Rectal Injuries from Radiation Therapy

Treating Lower Abdominal Cancers

Radiation treatment of the rectum, uterus, cervix, prostate, bladder and testes is likely to produce uncomfortable swelling initially. Diarrhea is a common complaint. But the classic symptoms of tissue death (radiation necrosis) may not occur until much later.

Chronic bleeding, inflammation, rectal ulcers, narrowing of the bowl and fistulas (abnormal connections forming between two hollow spaces, such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow organs) almost always require further surgeries. But bowel re-sectioning, colostomies and other attempts to bypass dying tissue often create further troublesome complications for the patient.

Although doctors employ a wide variety of therapies to treat the pain, soreness, bleeding and diarrhea associated with abdominal radiation injury, one less-well-known but extremely effective treatment is hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Radiation Injury Is Now Available in Palm Harbor, Florida.

Studies have shown HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY (HBOT) provides significant benefits for those suffering from radiation necrosis:

• In one research study, 53 percent of abdominal radiation patients who had HBOT showed immediate improvement, and 66% improved over the long term or were completely cured
• A second study showed that 87 percent of the subjects given HBOT for abdominal and pelvic radiation-induced necrosis experienced complete resolution of their symptoms
• In a third HBOT study, 36 percent of patients with abdominal and/or pelvic radiation-induced proctitis (rectal inflammation) and enteritis (small bowel inflammation) had complete symptom resolution and 60 percent showed marked clinical improvement