Chemo and your septic system

[NWgirl]

Septic system as in septic tank - the one those of us out in the rural areas tend to have instead of city sewer services. Our annual inspection of our system was due this month, so I met with the septic inspection dude after he did his thing.

It never ceases to amaze me how my cancer continues to present yet one more opportunity to embarrass me in front of total strangers, as was the case today. "So" he says, with a slightly puzzled look on his face "there's a lot of toilet paper in there - not much in the area of waste - just lots of toilet paper. Is it just you, your husband and the kids living here? I'm guessing you use one of the heavier toilet papers?"

Yup, just me, hubby and the two kiddos I tell him. I don't confirm his suspions about the heavy duty TP, though I did consider blaming the whole TP issue on "those damn kids and their pranks". And I have rectal cancer so I have a terrible frequency problem and I go through a lot (of super heavy duty Charmin) of toilet paper. And I'm on chemo - does that cause the bacteria in the tank to all die off and not break down the massive quantities of TP in there? Have I now given you waaaaaay more info than you wanted to hear? In case I haven't, I can tell you about how I'm going to meet with my surgeon next week to discuss a permanent colostomy - which should significantly reduce the amount of toilet paper we go through.

He was very professional and assured me how important it was to know our situation so he knows how to advise me to deal with the tank situation. He said the chemo does kill off the bacteria making the tank less effective in breaking down the waste and that I'd probably need to have the tank pumped about once a year. If this wasn't my situation we could easily go 3-5 years before having to pump the tank. He didn't bother to ask about my colostomy situation - he probably had never heard of such a thing so decided to just keep quiet at that point for fear of what I might bring up next.

So I guess the final outcome, so to speak, is that all the money I'll save on TP by having a permanent colostomy will go towards having to pump our septic tank out more frequently. Almost makes me want to move to the city and let their sewer system take on all my problems. Almost, but not quite just yet.

On a serious note, those of you on septic tanks and chemo treatments, be aware of how the chemo makes the bacteria in the tank less effective. Make sure that whoever services your septic tank is aware of the chemo situation. Ah yes, just another day in the life of a colo-rectal cancer patient. Gotta love it.

[so-scared]

Wow! This never even entered my mind! Did he say if some of those booster products would help maintain the bacteria counts in the system? We have never used them before but maybe we should consider it. The things that are affected by this blow me away!

It is crazy that the amount of chemo excreted in the urine/feces would mess up the balance in the septic system. That system is loaded with bacteria!! Who'd da thunk it?!

So-s

[beth568]

How timely...there's a guy coming to pump out our septic tank on Thursday morning. We were due for it anyway, but with the vast quantities of TP I've been going through in the past month, I figured it was a little more urgent. So I guess I'll have to admit what's going on instead of blaming my husband...

Good info - thanks!

[RayGirl]

My septic guy gave us something to boost the bacteria in our system. Said he wish we had told him sooner, he would have done "something" to help lengthen the time between pumpings. However since I had just finish treatment, he said it was a good idea to get it pumped out to get all those chemicals out of the system at once. He was actually very understanding since his wife is an onc nurse.

[Bev G]

Someone had mentioned this before on the board. Sorry I can't remember who so I can give credit to this brilliant person. Whenever I am on chemo my husband pours a bottle of Ridex (sp) in the toilet once a month (this was the recommendation posted before I believe). I know when this issue was first posted it blew me away. Wow, if chemo could wreck a whole septic system, what the HECK was it doing to me???? (as if I didn't know )

[Bev G]

Someone had mentioned this before on the board. Sorry I can't remember who so I can give credit to this brilliant person. Whenever I am on chemo my husband pours a bottle of Ridex (sp) in the toilet once a month (this was the recommendation posted before I believe). I know when this issue was first posted it blew me away. Wow, if chemo could wreck a whole septic system, what the HECK was it doing to me???? (as if I didn't know )

[Nickmark59]

The radio station transmit site I maintain has a septic system and even before cancer I always used bacteria booster as the tank system was small and needed some help. and it has kept system running with no problem for several years now. if you kills the bacteria in the tank you have overflow and other problems one does not need on top of cancer.

[NWgirl]

My system is still working fine and he didn't recommend any additives. That said, last year when we had the tank pumped, the guy did recommend some bacteria type thing be added - which he did after the tank was pumped. At the time, I had finished chemo a year previously so I didn't bring up anything. Figured with chemo done - no big deal.

I'll ask the guy when he pumps it this fall if we should add anything or if the chemo will just kill it off too. Again, the system is fine - it's just that it is less effective at "eating away" the "stuff" that goes in there. Especially when I'm loading it up with case after case of Charmin.

The guy today said the sand filter is a different system and it wouldn't be hurt because of the chemo chemicals in there.

But yeah - who would have thought? Of course when you DO think about it, this makes sense. Just one of those "one more things" that we have to deal with.

[Surroundedbylove]

Jaynee posted on here - perhaps a couple of years ago - about a product that was important to use during chemo that you simply put in your toilet at night, flush and then let it sit in your septic tank like that overnight.

Helps keep the bacteria in there working. You might want to PM her about it.

[Surroundedbylove]

Found it!

Bev,
SBL (I think) made mention on Terry's post about being nervous(she had a septic tank issue) about a septic tank post but I didn't know where it was. Anyway, here's what I posted there.

