Guest guest Posted April 23, 2011 Report Share Posted April 23, 2011 " shedorman@... " wrote: > Just wondering if anyone out there who has had IMRT treatments > have rectal bleeding a few years after...My husband had rectal > bleeding a year ago and it would happen every once in a while > for the last 3 months. He had so much blood yesterday it scared > him,,,I called the doctor and they are doing a colonoscopy this > Thursday,,you see, he had colon cancer 6 years ago, even though > I believe it's fromr the IMRT treatments,,it's best to be safe > than sorry..his PSA is still good but slowing climbing all > under,,,it was .41 up from .29, so we are watching that as > well,,but that doesn't seem to be a worry at the moment...It's > been almost 3 years that he had his treatments, I just thought > the bleeding would stop by now...he has tried suppositories but > they don't work,,I'll keep you posted,,haven't posted for > awhile,,,but read most posts,,,please keep us in your > prayer,,,thank you everyone and Happy Easter. Sheila, It is my understanding that most men don't have rectal bleeding but quite a few do. I had a little. Again as I understand it (I'm no expert), the problem is that the walls of the rectum receive a significant dose of radiation and develop a lot of stiff scar tissue that is not as flexible as it used to be and is easily irritated or damaged by a hard bowel movement and by rubbing of the rectal walls against each other when walking or sitting. To the best of my knowledge you can't change that, but you can control it. I had a lot of irritation but only a little bleeding. Now, more than seven years after radiation, I still have irritation from time to time but haven't had any bleeding in years. I found the best treatment to be Preparation H or a generic equivalent, which is mainly petroleum jelly. He needs to insert the applicator very, very slowly and carefully so that he doesn't scratch himself with it, and then squeeze out a good dose. It coats the walls of the rectum, soothes them a bit, and reduces rubbing and irritation from bowel movements and walking or sitting. It won't work quickly, and it's not a permanent cure. But if he uses it often, it might help a lot and move him from a state of suffering to feeling okay. I would guess that he'll need to use it for a week or so before enough healing takes place to feel a lot better. I still need it myself from time to time. Hope that helps. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2011 Report Share Posted April 23, 2011 Also, the use of a stool softener can be used as well. The most known brand name for one of these is Colace, but generics are widely available OTC at much more reasonable price. The generic name is docusate sodium or docusate calcium or docusate potassium. Louis. . . To: ProstateCancerSupport Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2011 11:35 AMSubject: Re: Rectal Bleeding "shedorman@..." wrote: > Just wondering if anyone out there who has had IMRT treatments > have rectal bleeding a few years after...My husband had rectal > bleeding a year ago and it would happen every once in a while > for the last 3 months. He had so much blood yesterday it scared > him,,,I called the doctor and they are doing a colonoscopy this > Thursday,,you see, he had colon cancer 6 years ago, even though > I believe it's fromr the IMRT treatments,,it's best to be safe > than sorry..his PSA is still good but slowing climbing all > under,,,it was .41 up from .29, so we are watching that as > well,,but that doesn't seem to be a worry at the moment...It's > been almost 3 years that he had his treatments, I just thought > the bleeding would stop by now...he has tried suppositories but > they don't work,,I'll keep you posted,,haven't posted for > awhile,,,but read most posts,,,please keep us in your > prayer,,,thank you everyone and Happy Easter. Sheila, It is my understanding that most men don't have rectal bleeding but quite a few do. I had a little. Again as I understand it (I'm no expert), the problem is that the walls of the rectum receive a significant dose of radiation and develop a lot of stiff scar tissue that is not as flexible as it used to be and is easily irritated or damaged by a hard bowel movement and by rubbing of the rectal walls against each other when walking or sitting. To the best of my knowledge you can't change that, but you can control it. I had a lot of irritation but only a little bleeding. Now, more than seven years after radiation, I still have irritation from time to time but haven't had any bleeding in years. I found the best treatment to be Preparation H or a generic equivalent, which is mainly petroleum jelly. He needs to insert the applicator very, very slowly and carefully so that he doesn't scratch himself with it, and then squeeze out a good dose. It coats the walls of the rectum, soothes them a bit, and reduces rubbing and irritation from bowel movements and walking or sitting. It won't work quickly, and it's not a permanent cure. But if he uses it often, it might help a lot and move him from a state of suffering to feeling okay. I would guess that he'll need to use it for a week or so before enough healing takes place to feel a lot better. I still need it myself from time to time. Hope that helps. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2011 Report Share Posted April 23, 2011 I have a friend who just completed his IMRT (Varian SmartArc) and he had some bleeding during the last half of his treatments. They had him use Prep H and it seems to have taken care of the problem. I had IMRT (Tomo) a little over a year ago, but haven't had any issues. They did a colonoscopy after six months and said everything looks normal. It is good that he is getting it checked out. > > > > > Hello All, > > > > Just wondering if anyone out there who has had IMRT treatments have rectal bleeding a few years after...My husband had rectal bleeding a year ago and it would happen every once in a while for the last 3 months. He had so much blood yesterday it scared him,,,I called the doctor and they are doing a colonoscopy this Thursday,,you see, he had colon cancer 6 years ago, even though I believe it's fromr the IMRT treatments,,it's best to be safe than sorry..his PSA is still good but slowing climbing all under,,,it was .41 up from .29, so we are watching that as well,,but that doesn't seem to be a worry at the moment...It's been almost 3 years that he had his treatments, I just thought the bleeding would stop by now...he has tried suppositories but they don't work,,I'll keep you posted,,haven't posted for awhile,,,but read most posts,,,please keep us in your prayer,,,thank you everyone and Happy Easter. > > > > Sincerely, > > Sheila > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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