until the end of treatment. The next 5-6 days were pretty rough. It's been 9 days and I still have pretty painful bowel movements. When will that start feeling better? Also, I'm bleeding vaginally. Not a lot but it's pink to red everytime I wipe. I did have pee stings and a little blood from there as well. is this normal? Im assuming this is probably normal and the whole vaginal area got caught up in the crossfire of radiation.

Thanks so much!!

mp327 · April 2015

lilacs35

I'm glad to hear you are done with your treatment. My rad onc told me to expect to not feel much better for 3 weeks post-treatment. However, I rebounded more quickly than that and felt much better at the 10-day mark. There were, however, lingering issues and did take awhile for the painful BM's to subside. Make sure your doctors know about the vaginal bleeding and the painful urination. Both the vagina and urinary tract took some radiation and are probably very irritated right now. They may be able to give you something to help the stinging with urination. If you haven't tried spraying water on that area as you pee, give it a try, as it is recommended by so many people. You will dilute the urine, lessening the sting.

You will recover from this, but some patience is required. It can be more like a marathon than a sprint for some people. I wish you all the very best.

Martha

lilacs35 · April 2015

mp327 said:
lilacs35
I'm glad to hear you are done with your treatment. My rad onc told me to expect to not feel much better for 3 weeks post-treatment. However, I rebounded more quickly than that and felt much better at the 10-day mark. There were, however, lingering issues and did take awhile for the painful BM's to subside. Make sure your doctors know about the vaginal bleeding and the painful urination. Both the vagina and urinary tract took some radiation and are probably very irritated right now. They may be able to give you something to help the stinging with urination. If you haven't tried spraying water on that area as you pee, give it a try, as it is recommended by so many people. You will dilute the urine, lessening the sting.

You will recover from this, but some patience is required. It can be more like a marathon than a sprint for some people. I wish you all the very best.

Martha

Ok. Thanks. I often read

Ok. Thanks. I often read your posts to other people. We so appreciate you.

I did get radiated in the vaginal wall. I remember the doctor saying it started to invade the vaginal wall a little bit. I ended up with t2 no lymph node involvement that they could see. But did say the whole groin area would get radiated too.

Anyways, I am feeling better little by little it's just those painful bowel movements. I'm so over it. Errrr.

Have a good night!

Lawchick618 · April 2015

mp327 said:
lilacs35
I'm glad to hear you are done with your treatment. My rad onc told me to expect to not feel much better for 3 weeks post-treatment. However, I rebounded more quickly than that and felt much better at the 10-day mark. There were, however, lingering issues and did take awhile for the painful BM's to subside. Make sure your doctors know about the vaginal bleeding and the painful urination. Both the vagina and urinary tract took some radiation and are probably very irritated right now. They may be able to give you something to help the stinging with urination. If you haven't tried spraying water on that area as you pee, give it a try, as it is recommended by so many people. You will dilute the urine, lessening the sting.

You will recover from this, but some patience is required. It can be more like a marathon than a sprint for some people. I wish you all the very best.

Martha

Lilacs35

i can remember being 9 days post treatment and wanting to feel like normal again so bad. It is a brutal treatment and it just doesn't happen quickly. I am 16 months post treatment and still have painful BM's and bouts of fatigue. Stool softners, soft wet wipes, sitz baths, Tucks pads are a must and although I didn't like taking them pain meds.

I wish you the best. This too shall pass (just not quick enough)

eihtak · April 2015

lilacs35....

Hi, and congratulations on finishing this tough treatment! As mentioned, I believe the blood tinged urine to be pretty normal for some time after. That whole area has been traumatized and will take time to heal, and then, just when you think its better, it may happena again! Do keep your doctor informed though and make notes of things to mention at follow-up visits. It seems in the weeks before I always have lots to ask about, and then when I get there I forget.

Please stay in touch, and ask about any thing.....as you've seen nothing here is too graphic or unimportant to discuss!

Be well.....

katheryn

judyv3 · April 2015

Almost there!

I think you will start to feel a little bit better every day now. Make sure you take stool softeners and lubricate the both areas liberally. Now that you're done with radiation, you don't have to worry about getting everything off for treatment. Try to "go commando" as much as you can. KNOW that it's over, you made it and you will be moving on with your life!

Sending you healing thoughts and vibes.

Judy

lilacs35 · April 2015

Lawchick618 said:
Lilacs35
i can remember being 9 days post treatment and wanting to feel like normal again so bad. It is a brutal treatment and it just doesn't happen quickly. I am 16 months post treatment and still have painful BM's and bouts of fatigue. Stool softners, soft wet wipes, sitz baths, Tucks pads are a must and although I didn't like taking them pain meds.

