anal cancer

cinderthistle

Dear mak1970—-Thank u!

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle: Good for you!! Yes, now is the time to move forward. My prayers will be with you and on you every day. Let us know how many treatments that the doctor has required. And DITTO Mak1970, stock up on everything you can think of. I can't make suggestions here because my cancer was anal and I bought those Dollar Store square cotton pads and sanitary pads GALORE!!! due to discharge that continued into the 3rd week of recovery. I'm still using them up! Just in case there is any incontinence, though the discharge has dried up. God Bless You and God be with you!

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle: One (last?) thing that I will share is that I had to arrive at my Radiation appt. with a full bladder and if it wasn't full enough, the technicians wouldn't go ahead as planned. One time I was told to get off the table and go drink more water (which I dreaded because I didn't want my appt. to hold up my volunteer driver. Apparently the Radiation damages the bladder if it isn't full or full enough. I would drink a 2 cup bottle of water on my way to Windsor. But I disliked drinking all of that plain water, who knows why, and plus I didn't feel particularly hydrated afterwards. So I started consuming about a cup of Campbell's Mushroom Broth before I left the house (it has the lowest salt content compared with Chicken, Beef, or Vegetable Broth and I thought it tasted quite okay!!) The Broth also gave me a fuller hydrated sensation that would last for hours. Sometimes I would arrive at the Clinic and a Radiation machine (there were 3) was down. Then bookings got backed-up. If I couldn't hold it, I'd have to go pee and then while waiting for the back-up to clear, start again drinking water and even walking around for a bit. Life happens, right? But, yes, I'm pretty sure the full bladder will apply to you as well. God Bless and God be with you!

cinderthistle

I've just come home from the first radiation therapy appt. I met the doctor and all we did was talk. She says I won't be doing radiation for a while; first, I'll do chemo. I'm glad! She had a bad bedside manner, so to speak. Wouldn't let me finish a sentence. I ended up feeling that I'd done something wrong because I hadn't scheduled the chemo yet and didn't have the hospital extension to do so. Then she gave me the wrong number to call

cinderthistle

I just got home from the radiation appt. The doctor was actually short with me, like I'd done something wrong because I hadn't scheduled my chemo appt yet. But I didn't have the phone number. Then she gave me a wrong number for it. I left hoping I won't need to talk to her for a while. That's because she told me I'd do chemo first, then radiation for 5 or 6 weeks, then surgery. And she's the radiation doctor. I'm shaking inside. Perhaps I shouldn't expect doctors to be supportive. But I can't stop thinking about the tone she used toward me.

She gave me a ton of reading. That's something I can do now so I don't worry.

mak1970

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1723825#Comment_1723825

so sorry that the doctor was short with you. Remember she is just a person so perhaps she was having a bad day- unfortunately, all people including doctors have their own personality and style and there’s not much you can do as the patient. For the radiation, you will be mostly with the techs, the doctor will be reviewing the progress and will only meet with you occasionally. Remember with the chemo to keep your strength up by eating well (lots of protein), and even try to bulk up when you can because the nausea and other side effects may come soon enough. Report any side effects, especially the fevers and do not hesitate to take the anti-nausea. I’m rooting for you and please keep updating!

cinderthistle

Dear mak1970—-I just found your above post; thanks for it! I didn't know how to find all the responses to my comments. Usually they appear in my email. Now I know how to access them thru the Cancer Survivor's website. I'm glad I found your post. Geez, the support really helps.

I allowed my feelings about the radiation doctor to affect me over the past 24 hrs. (All the other VA doctors have been very careful and easy to talk to.) I was able to get a little more info on what went wrong yesterday: I was supposed to see Chemo before Radiation, but somehow Chemo never got the request to make an appt with me. The Radiation doctor was disturbed because she should've received reports from Chemo before I saw her, and she didn't have what she needed for a "team meeting" (?) next week.

