Radiotherapy.

Hi, I would like to ask anybody if they have had the same problems as myself, had prostate cancer diagnosed 2017, had a prostatoctomy and removed my prostate but had 2 surgical margins so i knew it would return.

Had radiotherapy after one year as my PSA started to rise and hormone treament and it has killed the cancer for the last 18 month thank god. 

However now they found blood in my poo not seen with the naked eye, but i did yesterday after a little strain it came. So i am booked in for a colonoscopy now worried i have bowel cancer after one long fight into another. Can radiotheeapy cause this after 18 month still bleeding i only found out as i did the FIT test you get at 60 from the government hope it is not big C any body else suffered this please im 60 years old.

  • Hello Fatboy777 and thanks for posting, 

    Bleeding from the bowel can have a number of causes including radiotherapy damage which I think is more likely explanation than cancer. Although not common, it is possible for someone to develop two primary cancers, but  ry not to anticipate what the colonoscopy will show and take things one step at a time (easier said than done I know) . 

    I expect you know that there is a small risk of radiotherapy contributing to the development of another cancer and some of the radiation used to treat your prostate will have passed through part of your lower your bowel. But if a bowel cancer was to develop because of radiotherapy for prostate cancer I would expect it to be at least several years or more later on. 

    Hopefully nothing serious will turn out to be the matter, but it is good to get properly checked out. 

    Wishing you the best, 

    Julia

  • Hi Julia,

     

    Thank you made me feel a little better one question i paid privately for a scan where they inject the dye last February 2020 on the advise of the Oncolgist lovely man he is great guy my wife and family think the world of him.

    He just wanted to see if the cancer that had came back had may be gone on its travel, i did not ask but he did say im sure that no other cancers or prostate was seen anywhere so let us see thank you god bless have a lovely xmas and New Year i will certainly forward my result thanks for the help much appreciated Gary.