Urgent

Adam26

Hi guys, has anybody had any "thickening" or "scar tissue" after 6 months post treatment.

How can you tell it isn't the lesion, they said it felt soft surely a lesion would be harder and surely it wouldn't have come back so soon anyway, was only stage 1. The onc thinks it's just scar tissue but the nurse apparently used the word (for no real reason at all) "reoccurrence". Just ridiculous.

eihtak

Adam26......

Hi there, keep in mind that different radiologist, doctors etc. use a variety of terms to describe the same condition, while this can cause frustration and is an area that has always baffled me, it is the case. I was initially treated for stage3b anal cancer over 4 yrs ago and the wording of my scan reports is varied. On my 6month report no notes with "thickening", on my 1yr report, anal thickening was noted, only once since then was any thickening in the anal area noted again. I always get a copy of the report and save to compare with previous ones. It was interesting that the 2 times in 4+ years of scans every 6 months, that the times "thickening" appeared were times when my scan was read by the same radiologist.

While I recently have had a recurrance it was not in the original site but rather mets to my lung, my anal area remains cancer free at this time. It is my belief that the thickening is in reality badly damaged tissue that has healed causing scar tissue.

I hope this helps, and wish you the best as you move forward.

katheryn

Ouch_Ouch_Ouch

eihtak said:

Adam26......

Hi there, keep in mind that different radiologist, doctors etc. use a variety of terms to describe the same condition, while this can cause frustration and is an area that has always baffled me, it is the case. I was initially treated for stage3b anal cancer over 4 yrs ago and the wording of my scan reports is varied. On my 6month report no notes with "thickening", on my 1yr report, anal thickening was noted, only once since then was any thickening in the anal area noted again. I always get a copy of the report and save to compare with previous ones. It was interesting that the 2 times in 4+ years of scans every 6 months, that the times "thickening" appeared were times when my scan was read by the same radiologist.

While I recently have had a recurrance it was not in the original site but rather mets to my lung, my anal area remains cancer free at this time. It is my belief that the thickening is in reality badly damaged tissue that has healed causing scar tissue.

I hope this helps, and wish you the best as you move forward.

katheryn

Hello, Adam26 & Mum:

My last radiation treatment was July 9th 2014. I am in increasing discomfort since then - anal fissures that occured during radiation now get torn open again with the last 2 follow-up scopings. In addition, I have started having formed stools instead of diarrhea. They are not hard in the least, but with each time, the inner sphincter becomes painful and my whole anal canal inflammed. The oncologist thinks that fibrous tissue has formed - inflexible scar tissue, in other words. The radiation oncologist sees fibrous tissue on my anus, but didn't do a digital exam because of the discomfort. I am having more urinary and bowel incontinences as time goes by. I'm seeing the colo-rectal surgeon at the end of the month. Hopefully, he'll have something constructive to say that will ease things up.

I certainly feel that shock of fear whenever something odd happens. The rad-onc assures me, though, that everything I'm going through is normal for someone who has had pelvic radiation. But how does one differentiate the pain of reoccurence from that of radiation injury? I wish that I truly understood all this before I consented to treatment. My life has become quite circumscribed.

And congratulations on Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana! (I'm glad that Diana got squeezed in there somewhere.) Kisses to Mum.

dpatter03

How about another MRI?
 

How about another MRI?

 

mxperry220

Call Your Mom's Doctor

I would call your mom's doctor and have further clarification.  You must rely on her caregivers expert advice.

Mike