What Week Of Chemo/Radiation Do The Symptoms Start Getting Worse?

[Jolene]

Can anyone please tell me your experiences with Capecitabine and radiation treatment for rectal cancer. I am ending week 1 1/2 right now (Started last Thursday) and can say that I have yet to experience any side effects. I have 5 total weeks of treatment or 25 total radiation sessions. I do smoke and consume marijuana as I live in a recreational state and have read up on this helping alleviate some of the side effects such as poor appetite or nausea.

Hi Deep - We seemed to be of the same age and diagnosis, except my mum had colon cancer !

I just completed a 28 session chemoradiation and it was a breeze for me compared to some others. The side effects kicked in around week 3-4 for me and it was all very manageable. I had little to no pain throughout the course and even thereafter.

Saying that, I was quite diligent in applying the aloe vera gel and paraminol cream provided around the anus area - two to three times a day everytime I cleaned and washed myself down there. So perhaps that helped ?

Below are some that I experienced:

Pooping and peeing urgency. If you gotta go, just go and don't think you can hold it in as before! Empty your bowels before you leave the house. Locate the toilets if you are in unfamiliar territory so that you know where you can run to when the situation calls for it. Anus was slightly sore and sometimes itchy - but it went away in a few days. Keep in mind I was really diligent in apply all the gel and cream. Very gassy which can cause some embarrassment if you are not careful. Learn to control pelvic muscles ? I found that if you keep clearing your bowels whenever you can there tends to be less gas !

Sleepiness is something I often experienced a few hours after the radiation but again very manageable. This actually sorted out my insomia as I was often ready to go to bed when night falls ! So it depends on how you view this as. It did not quite interrupt my routine and I was able to continue with some social life !

1 week after my last session, i developed a sore patch of skin on the butt crack which I suspect is where the radiation entered, but with continuous application of gel and cream it got better after a week leaving some mild scars but then who's gonna judge my butt crack anyway !

As for the chemo - I developed some tingly and itchy sensation in the final week but went away as soon as the course stopped.

FYI - I just got back from a follow-up 3.5 weeks after my last CRT session and my tumor has apparently shrunk by 50% !

[sinewaves]

At 18/28 done treatments now, and it's getting to be pretty noticeable/bad.

Starting to understand the "razor poops" previous threads have talked about. I've been good about putting aloe around the area multiple times a day, but unclear how much it is helping.

Of course the light is at the end of the tunnel with 10 treatments to go, and pain should go away from what i learned here in previous posts. Look forward to the 2ish weeks after the radiation and chemo are done and its smooth sailing until the next step.

[Deep]

My last treatment is next Thursday. They started me on a Thursday and I will end on a Thursday. So, these are the last two weeks. I have had a noticeable side effect that I have not seen mentioned on here. I have woke up in the middle of the night a dozen times it feels in the past couple of nights to empty my bladder. I don't even have that much to pee, but the signals to my brain once I wake up are to empty it before I can go back to sleep. Still no pain. I am hoping for an uneventful week ahead, and will keep this forum posted on my outcome.

~Deep

[Deep]

Well, I made it through my last treatment of radiation. Still no pain when I poop. I have some skin tenderness on my backside, and I feel a little dazed, but other than that, I think I made it through this pretty well. I know it might get worse over the next week after reading through other's experiences. I got some ointment just in case, but am hopeful this chapter is over. Thanks for your personal experiences if you left them on here.

[sinewaves]

Congrats Deep!

My tumor is pretty low, and I can definitely feel a burning when I poop. The skin cream helps a little - 4 days to go for me, then onto the next part of treatment.

[cgb13]

I want to echo this post as I've had a substantially similar situation. So far, I've experienced the same side effects - some irritation, fatigue/fuzziness, and like clockwork, they came on halfway through week 3. I hope my experience continues to mirror yours!