Cancer and Leaking
Can Chemotherapy Cause Urinary Problems?
UI and UTI Myths for Women
Are urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) and Urinary Incontinence (UI) related?
Urinary incontinence or the involuntary loss of bladder control is challenging and often distressing and can significantly impact your quality of life.
It’s commonly associated with aging, childbirth, high-impact sports, and certain surgeries. However, you may be wondering can chemotherapy cause urinary problems? Research shows that there is a relationship between chemotherapy, cancer and urinary incontinence, direct or indirect.
Can Chemotherapy Cause Urinary Problems?
Yes, when treating cancer your body undergoes a great deal of trauma. An increase in urinary incontinence could result from nerve damage, bladder stress, and hormonal changes.
Not only can chemotherapy cause urinary problems but other types of cancer treatments can do
the same.
Radiation- can also cause nerve damage and bladder stress which can lead to urinary incontinence.
Endocrine therapy can cause hormonal changes.
Surgery can also weaken your muscles causing incontinence. This can be dependent on where surgery is being done.
Treatments can also lead to secondary effects such as fatigue, weakness, and mobility issues.
These factors can indirectly contribute to urinary incontinence and you may find it difficult to reach the bathroom in time or manage continence effectively. While cancer treatments and chemotherapy cause urinary problems, learn more about how to manage urinary incontinence from cancer treatments.
How Do I Manage Incontinence After Cancer Treatment?
Pelvic Floor Exercises
Pelvic floor devices like Elitone work by engaging your muscles in exercises like Kegels. Kegels are performed by engaging your pelvic floor muscles, which support your bladder.
Strengthening them can help to reduce leaks. However, they may feel invasive as they need to be inserted and take up dedicated time. Luckily Elitone can do Kegels for you without the intrusiveness.
Lifestyle Modifications
Adjustments such as fluid management and dietary changes can make an impact. Your diet can be a way of reducing the number of leaks that you have. Though it may not treat your incontinence it can make it less of a hassle.
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
this can be used to relieve symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction and help muscles work the way they should. It can be useful but can be difficult to schedule and can be cost-prohibitive depending on your insurance.
Surgery
A pelvic floor reconstruction is a major surgical procedure designed to restore strength and integrity to the pelvic floor. This is invasive and expensive, and there can be a lot of side effects to this surgery.
Treat Incontinence After Cancer Treatment at the Source with Elitone!
With how invasive and exhausting cancer treatment is why not have a treatment option that doesn’t intrude your body? Can chemotherapy cause urinary problems?
Yes, but solutions are available to help. Elitone is an external FDA-cleared solution that treats female urinary incontinence in 20-minute sessions a week at home. Elitone can reduce leaks in as few as six weeks and is 95% effective.
“Radiation weakened my pelvic muscles and I was experiencing leakage with increasing frequency when laughing, coughing, bending, etc. After using [Elitone] for a couple of months, both the frequency and volume of leaks noticeably decreased. And it is easy to use!”
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