Rectal Cancer, Diapers, Diapers, Diapers.

Fecal incontinence is an awful thing to deal with. I lived with it for almost 2 years before having colostomy surgery. Mine was from radiation to the anal area. Is he going to have a colostomy? It really gave me back my life.

Dad is 82. His surgeon told him the surgery (colostomy) would be very hard on him, and he doesn't want to do it. So he is living with the cancer, and we are going through the diapers. I guess that's how it's going to be.

You have to respect his wishes…

Maybe pelvic floor therapy and percutaneous tibial neurostimulation could help. Many people like me who suffer from Low Anterior Resection Syndrome have difficulties with our bowels and find that PFT and PTNS improve matters for us.
Also having a diet that would help his feces bulk up could help for the BMs to be less frequent.

From a conversation in a FB group.

There are 2 different types of fiber -- soluble and insoluble. Both are important for health, digestion, and preventing diseases.
Soluble fiber attracts water and turns to gel during digestion. This slows digestion. Soluble fiber is found in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, and some fruits and vegetables. It is also found in psyllium, a common fiber supplement. Some types of soluble fiber may help lower risk of heart disease.
Insoluble fiber is found in foods such as wheat bran, vegetables, and whole grains. It adds bulk to the stool and appears to help food pass more quickly through the stomach and intestines.
Benefiber is soluble fiber only with a prebiotic. Benefiber doesn’t bulk the stool.
Metamucil & Psyllium, which is in Metamucil, has both soluble & insoluble fiber. The insoluble fiber bulks the stool.
Benefiber helps to slightly slow the stool where Metamucil/Psyllium Husk is more likely to rush right through bowels especially if taken with lots of water. For loose stools Metamucil will bulk your stool if taken as a slurry in only 2-3oz of water. This is also why I recommend not eating or drinking for 30 minutes after taking Metamucil if bulking up loose stools is goal.
Citrucel (methylcellulose) is mainly insoluble fibers that are nonfermentable, so it's less likely to contribute to bloating and gas. Psyllium husk (Metamucil and Konsyl) is rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber.

Ugh. Good to know since I’ll be starting chemo radiation next week for anal cancer. I’m planning to breeze right through it. 🤣. Any tips will be very welcome!

Hello @yancy and welcome to the Colorectal Cancer support group on Mayo Connect. I'm glad that you found this forum for support and encouragement.

I see that you will be starting chemo and radiation next week. Have you previously had surgery?

No surgery yet and hopefully I won’t need any. I’ll start radiation on 5/28 but chemo will be delayed a few days. I just had dental surgery (bone graft) and that needs a few more days to heal and get those drugs out of my system!

Hi Yancy,
I’m sorry you are also in this boat. I completed treatment for anal ca on 5/19/23, 30 radiation treatments and FU5. It was extremely hard, & very painful. It helped to have a hand held bidet sprayer on the toilet. You can get them through Amazon. It was inexpensive & really easy to install. The other things that helped were Refresh brand, unscented toilet paper moistener & aquaphor ointment (the hospital provided that). I hesitated to take the pain meds, because of allergies, I wouldn’t do that again. You will get through it, but it is hard. I’m sending you best wishes. Good luck.❤️

Thanks. It’s very encouraging to hear from someone who has gone through this. I’ve been seriously reading up on bidets and the handheld one. Were you having radiation and chemo at the same time? Did you end up having to have surgery? Your stage? Fatigue? Pain elsewhere? Any details you’d care to share would be so appreciated.