I'm 60, diagnosed with mild crohns about 5 years ago. I also have ankylosing spondylitis. I took Humira for 2+ years. Just got diagnosed with prostate cancer (wonder what influence the Humira had!). Surgeons say I can't have radiation because of the crohns, leaving surgery as the only option (of course, they are surgeons). Has anyone heard that crohns patients should stay away from radiation?
Crohn's and cancer
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DustyKat
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Hi nbguy and welcome,
Good to see you here. I am not particularly familiar with the Crohns/radiation thing but I have certainly read that indeed in people with Crohns that radiotherapy is contraindicated. I think it has something to do with the possible long lasting side effects of the radiotherapy which create within the bowel a ?similar environment to what Crohns sufferers have and I guess if that already exists the results would not be desirable. Don't quote me on that one!
As to the prostate cancer I don't know about the Humira's influence but in view of the fact that the cancer is most common in men over 50 and reaching a figure of 8/10 men suffering with by the time they are over 65, well there may a strong likelihood that it developed independently of other factors. Of course in many of those diagnosed it is the benign type. Just my two cents worth on that one. :eek2:
Hopefully someone may be along that has more concrete answers than just my opinions. Welcome aboard!
All the best,
Dusty
Good to see you here. I am not particularly familiar with the Crohns/radiation thing but I have certainly read that indeed in people with Crohns that radiotherapy is contraindicated. I think it has something to do with the possible long lasting side effects of the radiotherapy which create within the bowel a ?similar environment to what Crohns sufferers have and I guess if that already exists the results would not be desirable. Don't quote me on that one!
As to the prostate cancer I don't know about the Humira's influence but in view of the fact that the cancer is most common in men over 50 and reaching a figure of 8/10 men suffering with by the time they are over 65, well there may a strong likelihood that it developed independently of other factors. Of course in many of those diagnosed it is the benign type. Just my two cents worth on that one. :eek2:
Hopefully someone may be along that has more concrete answers than just my opinions. Welcome aboard!
All the best,
Dusty
@nbguy = I dont see any reason why a Chronie should not get radiation. My close friend who had proctocolectomy because of a tumor in his rectum, had chemo AND radiation. He is in complete remission from both crohns and cancer and is doing absolutly great. He is about your age and very active.
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nb guy,
Interesting you should mention Crohn's and radiation etc as my GI doesnt want me to have any x-rays, etc. He always orders MRI's and ultrasounds. It never occurred to me to ask - I just assumed that since I have Crohn's, I would be getting a lot of tests and so therefore he wanted to limit the amount of radiation. Now you have me wondering. If you find anything out, let us know will you?
Sorry to hear about your new diagnosis. I also have a friend who is a prostate cancer survivor. He is also doing well today. Keep your head up and keep fighting I hope you have a lot of supportive people. Glad you found the forum - there are a lot of great people here willing to listen and joke around and share experiences with.
Hope to see you around the boards!
Wendy
Interesting you should mention Crohn's and radiation etc as my GI doesnt want me to have any x-rays, etc. He always orders MRI's and ultrasounds. It never occurred to me to ask - I just assumed that since I have Crohn's, I would be getting a lot of tests and so therefore he wanted to limit the amount of radiation. Now you have me wondering. If you find anything out, let us know will you?
Sorry to hear about your new diagnosis. I also have a friend who is a prostate cancer survivor. He is also doing well today. Keep your head up and keep fighting
I hope you have a lot of supportive people. Glad you found the forum - there are a lot of great people here willing to listen and joke around and share experiences with.Hope to see you around the boards!
Wendy
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Just a thought, but if you're all ready worn down and really weak from crohn's disease and the cancer and with the new theories that crohn's is a cause of an under active immune system, top that off with the Humira and it's no wonder they don't want you on chemo. Chemo is very toxic on the body and makes people very, very weak. I'm not surprised they don't want you to take it. Just my thoughts
Thanks for those great responses. It really helps. Saw the surgeon today and he's putting me in touch with a radiologist to talk about the effect on crohns. The surgeon tells me that radiation causes inflammation in the colon similar to crohns. So far, I think mixing crohns and radiation is a bad idea, but I'll keep an open mind until I have to make a decision. Hey Wendy, that's interesting that your GI doesn't like giving you x-rays. I'm curious about that as well, especially since x-rays aren't nearly as intense as cancer radiation. Thanks again for the nice welcomes and support.
Luckily, the cancer is only in the prostate, so chemo isn't necessary. What's weird is that I feel great. No symptoms at all.. I do wonder how long it will be before crohns symptoms return after being off of humira for the last couple of months. Maybe I'll luck out there too.
Entchen
Chief Dandelion Picker
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Hi, and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your dual diagnosis -- what a lot to deal with. Wonderful that you're feeling good right now; it's nice to have times of feeling well, eh? Question -- are you an NB guy as in a New Brunswicker (province) or New Jersey, or none of the above, or you're keeping that private?
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