Managing the late effects of pelvic radiotherapy ... - Macmillan Cancer

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Managing the late effects of pelvic radiotherapy in women Surgery Occasionally, some women may need treatment that involves having an operation to improve incontinence. Your doctor will discuss this with you. You’ll be referred to a specialist surgeon for an assessment, and may need to have tests done before any treatment. Operations may include: • Tape to support the urethra This is the most common type of operation, which involves inserting a tape through the vagina and placing it behind the urethra. This supports the urethra and helps prevent urine leaking when there’s increased pressure on the bladder, such as when you cough or sneeze. •• Bulking agents These are materials that are injected into the tissue surrounding the urethra to help keep it closed and make it harder for urine to leak out. You may need several injections for them to work, and they lose their effectiveness over time. • • AUS (artificial urinary sphincter) This treatment is used very occasionally. It may be suitable for some women who are leaking a lot of urine most of the time (severe incontinence) and who haven’t been helped with other treatments. A small cuff is inserted around the urethra and attached to a pump placed under the skin of your tummy or leg. When the cuff is inflated, it stops urine leaking out. You can deflate it when you need to pass urine. 24
Managing bladder late effects Blood in the urine (haematuria) If you have blood in your urine, you’ll need to have a cystoscopy (see page 15) to find out why. If the bleeding is a result of radiotherapy but is mild, you may not need any treatment. If it’s regular, heavy or causing anaemia (when your body produces fewer red blood cells than usual), you’re likely to need treatment. There are several possible treatments: Tablets Tranexamic acid (Cyklokapron ® ) tablets can stop clots dissolving and reduce bleeding. Your doctor may prescribe these for you. Giving drugs into the bladder Some drugs can be dissolved in fluid and given directly into the bladder to stop the bleeding. For this treatment, you’ll need to lie down while a nurse gently passes a thin, flexible tube (a catheter) into your urethra and through to the bladder. Fluid will slowly be passed through it. The catheter is then removed, and you hold the fluid in your bladder for about half an hour to give the treatment time to work. After this, you’ll need to empty your bladder. You might feel some discomfort when passing urine for a couple of days afterwards. Your doctor will explain more about this treatment and its possible side effects. 25
Page 1 and 2: A practical guide to tests and trea
Page 3 and 4: Contents Contents About this bookle
Page 5 and 6: About this booklet About this bookl
Page 7 and 8: Pelvic radiotherapy Pelvic radiothe
Page 9 and 10: Pelvic radiotherapy Gullet (oesopha
Page 11 and 12: Late effects of pelvic radiotherapy
Page 13 and 14: Late effects of pelvic radiotherapy
Page 15 and 16: Bladder changes Right kidney Left k
Page 17 and 18: Bladder changes Talk to your doctor
Page 19 and 20: Managing bladder late effects Manag
Page 21 and 22: Managing bladder late effects Needi
Page 23 and 24: Managing bladder late effects Leaki
Page 25: Managing bladder late effects As yo
Page 29 and 30: Managing bladder late effects Diffi
Page 31 and 32: Bowel changes Bowel changes Sometim
Page 33 and 34: Bowel changes Talk to your doctor T
Page 35 and 36: Managing bowel late effects Managin
Page 37 and 38: Managing bowel late effects Tenesmu
Page 39 and 40: Managing the late effects of Managi
Page 41 and 42: Managing bowel late effects insolub
Page 43 and 44: Managing bowel late effects Other a
Page 45 and 46: Managing bowel late effects Greasy
Page 47 and 48: Managing bowel late effects Strengt
Page 49 and 50: Managing bowel late effects Read ou
Page 51 and 52: Managing bowel late effects 49
Page 53 and 54: Managing bowel late effects Foods t
Page 55 and 56: Managing bowel late effects Fistula
Page 57 and 58: Coping with bowel or bladder change
Page 65 and 66: Lymphoedema Lymphoedema If the lymp
Page 67 and 68: Bone changes Bone changes Most wome
Page 69 and 70: Bone changes What you can do: •
Page 71 and 72: Early menopause Hormone replacement
Page 73 and 74: Managing the late effects of pelvic
Page 75 and 76: Your sex life Treating any late eff
Page 77 and 78:
Your sex life Occasionally, bleedin
Page 79 and 80:
Your sex life Getting help It can b
Page 81 and 82:
Managing the late effects of pelvic
Page 83 and 84:
Your feelings Your feelings It’s
Page 85 and 86:
Your feelings Getting help and supp
Page 87 and 88:
Your feelings Complementary therapi
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Work Work For most people, returnin
Page 91 and 92:
How we can help you How we can help
Page 93 and 94:
How we can help you Professional he
Page 95 and 96:
Other useful organisations Other us
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Other useful organisations The Sexu
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Other useful organisations Offers i
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Further resources Useful websites A
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Disclaimer, thanks and sources Disc
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Can you do something to help We hop
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Cancer is the toughest fight most o
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Managing the late effects of pelvic radiotherapy ... - Macmillan Cancer

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