Radiation and UC

Hi all,

Has anybody on here had radiation (not to abdomen, pelvis or rectal area)? I'm dealing with breast cancer. Had my lumpectomy 6 weeks ago, stage 1 with clear margins and lymph nodes clear. My UC started flaring a little (after 12 years in total remission). Just some blood in the stool but the stool were formed. I did have horrible joint pains. My GI put me on Budesonide which I'd never taken before - I've been on 9mg for 2 weeks and was feeling good. Now I've just finished my 1st week (out of 4 weeks) of radiation to my breast and my UC started bleeding today quite a bit. I can feel it bleeding in my abdomen - that dreaded achy feeling. And the rectal area is SO painful. My whole body started aching as well. I'm starting to remember all the horrible symptoms.

It just seems so out of the blue - I am wondering if there is any possible way the radiation could have gotten my UC flared up? If it somehow got my immune system raging and then attacked the colon and got that going as well. I've got 3 weeks left of radiation and if it's affecting my UC like this I'll never make it through.

There is also a cancer support forum on Healing Well if you want to post there too for advice. Hang in there xxx. I would think that even if it did trigger your UC (and in my personal but unempirical opinion it seems very very likely...) the priority at this point will have to be completing the cancer treatment. Nothing bigger than that.
There are plenty of meds to eventually bring UC under control and hopefully your body will settle on its own once the radiation treatments are over. In the meanwhile try to support yourself with antioxidant rich foods, ways to calm your mind and lots of rest. This is probably not very helpful specifically but hoping it offers some perspective.

Been on generic Colazal for over 15 years I think. I had been taking Rowasa enemas 5 nights a week as well but had to stop those after surgery. It was too painful to lie on my left side since that is where the surgery was. I figured that's why I was mildly flaring 2 weeks ago, before radiation. And why I started the Budesonide pills which seemed to be helping. So much I had planned to reduce to 6mg today....until I started bleeding and had so much pain all of a sudden yesterday. Just seems odd after 1 week of radiation and after budesonide was working all of a sudden I have such a sharp turn for the worse.

Stool still formed today but yesterday had some mucus. Seems to go back and forth. Definite pressure in the rectal area and an overall achy feeling in the lower abdomen. Joint aches are back after being gone the past week. Feeling fatigued which could be from radiation but usually radiation fatigue does not set in until after the 2nd week of radiation. So likely not from that.

I guess if you have radiation to the pelvic area you do have a good chance of GI upset. But today my radiation oncologistbsaid that isn't very common with radiation to the breast. He also said the immune system should not get activated by localized radiation like this. He said the inflammatory response to the area being treated (my left breast in this case) does increase the first week or 2 of treatment. He said it could be possible this is how my body reacts to an inflammatory response anywhere in my body. So if that response goes down during treatment hopefully the UC will as well. But yes it sucks as I'm told I need this treatment to help prevent local recurrence of the cancer.

MN...sounds very familiar with inflammation is limited to the rectum. Would you be able to use the enemas if you lay on your right side or butt in the air?
Or do you have suppositories?

q

Sorry you are dealing with this. It's ideal to lay on your side for hours after using an enema, but not a requirement. If you can lay on your side for at least 20 minutes that is long enough to get it to the areas it needs to reach. I used to do them in the morning and would do that and then get up and go to work. If that would still be too long right now, maybe you could try suppositories to see if they can provide any help until you heal a little more.

Wishing you the best!