Introducing myself - my husband has AC

HeronGirl

This is my first post here, but I have been lurking for months and have learned so much helpful information from this site.

I am an advocate/caregiver for my husband, who was diagnosed with anal cancer in August 2018. He began treatment a month later at a local hospital, with the standard Nigro Protocol, which he completed with the usual difficulties. About 2 months after treatment ended he was feeling better, and his GI tract had healed and was finally functioning fairly normally. Then, at 3 months post treatment, his PET scan showed some suspicious activity in some lymph nodes in the lung. We quickly arranged for a bronchoscopy for biopsy which revealed that both nodes were positive for the same squamous cell carcinoma, so it had probably spread microscopically before the treatment. The treatment had, though, caused a major regression of the original cancer. 

At that point, I decided to take him to Houston to MD Anderson to see Dr. Eng.  She recommended more chemotherapy, so he is currently 6 weeks into that treatment back in our home city. 

We will be going back to MDA again next month to see Dr. Eng. He will get a scan, a sigmoidoscopy by the surgeon there, and to see if this chemo regime is effective.

I will fill in more details later but I wanted to introduce myself. 

Also, I have found this site incredibly valuable in understanding what is needed as he goes through treatment. There is a gold mine of information here!

annie4145

Welcome... I hope the next

Welcome... I hope the next visit goes well.

mp327

HeronGirl

Welcome to this site.  I'm glad you are finding it helpful and informative.  I'm glad you introduced yourself and gave us some information about your husband's situation.  I'm very sorry he was diagnosed with anal cancer and I hope that the initial treatment was successful in getting rid of the original tumor.  I also hope that the treatment for the lung nodes are responding well to the current treatment.  He is in good hands with Dr. Eng.  I had the pleasure of meeting her at a conference, although I have not been a patient of hers.  She is totally committed to helping those with metastatic anal cancer.  I hope the remainder of your husband's treatment goes well and that the next visit to MDA shows that it has been successful.  Please keep us posted.  I am sending all good thoughts to your husband and you.

Mollymaude

HeronGirl

Welcome! You’ve done a great job caring for your husband! If I were to have complications I would go to Dr Eng as well. I’m glad you have found this site useful. Best wishes for your husband‘s chemo to go well and be effective. Hopefully you can keep us updated on how he is doing. 

eihtak

HeronGirl...

Hi, 

Welcome, although as has been said too many times before, I am sorry for the need to have to welcome yet another person here. Your husband is fortunate to have you advocating for him...the leg work can be difficult when in the midst of this journey.

I was initially dx in 2011 with anal cancer stage 3b and treated with protocol chem/rad. Then on a follow-up in 2015 dx with lung mets. While my tumor was large and required surgery to remove the lobe in which it was contained, it was followed with an aggressive course of chemo. (I was told that if not for the size that chemo alone would have been the likely treatment) Unfortunately, last summer/fall (2018) another small met was found on the hilum (connecting airway to the lung) and after my request for my doctor to consult with Dr. Eng my treatment was what they refered to as a nano targeted high intense radiation (2x's a week for 3 weeks) My 6 month scan was great and I will be scanned again early this fall but for today, other than a dry cough as a result of the radiation location and scaring, I feel wonderful.

I will hope for all good news regarding your husband down the road, but please do keep us posted as he and you move forward.

katheryn