Patients with cancer of the abdomen and pelvis are often treated with radiotherapy. This treatment, either alone or in combination with surgery or chemotherapy, is becoming more successful meaning that patients are living for longer than ever before.
However, unfortunately up to half of the patients will suffer from long term gut symptoms affecting their quality of life, as a direct result of their cancer treatment. This is a hugely under-recognised problem, sometimes because patients don’t report these symptoms to their cancer teams as they’re not aware that anything can be done about them. These long-term gut complaints come about as a direct result of damage to the bowel from the previous radiotherapy and can occur some years after the treatment has ended.
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The condition occurs most commonly in people receiving radiation therapy for cancers in the abdomen, pelvic region and rectum.
Your risk of developing pelvic radiation disease increases depending on:
The normal treatment focuses on relieving symptoms until the inflammation subsides.
Often the effects of cancer treatments such as radiotherapy on the bowel are irreversible. However, several gut conditions can occur as a result of these treatments which themselves lead to unpleasant symptoms.
These conditions are entirely benign and not worrying, but need to be given specific consideration if they are to be tested for and treated appropriately. These include, but are not limited to, conditions termed bile salt diarrhoea, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, pancreatic insufficiency and radiation proctopathy.
The specific treatments for these are usually very effective at improving symptoms and patients’ overall quality of life.
You may be offered:
If the condition becomes severe, you may need a feeding tube temporarily. In chronic cases, you may need intestinal bypass surgery which involves removing the inflamed sections of the intestine and connecting them to the healthy parts. This is a relatively uncommon procedure as the condition normally resolves with less invasive treatment.
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