Managing the Side Effects of Radiation Therapy
Print
Urination Changes
Radiation therapy may cause urinary problems when people receive radiation to the prostate or bladder. Radiation damages the cells lining the bladder and urinary tract, causing inflammation, ulcers, and infection. These urinary and bladder problems usually begin three to five weeks after starting radiation treatments, and often go away two to eight weeks after treatment is over.
You may experience the following side effects of radiation therapy:
- Burning or pain while urinating
- Trouble urinating
- Frequent, urgent need to urinate
- Inability to control the flow of urine
- Frequent need to get up to urinate during the night
- Blood in your urine
- Inflammation in your urinary tract
Here are some tips to manage urinary and bladder problems during radiation:
- Make sure you drink enough fluids. Your urine should be clear to light yellow.
- Avoid coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and spices. These are diuretics and can make you need to use the bathroom more frequently.
- Talk to your doctor about incontinence. A physical therapist may be able to give you exercises to improve bladder control.
- Talk to your doctor about medications to improve symptoms such as bladder spasms, burning or pain, and trouble urinating.
