Anal Cancer
Discussion List
-
My Anal Cancer Journey
My Cancer Story actually began in 2001 when I was diagnosed with Stage IIIb breast cancer invading 7 of 21 nodes. I mention this because I met a few women who started with breast cancer and years later either developed anal or colon cancer. In 2011, I was dx with anal cancer in siti and had surgery. In three months it came…
-
Overwhelmed
I'm not sure where to begin. I'm newly diagnosed, one week yesterday that I got the news. Yesterday I saw the Radiologist. He was pretty awesome and explained things very clearly. The entire staff at the cancer center was really nice and helpful. At this point He staged me at T 1 or 2, N-0, M-0. On Tuesday I have a PET…
-
Thank you Anal forum
For some unknown reason I popped onto this forum (I'm on the CRC forum) the other day and it almost blew my mind. I was diagnosed with CRC almost five (yeah, the FIVE is here this year) years ago. I had a resection followed by FOLFOX/5FU and Raditaion/5FU. Cancer spread to my liver in 2014. The chemo was no fun, but the…
-
"Coning down"?
Hello! I still have 6 sessions of radiation left, but my doctor mentioned to me today that after tomorrow, they will be "coning down" the radiation area. Has anyone been through this? Know exactly what to expect? (I did ask for an explanation, and the doc said it meant he was focusing the radiation on the just the tumor…
-
Vaginal stenosis
Hello! This seems to be a subject without a lot of discussion! I've seen only one woman who mentioned surgery for stenosis (I've messaged her...) but I wonder if anyone else has, and where. I am a year and 3 months out of treatment and still unable to "graduate" past the first (of 5) dilators. Is there anyone who had…
-
Hard to find info on where lumps surface after APR
Hello all, jumping boards hoping someone on this one might know the answer. I had an APR 4 years ago and have been cancer free since. I went for a GYN checkup and told my doctor I felt a lump. She said she felt nothing and it was just confusing because my vagina is now so distorted from the surgery. I moved on. Went to…
-
Need some encouragement, please
As pathetic as it may sound, I just sat and cried for 20 minutes in my bath. I have 9 more sessions of radiation to go, and while I'm grateful that my chemo rounds are finished, I can't seem to get a grip on the next almost 2 weeks of radiation. The pain I'm having is pretty intense, and the "sunburn" in my groin area is…
-
Immunotherapy squamous cell
Hey there i have previsouly written a few months back, my mum is fighting anal cancer squamous cell carcinoma stage 4- tumor in rectal sphincter muscel and in near by lymph nodes, had the big surgery and hysterectomy, all nodes removed, then chemo and had a scan 6 months ago was clear it hadnt travelled at that point…
-
Mineral Oil
Hi everyone! I just wanted to pop on here and let those of you seeking relief for pain during BMs know that my doctor recommended consuming a tablespoon of mineral oil 1-2 times a day. I have had surprisingly good results from this over the past couple of days. I am not a doctor, so I'm not giving this out as medical…
-
Sorry for my absence
Hi everyone…..I must first apologize for my lack of posting lately. I have tried to read occasionally as I think about you all and how we inspire and encourage each other and how much more difficult this would all be without this forum! A couple weeks before Christmas my husband was dx with a recurrence of his blood cancer…
-
Sadness
Hi everyone, first off I want to thank all of you for the responses I have recieved to each post I have written, you all have given me much encouragement, I hope I am able to give back all that you have given to me with the same positive support. I'm posting today because I am feeling pretty depressed, I think mainly over…
-
metastasized sqamous cell anal cancer
In 2011 I was diagnosed with stage two anal cancer with no lymph node involvement and no spread from the anal area. I underwent 33 radiations and chemo with 5Fu and mitomycin. Five years later (late 2016) I was diagnosed with squamous cell anal cancer metastasizes to the lungs and peritoneum. Because I have chronic after…
-
2nd Picc Line and 33 total radiation sessions
Hi all! I hope this post finds you well! I am having a Picc line placed tomorrow to begin my second (and hopefully final) round of chemo. Despite having already been through one Picc line placement, I am finding my anxiety to be off the charts. WHY?! Also, I noticed when I read through a bunch of other posts that most…
-
Thank you all who came before me
i have been reading this forum since my first diagnoses on Dec. 1st. I really appreciate everyone who asked questions and provided answers. The information was invaluable to me. It gave me confidence to fire my first medical oncologist when he kept saying he didn't know what I had. My journey has been bumpy. It started out…
-
Private Message Spam
Hello everyone, Thank you to all of you who have alerted us to the PM spamming from earlier today. I apologize for the inconvenience. While we do have securities in place, we are not always able to catch all spam, and we are trying to figure out how this one got around our system. If you received a message from jegac1…
-
Blood clot caused by port
A month ago my left arm started swelling. The my head got big as a Mellon. Mediport had caused a blood clot. Was put on blood thinners and port was removed on left side and a power port put in right. Had angioplasty. On blood thinner shots twice daily. Risky with the power port on the right because of lack of lymph nodes…
-
How long will it take to have intercourse again?
I finished chemo/radiation- the 6 week regime on Oct. 21, 2016- ended up in the hospital for 10 days at the end and am in recovery, now Fe. 2017. My vagina opening and inside has shrunk considerably. I used dialotors during treatment until i couldn't anymore and now use them again + dildo. I tried to have intercourse with…
-
Leg weekness paralysis
Two weeks out of surgery for rectal cancer. Stage 2. Already completed radiation and first round of chemo. Legs very week, especially the right. Also numbness from ankle to knee on right. Tumor was located against the rectal muscle. Surgeon said got clear margins. Permanent colostomy. Just didn't know it was going to…
-
Lower abdominal pain still early in treatment. 80 years old
My mother who is 80 started the treatment for anal cancer 2 weeks ago she had Mitomycin C and Fu-5 for five days. She seemed to tolerate chemo as well as could be hoped for, in general didn't feel well, nausea, general malaise but did not vomit. She has had 10 radiation treatments out of 33 scheduled. She felt well enough…
-
Calendula?
I bet I am driving everyone bonkers with all my inquiries, but I have another! I've entered week 4 of treatment (halfway to the finish line!), and my rear end is beginning to feel raw and sometimes itchy. My mother-in-law gave me a tube of Calendula cream. It is homeopathic and supposedly used for treatment of sunburn,…
-
White Blood Cell Counts
Hello all, I hope this message finds you all very well. I'm almost finished week 3 of treatment! Phew. I had mitomycin/5FU the first week along with radiation (M-F), and radiation (M-F) the last two weeks also. I had my blood levels checked yesterday for the 3rd time (including my initial levels pre-chemo). My white cells…