I wish you the best. This too shall pass (just not quick enough)

Painful bowel movements

Thanks so much for the words of wisdom and getting back to me. Geez, I just want to get moving with my life. I'll get there. its just not quick enough.

thanks

lilacs35 · April 2015

judyv3 said:
Almost there!
I think you will start to feel a little bit better every day now. Make sure you take stool softeners and lubricate the both areas liberally. Now that you're done with radiation, you don't have to worry about getting everything off for treatment. Try to "go commando" as much as you can. KNOW that it's over, you made it and you will be moving on with your life!

Sending you healing thoughts and vibes.

Judy

Thanks

Yes, been doing a lot of the stool softners and benefiber.

im still on my pain meds which I can't wait to get off of. That will be nice.

im hanging in there for the most part!!!

thanks

Ouch_Ouch_Ouch · May 2015

lilacs35 said:
Thanks
Yes, been doing a lot of the stool softners and benefiber.

im still on my pain meds which I can't wait to get off of. That will be nice.

im hanging in there for the most part!!!

thanks

Rugged!

I'm glad the treatment is over. However, the recovery will last a lot longer than the treatment did. >_< Sorry.....The chemo and radiation are STILL at work in your body. Try to eat well and rest, rest, rest.

When the oncologist gives you the go-ahead, see the gynecologist (G). The Onc will probably want you checked for vaginal and cervical HPV lesions, if that's what caused your cancer. If your G has no experience with patients who have received pelvic radiation, get a referral to an oncological gynecologist (O-G). I found a very kind one in Poughkeepsie, NY who did not hurt me like the regular G did and who will follow me from now on. You may very well need to use vaginal dilators to overcome the scarring leading to vaginal stenosis. The radiation oncologist (R-O) can give you some starter dilators (though you may need smaller ones at first) and the O-G can help you with those, too. There are old threads here on this topic with lots of helpful info.

Make sure the R-O knows about these complications! Keep drinking lots of fluids. The chemo must still be flushed out. Also, the more dilute your urine is, the less it will sting. If you can down cranberry juice or take vitamin C or cranberry pills, that will acidify your urineand help reduce stinging. My R-O recommended this to me, but after stopping, I still couldn't eat for at least a month. (I lost more weight after the treatment than during it.)

Remember that food and sleep are medicine, too .^_^.

lilacs35 · May 2015

Ouch_Ouch_Ouch said:
Rugged!
I'm glad the treatment is over. However, the recovery will last a lot longer than the treatment did. >_< Sorry.....The chemo and radiation are STILL at work in your body. Try to eat well and rest, rest, rest.

When the oncologist gives you the go-ahead, see the gynecologist (G). The Onc will probably want you checked for vaginal and cervical HPV lesions, if that's what caused your cancer. If your G has no experience with patients who have received pelvic radiation, get a referral to an oncological gynecologist (O-G). I found a very kind one in Poughkeepsie, NY who did not hurt me like the regular G did and who will follow me from now on. You may very well need to use vaginal dilators to overcome the scarring leading to vaginal stenosis. The radiation oncologist (R-O) can give you some starter dilators (though you may need smaller ones at first) and the O-G can help you with those, too. There are old threads here on this topic with lots of helpful info.

Make sure the R-O knows about these complications! Keep drinking lots of fluids. The chemo must still be flushed out. Also, the more dilute your urine is, the less it will sting. If you can down cranberry juice or take vitamin C or cranberry pills, that will acidify your urineand help reduce stinging. My R-O recommended this to me, but after stopping, I still couldn't eat for at least a month. (I lost more weight after the treatment than during it.)

Remember that food and sleep are medicine, too .^_^.

Thanks

Hi there,

thanks for that information. That is extremely helpful. I tried the vaginal dilator today and it was uncomfortable.

had it in for about 5 minutes and said this is enough I'll try again tomorrow. I'm still feeling sick. Like you said, I've lost more weight

after all the radiation and chemo was over. My appetite is still horrible. Hope it gets better I'm going on the 4th week post radiation.

my cancer started in the anal area in the left side above the opening it was about 3cm. and it did start to invade on the left side of my vaginal wall. A small lymph node was kinda lighting up but he said we would get that With radiation anyways. I'm thankful it didn't go beyond that.

sorry for the misspelling and improper grammar, im typing from my phone.

this sight has really helped through the process.

thanks!!!!!

letsrock · May 2015

2 weeks after

It will get better, I am on my 2nd week after chem/rad (6weeks) and was very painful after a bowell movement, up to 4 hours of pain before it evened out. Its a slow process to heal. I think we all expect that once the treatement is over, so is the pain and disconfort, wasn't for me, but it does get better, I am down to 1 Norco @ breakfast and it get me thru the day pretty painless, hopefully by next week I won't need it anymore. Hang in there!

