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Hi Erin:
It sounds like you might have hemorrhoids.
Two risk factors associated with hemorrhoids are constipation (straining) and to a lessor extent doing a lot of sitting in one position without walking around. The bleeding can also be caused by irritation to the wall of the bowel (ie chemo rash occuring internally).
Bleeding probably means that you are being exposed to your own fecal bacteria. Chemo reduces the body's ability to fight bacteria - so you should probably get it checked out.
At my hospital, there are trained nurses who are assigned to the oncology dept take questions of this nature by phone and advise you as to how urgent it is. Why don't you see if there is a similar service at your hospital?
Regards,
Merridith
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