Now I can get on to upcoming appts. Next Wednesday I go to Pulmonary for a biopsy of my lung. My surgeon told me a little about how the biopsy is done—-by inserting a needle into my side, with a local anesthetic, then into my lung. She told me it wouldn't hurt. That's all I know.

Then the Chemo. I really appreciate all the detail you and kittpugh have described. The Radiation doctor said Chemo could restore some of my strength because it would "melt" the mass. Also, kittpugh, I've already looked at anti-nausea wristbands on Amazon (thanks!).

Oh and another thing: She said she doesn't believe it's cancer in my pancreas.

And the radiation will begin after all the above.

Thank you, all of you. I pray for you every night.

kittpugh

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1723729#Comment_1723729

Dear Cinderthistle: I was so relieved to read your post. I'm afraid I'm still a little clueless in how to navigate the site in order to read the latest posts! Maybe Email is the best way. I know I wrote a quick post on Wed. July 31st, as that would be your first day in Treatment. I understand totally your Radiation doctor's frustration when the Chemo treatment failed to take place prior to the Radiation. But, it will get sorted. I don't know how many treatments the doctors have selected, but that is such good news about your pancreas showing little to no cancer!! One less worry! It's now the weekend and as was in my case I didn't have to take the Chemo pills. They were only taken on the days of Radiation which was Monday to Friday. So I'm hoping the same happens for you and I thank God for any and all small mercies. I'm glad to hear that you found the wrist bands on Amazon. A small reminder about the crystal ginger cubes for anti-nausea, product name "Elan", I sucked on them constantly. But we are all different. Apparently my mother who passed away quickly in 1989 with small cell cancer that grows so quickly, no one escapes, had a terrible, terrible time with nausea while on Chemotherapy (my sister, Anne related this) yet I was the complete opposite. My prayers are pressed for you every day! God be with you.

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle: I read your letter regarding the harsh and un-helpful attitude of your doctor over the missed Chemo appointment. I'm so sorry that you were subject to that. It happened to me also. I was at the Clinic in Windsor, wanting to share something I considered important enough to ask for an audience with my Radiation doctor. Another woman, and I think she was a technician, came into the little room where I was waiting to speak with Dr. A. Her manner was so rude and so uncalled for. I told her that I wanted Dr. A to take a look as something and she blurted out in a strong and loud tone, "We don't look that such things!!" I don't care who she thought she was because it mattered to me, the PATIENT! And you know being in my 70's, I'm no longer the meek and mild rug that let everyone walk all over. I stood my ground and though my responding words were not offensive, my TONE certainly established the boundary and it felt good! But here is a wonderful pictured quote that my other sister, Nancy, (I have 2 sisters, Anne and Nancy) had sent and it resonated with me. You might enjoy it as well. God Be With You.

Staircase Encouragement.jpg

cinderthistle

I'm having trouble sleeping and decided to post this because of something the radiation doctor said to me. I have felt ashamed, or perhaps afraid, to tell anyone. Near the end of my first meeting with her (the 31st), she moved a little closer to me, made her eyes very big, and said "CANCER! YOU HAVE CANCER!" She had been saying that my not having made the Chemo appt would leave her without information she needed for her "treatment team" meeting this week. She then said she'd take me upstairs herself to Chemo to make the appt. I felt like the bad kid in class when the teacher announces she's taking me to the principal's office.

I don't know why I've kept this inside, but for shame and fear. And all I can think is that I must let this person burn me with radiation sometime in the near future.

