Cancer and Hemorrhoids: Pain In The Butt!

Cancer and Hemorrhoids Pain In The ButtDo you have a pain in the butt? No, I’m not talking about the kids, the husband, the dog, or the job, but hemorrhoids. Did you know that hemorrhoids are not a new problem for our modern time? David A. Johnson, MD, is a professor of medicine and Chief of Gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He recently spoke on the common clinical problem of hemorrhoids. He stated, “The dating of hemorrhoids by report goes back to the Bible and to ancient Babylonian times. There were hemorrhoidal inferences on papyrus scriptures. This has been around for a long time. It’s not a new problem.”

Well, hello! If you have ever had hemorrhoids, you don’t care how old they are! That pain in the butt has to go away! Hemorrhoids are from vascular problems. We have internal fibro-vascular cushions that are normal in that area but (not the butt you are thinking about), as we age, these vascular items can start to break down.

Aging is one thing that can cause hemorrhoids to come “alive”. For the purpose of this article, I want to mention how sometimes a cancer patient may get the pain in the butt. Many times, cancer patients tend to become tired and have less movement. They stop eating correctly. They tend to sit or lay down a lot. The rest they are getting may not be a peaceful good rest because they are so worried. All of these are possible reasons for hemorrhoids. When our immune system sees a change, many things can start happening to our body. Good or bad changes.

I believe one of the biggest reasons for hemorrhoids can be blamed on the patients medications. Many times pain medicine and other narcotics are needed. It is hard to feel like you can get well if you are in continuous pain. It is a known fact and side effect, these type medications can cause constipation. Many times when people are constipated, they tend to sit on the commode and strain to get something to move their way. Please don’t.

Let your doctor know you are having constipation problems with your meds. It’s a possibility they can change the medication which has less constipation side effects. If you can’t seem to get things moving, avoid sitting on the commode for more than a minute and a half to two minutes. Get up, do something else, and then go back and try again. Please do not strain. Straining can possibly raise blood pressure too.

There are many laxatives and many can be very harsh. If you want to try something natural first, our patients have had great success with a product called “Smooth Move”. It is a tea that can be bought at any health food store in the tea department. There could not be a better name for it than it already has.

Many of our patients at New Hope Unlimited report good “moves” from taking at least a  teaspoon of organic coconut oil by mouth every day. They have taken the coconut oil by itself or have put it on top of their toast or in food.

Of course, the best way to deal with hemorrhoids is to not have to deal with them. Our water intake is very important. If our colon gets a little dehydrated, our poo tends to get a little hard and doesn’t want to go naturally towards the light. Drinking water can help the slippery slope move.

-Dr Fredda Branyon