What to do if you have diarrhea due to colon cancer

What should patients with colorectal cancer do if they have diarrhea? Many colorectal cancer patients will have diarrhea symptoms. The causes of diarrhea in colorectal cancer patients are nothing more than the following aspects.

Surgery: Intestinal tumor surgery will remove part or most of the intestine, causing changes in intestinal function and reduced intestinal mucosal absorption area, leading to diarrhea. This is common in colon cancer, small intestinal tumors and rectal cancer.

Chemotherapy: Most patients need conventional chemotherapy after surgery. Chemotherapy drugs are toxic to the intestinal wall, which can damage intestinal epithelial cells, accelerate intestinal peristalsis, affect water and nutrient absorption, and thus cause diarrhea.

Radiotherapy: Some patients need to undergo radiotherapy in the abdomen, pelvis, lower chest or lumbar spine after tumor resection, which can easily cause radiation enteritis, secondary intestinal mucosal atrophy and fibrosis, and then cause acute exudative diarrhea.

Biological therapy: Cytokines, monoclonal antibodies and molecular targeted therapy drugs are commonly used in clinical practice for biological therapy, and some biological therapy drugs, such as interferon, may cause diarrhea.

Diarrhea can easily cause damage to the anus or perianal skin, resulting in erosion, ulcers, etc. So what should patients with colorectal cancer do with diarrhea? Patients should regularly wash the local skin, take a warm water bath after defecation, and apply anti-moisture lotion or zinc oxide oil locally to keep the perianal skin clean and dry, so as to prevent and avoid the formation of perianal skin erosion or ulcers.

What should patients with intestinal cancer do if they have diarrhea? If the diarrhea is caused by the intestinal tumor itself, the diarrhea can be cured by treating the tumor. If the diarrhea is caused by tumor treatment, it needs to be regulated through diet adjustment, perianal skin care and other methods. Dietary adjustment should choose easily digestible, high-protein, high-sugar, low-fat and low-fiber foods. Adhere to small and frequent meals, avoid irritating, allergic, hyperosmotic foods, and overcold, overheated, and gas-producing foods. Sufficient fluids should be supplemented, and patients who are sensitive to dairy products should not use dairy products.

What should patients with colorectal cancer do if they have diarrhea? Diet adjustment: Generally, three days after the operation, the patient will start to eat liquid food, such as rice soup, or porridge, and gradually transition to semi-liquid and normal food. The diet should be light and mild, with small meals and frequent meals. Avoid spicy and irritating food, and avoid eating hypertonic, overcold, overheated, and gas-producing foods. Especially during chemotherapy, you should not eat greasy seafood and other difficult-to-digest foods. You can eat foods rich in carbohydrates to increase water and salt absorption.

What should patients with colorectal cancer do if they have diarrhea? Drug treatment: Diarrhea during chemotherapy may be related to chemotherapy drugs, especially diarrhea caused by oxaliplatin, which is often more serious and should be taken seriously. Imodium or Enmecta can be given. Diarrhea during or after radiotherapy should consider the possibility of radiation enteritis. In addition, patients with mild diarrhea who have less than 4 bowel movements per day do not need to take antidiarrheal drugs. Generally, diarrhea symptoms can be alleviated after two days of medication. Severe patients with bowel movements of 10-20 times/day should seek medical attention in time and receive intravenous nutrition therapy, paying attention to preventing water and electrolyte imbalance. In addition, the combination of Grifola frondosa D block fraction (D component) during chemotherapy can effectively avoid diarrhea problems.