kittpugh

Dearest Cinderthistle: I am so sorry that you have been subjected to a tone and language that is so uncalled for!!! OMG!! You don't deserve that at all!! And from a "Professional" no less!! I, too, received the exact same blunt force "THAT'S THE CANCER, YOU HAVE CANCER" from the young, General Surgeon who performed the first examination with gloved hand, and I let out yelps, pretty loud ones, and later reflected that it was as if she was making a ham sandwich in the roughest manner possible!! And reluctantly I let her perform the Colonoscopy (but sedated) and it was after that she blurted out those words - no other explanation or willingness to discuss or answer questions. But, I was truly lucky (blessed) that the Radiation Oncologist, Dr. A (who was wonderful) helped me ditch that young upstart and I'm now going to see a more seasoned General Surgeon this month! Thank God!! Unfortunately, it might be a little late for you to change Oncologists. I'm wondering if, at times, it is our Christian Spirit that comes up against an Unsaved Spirit and the ASSULT happens to us?? You have been assulted, without question!! Don't allow a double whammy of self-recrimination into your mind or heart. It's NOT YOUR FAILING!! I'm praying as I type this that in His special timing, you be undergirded with strength and peace and comfort in abundance!! Just a brief update - yesterday I saw the doctor who ordered the MRI and the results from the scan were 70% less cancer and the remaining bits might be easily surgically removed after being seen for a colonoscopy. I was SO hoping for 100% cancer free, but I am not going to allow defeat because as my sister so aptly pointed out: the doctor did not say "more chemo", "more radiation". And I'm still weeks away from the 12 weeks (starting now the 9th week) where radiation works its magic. In fact, that doctor is reporting from a scan taken July 18th and I have proof that on July 22nd, I had evidence of 2 of the largest dead cancer skins floating in the toilet bowl. I'm sorry to be gross. My sister Nancy and I call them "floaties" and the more I see, the happier I am. Please take heart Cinderthistle!! You will do this, in God's strength, you will rise! God be with you. And don't be afraid to share whatever. I'm happy to be on this journey with you.

cinderthistle

Thanks, kittpugh! I keep rereading what you said. Your replies are uplifting. I say "One step at a time," like the picture you sent. And I hope you saw the Thank You I left after the photo of flowers—I felt overwhelmed when I saw it and that was all I could get out.

Sounds like very good news about the 70% less cancer. Are you in any pain? I admire your courage. To go thru all this cancer treatment and still take time to communicate as openly as you do. I just got back from what I believed would be a lung biopsy, but it turned out to be the beginning of another long road of tests and doctors appts leading to who knows what? I'm still waiting for the actual treatment (and dreading it, too). It was just another consult, next a PET scan, then a meeting with oncologist, then the biopsy. —-Yikes!

I'm so grateful for this site! Talk to you later! Cheers!

kittpugh

Good Morning Cinderthistle: Thank you for your kind words! No, I am not in any pain. At least that is not the word I would connect to the perianal discomfort from Radiation which has steadily lessened especially after about week 4 of recovery. These days I'm not afraid to sit and can do so quite easily for hours. Driving the hour to Windsor was not a problem last week when I saw the Chemotherapy doctor. That is good news because follow-up appointments are now being scheduled in Windsor. Next week it's an appointment with the Radiation Oncologist who has taken over Dr. A's place because she has moved on from Windsor Cancer Clinic to the Toronto area. Your Treatments are quite different in that you will have Chemo first before Radiation. We are all differently treated. Will it be an initial "plunger" of Chemo, followed by pills taken at home? I'm thinking that your doctor wants the Chemo in all the areas that Radiation can't target easily such as the lung? In early March of this year the Windsor Cancer Clinic installed a brand new, state of the art Radiation machine, so big that it required it's own "bunker" housing and costing a total of $33 Million Dollars, for the purpose of targeting brain cancer! You can imagine how precise that machine has to be in order not to destroy anything but the cancer in the folds of our grey matter!! WOW!! I can truly relate to your personal "dread" of Treatment. It is perfectly understandable because you have never been thrust into an experience such as this!! Now, mind you, some people cope well with changes to routine and life patterns. Some people are thrown off completely by it. Where do you see yourself on a scale of 1 - 10 when it comes to "changes?" Is it part of your dread? One day at a time, Sweet Jesus! God be with you.

cinderthistle

Monday morning, another day, another appointment! Well, today isn't going to appts, it's scheduling them. Kittpugh, you said "One day at a time." I use that, and sometimes, it's "One moment at a time." Today I'm arranging the biopsy of my lung. First, with Pulmonary, then with a friend, who's driving me. Next, I'll call the Oncology Social Worker.

