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Constipation
Reviewed: December 2006
Constipation means being unable to move your bowels, having to push harder to move your bowels, or moving them less often than usual. Bowel movements will be small, dry, and hard. Some patients report that constipation is one of the worst symptoms that they have experienced.
Constipation happens when you get less exercise, or when you eat and drink less than usual. Some medicines may also cause constipation. Opioids act on nerves in the bowel, decreasing activity in the bowel. This decreased activity allows time for water to be absorbed from the stool as it passes through the bowel.
Constipation is the most common side effect and the only one for which patients do not develop a tolerance. Prevention is an important part of your plan of care.
The BC Cancer Agency maintains a database on commonly used unconventional therapies available to cancer patients.
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