Cindygilmore7 · May 2015

Newcomer

I'm new to this not sure how it all works. I just found out I have anal cancer. I'm a 53 year old woman. I have yet to go through the tests for staging this should happen. I gwould like to know what I'm in for and what to except. Im one of those nutty holistic types and will be doing that kind of stuff along with the recommended chemo/ radiation for anal cancer. I would love as much honest details I can get. As will as any great dr I should look into in the LA area.

Preparing for the new unknown journey the best that one can

Looking coward to hearing from you.......

mp327 · May 2015

Cindygilmore7 said:
Newcomer
I'm new to this not sure how it all works. I just found out I have anal cancer. I'm a 53 year old woman. I have yet to go through the tests for staging this should happen. I gwould like to know what I'm in for and what to except. Im one of those nutty holistic types and will be doing that kind of stuff along with the recommended chemo/ radiation for anal cancer. I would love as much honest details I can get. As will as any great dr I should look into in the LA area.

Preparing for the new unknown journey the best that one can

Looking coward to hearing from you.......

Cindygilmore7

Welcome to this site, however, I'm sorry your diagnosis has brought you here. However, you'll find a great group of people here who are very supportive and share lots of helpful information. I'm sure this is a very anxious time for you filled with uncertainty, but we can help you get prepared for what lies ahead. You will get through this just as the rest of us have. It can be a rough treatment, but you can do it!

If you want to know as much as you can about anal cancer and it's treatment, I urge you to check out the following websites. The first one will educate you and the second one will give you lots of good tips on how to get through treatment and handling side effects.

www.NCCN.org

analcancerhelp.info

I'm sorry that I can give you any good info about doctors in the LA area, but I'm sure there are some good ones. Just make sure any doctors you establish with have experience in treating anal cancer. It is still considered a rare disease (only about 7,000 cases diagnosed in the U.S. yearly) and many doctors do not have any experience in its treatment. I hope that your staging shows that your tumor is localized and at an early stage. If advanced, then there are a couple of facilities I can highly recommend if needed. Please let us know what your staging shows.

I wish you all the very best and hope you'll keep us posted.

Martha

Cindygilmore7 · May 2015

mp327 said:
Cindygilmore7
Welcome to this site, however, I'm sorry your diagnosis has brought you here. However, you'll find a great group of people here who are very supportive and share lots of helpful information. I'm sure this is a very anxious time for you filled with uncertainty, but we can help you get prepared for what lies ahead. You will get through this just as the rest of us have. It can be a rough treatment, but you can do it!

If you want to know as much as you can about anal cancer and it's treatment, I urge you to check out the following websites. The first one will educate you and the second one will give you lots of good tips on how to get through treatment and handling side effects.

www.NCCN.org

analcancerhelp.info

I'm sorry that I can give you any good info about doctors in the LA area, but I'm sure there are some good ones. Just make sure any doctors you establish with have experience in treating anal cancer. It is still considered a rare disease (only about 7,000 cases diagnosed in the U.S. yearly) and many doctors do not have any experience in its treatment. I hope that your staging shows that your tumor is localized and at an early stage. If advanced, then there are a couple of facilities I can highly recommend if needed. Please let us know what your staging shows.

I wish you all the very best and hope you'll keep us posted.

Martha

Newcomer

That you for responding. I will go to the links you sent me. I am all about educating myself be forcing doing something. Where are you at with anal cancer? How were the treatments for you? And do you have side affects that you are dealing with? Please if I'm too forward with my questions just let me know.

Natural butt

Buck111 · May 2015

Cindygilmore7 said:
Newcomer
That you for responding. I will go to the links you sent me. I am all about educating myself be forcing doing something. Where are you at with anal cancer? How were the treatments for you? And do you have side affects that you are dealing with? Please if I'm too forward with my questions just let me know.

Natural butt

Have you heard of Dr.

Have you heard of Dr. Simoncini from Italy? He treats cancers such as yours with baking soda. It might not work, or it might. I don't know. But I do know baking soda raises the Ph in the body and that definately helps in fighting cancer. <Content Removed by CSN Support Team>

mxperry220 · May 2015

Buck111 said:
Have you heard of Dr.
Have you heard of Dr. Simoncini from Italy? He treats cancers such as yours with baking soda. It might not work, or it might. I don't know. But I do know baking soda raises the Ph in the body and that definately helps in fighting cancer. <Content Removed by CSN Support Team>

Conflicting Article Regarding Dr. Simoncini

Here is a link that contradicts Dr. Somoncini's baking soda remedy.

http://www.cancertreatmentwatch.org/reports/simoncini.shtml

Finished treatment 9 days post anal cancer treatment

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