Thanks for asking, Colleen. I had a few challenging side effects from chemo-radiation. First, I had some very painful bowel spasms, urgency and pain passing stools starting in the second week. The team prescribed dicyclomine and that did seem to calm the spasms. Ibuprofen was surprisingly helpful with pain overall.

Second, the skin burn from the radiation got very significant over time, reaching a peak the week or two after treatment ended. It got very painful to be in a car, to get in and out of bed, sitting in certain positions... The team had started me on moisturizing from even before the treatment started and about halfway through prescribed an ointment that was Aquaphor with lidocaine and that seemed to help. I'm happy to say that a month after treatment ended, my skin is mostly healed. It's so nice to have smooth, soft butt again! It's encouraging to see the healing capacity of the body.

Sidenote: throughout my treatment, people would tell me how good I looked. I joked to my wife that sometimes I wanted to say, "Oh yeah, wanna see my butt?" (I did not say that...).

Finally the fatigue and brain fog were a challenge as the treatment progressed and continued after for a few weeks. I have a busy job and a couple of times, I just cleared my calendar for a morning of peace and quiet at home. In addition to all the physical symptoms, going through these treatments, we are living our lives in two worlds, including a parallel universe of uncertainty and new concerns and worries. I think it's important to be gentle with oneself.

One instinctual response I had to this whole process was to withdraw internally, somewhat silently and invisibly to those around me. But I needed the internal quiet and space. It reminded my of what I felt naturally and unexpectedly after my mom passed away. A space opened up inside that was where my sadness and need to reflect was made possible. It was a private space that I think it's important to notice and make room for in your life when going through something like this.

Hope this is helpful. It was helpful to write it! Love and encouragement to all on this journey,

Rich