Hello and thanks for your enquiry,

I am sorry to hear that you are having some difficult side effects from your current treatment.

Do let your hospital specialist team know. Diarrhoea is common, and they can prescribe medication to help with this. Reduce your fibre intake for now, as fibre and fresh fruit and vegetables can increase the bowel transit time further. It is unpleasant to have diarrhoea and it can also make you feel weak and tired, so it is important to rest if you need to. 

We have some tips on our website.

There are several things that can help you, such as:

anti diarrhoea drugs, which your healthcare team can give youanti spasm medicines from your healthcare teamdrinking lots – this is important as you can easily get dehydratedchanging your diet – you can speak to your radiotherapy team or dietitian for advice.

Tips for managing your diet:

Eat smaller meals and more snacks.Avoid food or drinks containing artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol, mannitol or xylitol. These can make diarrhoea worse.If your diet is normally very high in fibre, it might help to reduce foods that are particularly high in fibre such as beans, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, bran and raw vegetables.Try not to eat too much greasy, fatty or spicy food which will be gentler on your system.Ask your doctor to about anti diarrhoea drugs.

You may find it helps to keep a food diary. It can help you work out which foods make your diarrhoea worse and the foods you can eat without causing problems.

Drink plenty. Aim for 8 to 10 cups each day if you can. This includes tea, squash and milky drinks as well as soups, custard, jelly and ice lollies.Cut down on drinking too much caffeine (particularly in coffee) and avoid alcohol. These can make your symptoms worse.

If your diarrhoea is severe then replacement drinks such as Diarolyte can help. They replace the loss of fluid and salts in your body. Do speak with your nurse, doctor, or pharmacist beforehand for advice. More tips on coping

I hope that things improve for you soon,

Kind regards,

Vanda