Each year, approximately 20,000 people in Sweden are treated for cancer of the small pelvis. Most patients survive, but a large proportion of patients who are fully treated have residual bowel function problems due to cancer treatment. There are many treatments and self-care tips that can improve bowel function. In the new training, caregivers are given cognitive support to systematically guide the patient through them.
The training consists of a number of films and texts. It takes about an hour to complete on a computer, tablet or mobile phone. The National Pelvic Cancer Rehabilitation Working Group developed the course. The course is primarily aimed at nurses, as well as other healthcare professionals who see patients who have been treated for cancer of the small pelvis.
It takes time and requires patience
Few patients are helped by a single treatment. It often involves trying, conditioning, and combining different types of therapies and self-care such as diet, protection, exercise, bowel-regulating preparations, and sometimes irrigation. What works is individual and it takes time to find the right one, says Annika Cioval, MD, a colorectal surgeon and chair of the National Pelvic Cancer Rehabilitation Working Group.
Great impact on daily life
Intestinal problems are a topic that many people find difficult to talk about. It is common for patients not to raise their problems with relatives or with health care.
– Discomforts such as fragmented stools, strictures, leakage, gas, and stomach pain have a significant negative impact on the patient’s quality of life. Many suffer in silence. Therefore, the training also provides advice on how caregivers can pick up on these patients and dare to ask about their bowel function, says Karen Erickson, specialist nurse at the Cancer Rehabilitation Center at Sappzburg Hospital.
Specialist nurses, liaison nurses, dieticians, physicians and patients participate in the training. It also includes a shorter lecture on the causes of bowel function problems after treatment for cancer of the small pelvis.
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