After receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy, the patient may suffer different side effects, including:
- Annal sore
- Intestines being stimulated, resulting in diarrhoea
- Cystitis causing urinary frequency and pains on urinating
- Narrowing of the vagina, making sexual intercourse difficult or uncomfortable
- Male impotence
- Fatigue
- The skin where radiation therapy has applied may cause pains and there is hair loss
- Nauseating and vomiting
- Hearing weakens
- Limb pains and numbness
The above side effects can be soothed with drugs, and they will gradually disappear after the treatments. However, radiation therapy may also cause permanent damages to the intestine and bladder, such as increasing the movement of the intestine, continuous diarrhoea or urinary frequency. After the radiation therapy, the intestine and the blood vessels inside the bladder may become fragile, resulting in haematuria and blood in stool. This phenomenon may occur a few months or years after the radiation therapy and the patient should notify the doctor for examination and treatment. If the pelvis radiation is necessary, there may be permanent effects on the patient’s sexual life or reproduction.
