Anal Biopsy - my husband

Eileencj
Eileencj Member Posts: 14
edited July 2021 in Anal Cancer #1

Hi all,

My husband is scheduled for an Anal Biopsy and I was hoping to see if this sounds like anything anyone else has experienced.  First off, my husband has HPV Tonsil Cancer.  He went through radition a few months ago.  After treatment he went for a Pet Scan and they still see a small amount of cancer on his tonsil or it could be scar tissue, they can't be sure.  The Dr's say its in his best interest to have the tonsils removed to be safe.  Now, what also lit up on that Pet Scan was something in the Anal area.  He was sent for tests, Colonoscopy, and the uncomfortable finger test and all looked normal.  They did another Pet Scan and again it lit up in the anal area.  So my question is have any of you had normal tests but the Pet Scan found cancer anyway?  Is it possible that if a Pet Scan finds it, where the other tests failed to find it, does it mean it was caught early?  

 

Thanks very much for listening....

Comments

  • Eileencj
    Eileencj Member Posts: 14
    #2
    Thanks anyway

    I will try finding answers to my questions on another thread.

  • tanda
    tanda Member Posts: 174 Member
    edited July 2021 #3
    Eileencj

    I'm certainly not an expert, but a few things:

    radiation continues to be working for 6 months or more, so the tonsils may need a few more months to be cleared.  .  I don't know what the side effects (more surgery,etc) for an adult would mean.  I'm not sure what the Pet scan means; it does tend to lit up many things that  may not be critical. My workup for anal cancer included a CT Scan, a PEt/CT, a biopsy and some labs. However,I had bleeding, which is what prompted  these tests.which is different from your husbands situation.

    Your doctors are being very vigilant.  At some point, you might consider a second opinion at a major cancer or academic medical center.

    I wish your husband, the best of luck.  Head and Neck radiation is really brutal.

  • annie4145
    annie4145 Member Posts: 218 Member
    edited July 2021 #4
    ucsf has something called

    ucsf has something called anoscopy.  Perhaps something ilke that would help determine whether there is anything there.  They die the area with colored vinegar?, and then they look at it with a scope to see if there are abnormal cells.   There may be more than one place in the country that does this, but I don't think that it is anywhere but the larger cities.  As far as tonsils, I would defer to your doctor.  If he thinks that the tonsils should come out, then probably you should follow that.  It is not a fun surgery, I had it when I was a kid, and I know it is harder as an adult.  But that way, you would know that the cancer is not lurking there. 

     

    ":An anoscopy is a procedure that uses a small tube called an anoscope to view the lining of your anus and rectum. A related procedure called high resolution anoscopy uses a special magnifying device called a colposcope along with an anoscope to view these areas."

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