1.What is radiation enteropathy Simply speaking, radiation enteropathy is radiation-induced intestinal radiation damage, which is commonly seen in patients who receive radiotherapy for pelvic and abdominal malignancies (such as colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, etc.). The common symptoms include blood in stool, diarrhea, perianal pain, urgency, fecal incontinence, sensation of urgency, and abdominal pain. According to the time of symptoms and pathological findings, they can be divided into acute and chronic radiation enteropathy; according to the main site of lesions, they can be divided into radioactive small bowel disease, radioactive rectal disease, etc. 2, radioactive enteropathy = radioactive enteritis Search the Internet, you will find many people call radioactive enteropathy radioactive enteritis, in fact, the two refer to the same disease, are intestinal radiation damage, but radioactive enteropathy than radioactive enteritis terminology is more rigorous, because in different stages of the disease, the main pathological changes of intestinal radiation damage is not necessarily inflammation, for example, in the chronic phase, intestinal radiation damage to For example, in the chronic stage, the intestinal radiation damage is mainly fibrosis, then it is misleading to call it “radiation enteritis”. 3.How do I know if I have radiation enteropathy? First of all, are you receiving or have you received pelvic and abdominal radiation therapy? Secondly, do you have the symptoms of radiation enteropathy mentioned above, such as blood in stool, diarrhea, perianal pain and urgency, during or after radiation therapy? If the answer is yes, it is recommended that you should not delay and go to the hospital to see a gastroenterologist, especially for those patients who have symptoms six months after radiation therapy, because these symptoms may be caused by both radiation enteropathy and tumor recurrence! So one has to go to the hospital first to do the examination to rule out the possibility of tumor recurrence. Depending on the patient’s specific condition, the doctor may arrange colonoscopy, CT, MRI and other examinations for you, and at the same time combine with your past history of radiotherapy, basically you can be diagnosed whether you have radiation enteropathy. 4.What to do if you have radiation enteropathy Most patients with radiation enteropathy are tumor patients who have received radiotherapy. Some of them may think they are lucky to escape from the clutches of tumor, and even if they have symptoms of radiation enteropathy such as diarrhea, urgency, and sense of urgency, they are not willing to seek medical treatment, thinking that this is a small price to pay for getting rid of tumor. Many patients come to the hospital for help only after serious complications such as severe diarrhea, blood in stool, intestinal perforation and intestinal fistula. In fact, when clinical symptoms are suspected, it is wisest to go to the hospital in time to seek formal help.