Anal Cancer

LSAULS said:

Linda becomes a mad scientist this week-end....stay tuned
Thanks for all the suggestions. First, the maalox does help some. also was told to use Caldesene powder and low and behold, it really did help.

I started thinking, there must be more answers, so I'm going to experiment this weekend.

1. If the miracle mouthwash works on your mouth....might it help with the burning butt?...stay tuned

2. Going to mix some aloe from my garden, some benedryl cream and some emla cream...

3. Aquaphor, benedryl, cortisone cream 1 %

4. Now that I hear about the silvadene, may try mixing it as well.

DogsMom, I'm taking 8 immodium per day, now worse at night which I guess is better than during the day when I'm working, but sure not getting much sleep!

Will check back in on Monday.

pamness said:

I read your posts - all the recommendations seemed good
However, I noticed you say you can't sleep - or don't sleep well. Sleep is a big part of healing. You mentioned you don't like sleeping pills, but will take compazine. Compazine - prescribed for nausea, does work for nausea - but it has a side effect no one mentioned to me for a while - it can make you anxious and it makes it difficult to sleep.

Have you talked to your doctors about ambien, attivan, klonopin or whatever to help you sleep? Or maybe meditation or yoga?

I was diagnosed colon cancer - stage IIIA - in January 2007. Did folfox, surgery, radiation with 5FU. Am currently ned. Had a very hard time with the oxaliplatin and consumed ever nausea med ever invented - or so it seemed. I also had trouble sleeping. Was given Ambien CR - and klonopin for anxiety - worked and stopped the tinesus (sp?) I had from the frequent diahrea.

Might be worth looking into sleeping aids - pills or other things.

Pam

cathyvee said:

Just had to respond . . .
I just discovered this site, but couldn't get sign-on to work without webmaster intervention. I so wanted to respond to you because I'm female, and was 56 when diagnosed. Not so long ago, I went through what you're facing.

The big thing to remember is that everyone reacts differently. I spent most of the time sleeping, my husband tells me (my chemo affected my memory, so a lot of the 5-1/2 weeks is a bit of a blur), had virtually no nausea, and developed only one minor mouth sore. I lost a lot of my hair, but could never bring myself to shave my head. For women, I think the hair loss thing is one of the more traumatic moments of having cancer. (And, as my balding husband pointed out, my hair grew back! And I didn't know that your local American Cancer Society office has wigs, hats and scarves for you, free.) I didn't have much pain at all until the 4th week. And from then on the pain got steadily worse, until it peaked about 3 weeks after the last radiation treatment, just like my Dr. said it would.

Sitz baths will help enormously. And if you're too tired or fatigued to get undressed and get in the bathtub, go pick up a Futuro Sitz Bath that sits on the toilet. Another thing that really helped me get through the day was to squirt lukewarm water directly on the burned parts WHILE urinating, and to use the water instead of toilet paper. My sister told me about this one, something she was advised to do after childbirth. You can get a plastic squeeze bottle at most drug stores -- not a spray bottle, but a squeeze bottle, like the kind you use for mustard. We also bought a new attachment for the shower, one with a hose so it could reach the floor of the shower stall and had different adjustments for water flow. It had one setting that was just a gentle gush of water and that thing was a life-saver.

After every water treatment, it's vital that you let the area dry completely. If you have a hair dryer that will blow unheated air, that will work the quickest. (Blowing hot air on the area will just make things worse.) I preferred lying on the bed spread-eagle with a sheet over me -- got in a lot of reading that way.

I don't want to scare you, but the burns probably will be pretty painful. I recall that going to the bathroom involved some crying and screaming for a few weeks. I also remember not being able to sit properly for a couple weeks -- had to sit sideways, on my upper thighs. Just remember that it's TEMPORARY. And DO talk to your doctor about vaginal burns -- my doctor didn't mention it and I actually grew shut. Fixing that was very nearly as painful as the radiation. I've never liked heavy duty pain pills so can't give you any advice in that regard.

Try to stay positive, and remember people like me -- I've been cancer free since the treatment, and didn't require any cancer surgery. It's a bit of a harsh treatment, but it really does work!

Best of luck