Looking for tips on managing radiation-induced proctitis

Foods I need to avoid due to radiation proctitis.
Cured meats (ham, bacon, hot dogs, pastrami, etc)

Foods with palm oil, or palm kernel,

Limit coffee to less than 1/2 a cup per day.

Potato chips

My advice is to keep a food diary and see if there are correlations between symptoms and food intake.

I’d look into Hyperbaric Oxygen. It seems to be effective with a whole host of ailments.

@anything4him

@29modela

@anything4him
For anyone who has a smart phone, go to your search bar and ask the question, what is the diet for an individual who has CHRONIC radiation enteritis? You will be told for the individual to go on a low residue diet. However this is must qualified by the phrase, low residue diet FOR CHRONIC RADIATION ENTERITIS. AI will give you a list of foods you can eat and foods you should not and cannot. For example, only soft white bread nothing whole grain. No raw fruits or vegetables with the exception of bananas, applesauce, canned peaches. For veggies, only potatoes, boiled or baked, NO SKINS OF ANY KIND,
cooked carrots until mushy,
Cooked pumpkin, zucchini NO SKINS OR SEEDS. I can eat cantaloupe and watermelon. I eat only certain dairy products before which I need to take a lactatid. I find OIKOS triple zero and Chobani zero sugar yogurt agreeable. I eat very little cheese only occasionally and I have completely eliminated ice cream from my diet. I do eat a little shebert. For meats, I can eat chicken and turkey breast, white fish. I have eaten shrimp and crab.
I can eat eggs, INSTANT oatmeal, INSTANT grits, pancakes only 3 small. I use a smear of plant based buttery spread instead of butter. I eat CREAMY peanut butter but need to be cautious of the fat intake.
The key to this diet is:
YOU CANNOT EAT A LOT OF FATS. I FIND I CAN EAT ONLY VERY LITTLE OTHERWISE MY BOWELS ARE UNHAPPY.
YOU CANNOT EAT ANY HARD FOODS OR FOODS WHICH ARE HARD TO DIGEST BECAUSE THAT WILL SCRAPE THE INTERIOR OF THE BOWEL WHICH IS INFLAMED.
THAT GOES FOR SPICY AND VERY HOT FOODS AS WELL.
The goal of this diet is to be aware of the fat intake because the bowels have a difficult time absorbing the fat and be aware of the fiber, hard to digest foods because the bowels have a difficult pushing the stool matter out.
I also have been on one daily dose of Miralax for a while.
HBOT begins the healing process. Proper diet makes life bearable living with radiation enteritis.
Let me know what works for you. Good luck with your journey.

@29modela Thank you so much for this and for taking the time to respond. We did go back to eating more fiber- whole grains etc gradually over time because that’s supposedly healthy. Just when you think you have a handle on this something else pops up and you’re researching like crazy to try to help the issue. It’s a roller coaster without the fun. Much appreciated!

I had 40 sessions HBOT for radiation cystitis and it has worked. There were some people there for proctitis and it was working for them.

Looking for advice on next steps. 71yo in excellent health otherwise.

MRI in Jan 25 showed probable lesion and possible metastasis. Biopsy in Feb 25. Gleason 8. PMSA Pet Scan in March showed spread to one lymph node, pelvic bone metastasis, and possible rib metastasis (but very low score). Started 2 years of Orgovyx and Xtandi. Consistent with the STAMPEDE trial for low volume metastasis had 20 sessions radiation for the prostate and the node in May 2025. Sept 25 PMSA showed remission with much lower SUV values in both radiated areas and bone. PSA is undetectable and testosterone is in single digits. So far so good.

Jan. 26 some blood in stool. Diagnosed as radiation proctitis in May 2026 by colorectal surgeon. Did 6 weeks of Sucralfate enemas and bleeding is much less - once every few days and a small amount. What to do next?

Surgeon suggests either active monitoring, formalin, another round of Sucralfate, or hyperbaric. Says it is my call. What would you do in my case? To be honest it doesn't bother me that much. Thanks in advance.