Somewhere on the colonclub, from way back when, I posted about the chemo and the septic tank connection. Back in summer of '06 when I was first on chemo (with radiation at the time), we noticed that our septic tank would sometimes back up in the downstairs bathroom bathtub (gross). We have a daylight basement so that bathroom is very low in relation to the rest of our house. We used the Rid-X and thought nothing of it at the time. During that same time, my friend was telling me about her house, also with a septic tank. Her brother and his family had moved into their house (they also had a daylight basement - very common here in parts of the PNW- and the entire other 'family' of 4 had moved in there) and they were constantly - like every 3 months having to get their septic pumped. At that time, Allison's brother was being treated very aggressively for brain cancer and was on all sorts of different chemo protocols. During his treatment, his daughter, McKenzie, was diagnosed with leukemia and she, too, was on chemo. They couldn't figure WHY the septic kept needing to be pumped until after the second or third pumping, the guy from the company started asking them questions. The first question was whether or not someone in the house was on long term antibiotics as that does the same thing. When they responded no, the very next question from the septic tank guy was whether or not someone was on chemo - BINGO!

Just as chemo (or long term antiobiotics) kill all the good bacteria in our intestines and we consequently can get diarrhea, the theories are (a) that our waste products are already diminished in the bacterial stuff and/or (b) the amounts of chemo still excreted in our urine or stool that are live are killing off any remaining bacteria that is needed in the spetic tank to eat away at the waste products. If you think about it, sooner or later, your septic tank will fill up and have to be emptied. Even though the 'standard' flushing of your tank doesn't need to take place for 3-5 years (heck, we can go 10+ before we need to have it emptied), something has to bed in that tank to help keep the level of waste products down or it the tank would fill up rather quickly. If chemo is killing off all of those tiny bacteria, well, the waste products are going to build up and rather quickly at that. Rid-X is a product that you can put in your septic tank (but you need to read the directions carefully as you should put in down the toilet, flush 1-2 times and then NOT flush the toilet for a good 24 hours - which is why we generally, even now, put it down X 2 a year - once around the 4th of July when we go to our condo for the week and shortly before Christmas when we go to Leavenworth for the long weekend). Basically, Rid-X is like probiotics for the septic tank. As a side note, we have this thing in our backyard called a Doggie Doolie - basically you dig a big hole and this step on top goes over it that opens when you step on this lever. Our dog's poops go into the hole, making it like a doggie septic tank (sort of). When we see it's starting to fill up, we'll pour Rid-X down it, add some water, leave it alone for a day and the bacteria in the Rid-X will do their thing and within a matter of days, that doggie septic tank's contents are, well, significantly less. I like to think of those little Rid-X buggers like the old pac man dudes - just moving around in there, chomping up the bacteria...
Anyway, if you're on chemo and you have a septic, go to the hardware store (Walmart also has it in the 'cleaning' section I think) and pick up a box. It's not cheap but a heck of a lot cheaper than having the septic tank people come out and clean that sucker out! Just remember you have to be gone for something like 24 hours or at least don't flush the toilet for that long (gross!) if you're home for the stuff to be the most effective.

Jaynee

[NWgirl]

Ewwww......it amazes me that after all I've been through things still gross me out. This whole septic conversation grosses me out. Sorry - getting PET results and chemo tomorrow so I'm on my 3rd (and final) glass of vino tonight. So again....ewwww...

I will talk to my septic dude about Rid-X. I'm very careful about ANYTHING I put down our drains/into the septic as I know you have to keep a healthy balance. All that Jaynee says makes perfect sense though.

Thanks for digging up this old post SBL - and Jaynee for posting it originally.

But doggie doo-doo septic.....EWWWWWW.......

[weisssoccermom]

Yep, I posted about it quite some time ago. As I said, I found out about this whole thing quite accidently with my friend's situation. Now, we never had any issues but then again, I was the only one on chemo - not two people like my friends. In addition, we put (and still do) Rid-X in our toilet back then every month (now 2-3 times a year).

IF you're on a septic and you are going out of town for awhile (like overnight or longer) it is the PERFECT time to put the Rid-X down the toilet, flush and leave the house. Let those little bugger bacteria things to their job!!! Since many of us go away for a day or more during the summer, remember to pick some Rid-X up and put it in the toilet just before you leave the house - it's that time of year again for us and the box will be emptied into our toilet Friday - of course after everyone has done their 'before we hit the road' bathroom visit!!

Think of Rid-X like a probiotic for your septic tank!!

Jaynee

[jmarie]

Added to the To Do list, its a long list today. We have lived in this house for 3 1/2 years and have no idea when it was pumped before we bought the house. Our neighbor seems to remember the septic tank had to be replaced the year before we bought it. I really need to call ...

[patricia]

Our plumber told us to leave milk out of refrigerator for a while and then pour it down the drain to introduce useful bacteria to the septic system. And..he said after system is cleaned out next time to throw some raw meat in before they close it up. He says it is better for the environment than poisons...I certainly don't know if this is worthy advice!

[babs249]

Our plumber told us to leave milk out of refrigerator for a while and then pour it down the drain to introduce useful bacteria to the septic system. And..he said after system is cleaned out next time to throw some raw meat in before they close it up. He says it is better for the environment than poisons...I certainly don't know if this is worthy advice!

I wonder if the milk, after it's been left out a while produces the same kind of bacteria that is in yogurt with active cultures? I know that my doctor suggests eating yogurt with active cultures when he prescribes antibiotics. That replaces the good bacteria in the gut that the antibiotics kill off. So, I'm wondering if yogurt put down the drain would do the same thing. We are on the city's sewer system, so we don't have this worry. However, I've certainly blocked the toilet more than once with toilet paper! And to make it worse, we only have one bathroom, and sometimes I can't fix it by myself (getting much better at it though), and have to wait for my husband to come home from work.