It's good to be reminded that this is a new experience, and, really, doing it one step or one moment at a time is so much easier! When I think ahead to the rest of the week and then the following week—-all the appts—it's dizzying.

My prayers have grown to include not just people on this messageboard, but to everyone with cancer. Yikes! Why, with all of humankind's high tech and medical miracles, can't someone relieve the misery of cancer? I was happy to read that you're no longer in that awful pain. Everyone, hang in there!

kittpugh

Good Morning Cinderthistle: Looks like you are sorting out those top priorities, meaning that you are kind of "settling in" to the fact that doctor appointments, rides to and from, and Treatment Days are becoming a new life - as long as it is only Temporary, N'est Pas?!!! I don't have any more medically related stories for you, at least not right now. I don't know if we are allowed to share our faith stories that because we are Christians they are part and parcel of the lives we live, right? When you stated that your prayers have grown to include everyone with cancer, I had to smile in agreement. Cancer and cancer stricken patients have become a whole new dimension for me as well and my heart goes out to them all. I can echo your sentiments and I, too, ask with all our technological advances, why do we have to subject our bodies to such strong and even brutal remedies to kill the cancer within?? I believe that the over use of pesticides, eating processed foods, and the multiple testing of nuclear bombs (many more than the general public is aware of) have brought this disease. Just as smoke from fires thousands upon thousands of miles away, because the globe is spinning, can invade our bodies, the toxicity of Radiation will reach every living soul on the plant - and has done so since the first warhead was tested on July 16, 1945. Since that date 2,121 test have taken place involving 2,476 nuclear devices. Yah, Let's do the math!! Anyway, back to Faith. When I got saved in 1982 it was an enormous development! Quite beautiful, really. I was living in a little tiny house next door to a full gospel church and one night while reading my Bible, the presence of the Lord was so "Present", you could cut the air with a knife. For the next two or three months I would awake each morning so completely in love with Jesus, I could barely contain it. I've realized that I've lost touch with that experience and would very much like to return to it. Maranatha Music put out several Praise CD's and the other day I listened again to one in particular - Praise # 4 and the words of "In His Time" made me think of you. I'll close here, but if you'll indulge me further I'll just quote the first 2 lines: "In His Time, in His Time, He makes all things beautiful in His Time" And that is my wish and prayer for you and your journey.

cinderthistle

It's midafternoon and I just got home from meeting my chemo doctor. Oh my! By the time the visit was over, I was exhausted and begging to go home. So many medications, side effects, then more appointments, then see the chemo clinic, meet the people who work there, and more! I began to feel sick. Have been overwhelmed for weeks, but this was even worse.

The first treatment will be something like a "port." I think it's to administer the chemo. Apparently, I'll wear this thing until chemo is finished. Seems clumsy; will clothes fit over it? I'll go to chemo once a week. Am beginning to wonder if I'll be strong enough to do it all.

Kittpugh, I agree with you about all the poisons, the radiation, and processed food. We've benefitted from many advances that also weakened us. It's so sad. Humans just have a penchant for more, always more, of a good thing, and some people can't say no. The concept of enough eludes them.

But I don't want to digress and lose the strand of hope I feel on this messageboard. In 2 weeks, I start chemotherapy. I recall, kittpugh, that you mentioned a candy for nausea—-what is it again? Someone mentioned drinking lots of H2O, too. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thank you all and God bless!

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle, He's with you. We are promised He'll be there. The trials don't miraculously vanish, they continue to exist, but His "eye is on the sparrow" every step, every second of every day. As I was undergoing Treatment, feeling down, feeling dog tired, feeling useless, etc. etc., I would get almost angry should the Pastor be extra cheery when he spoke with me. I resented "cheery-ness" and blamed the person for being so insensitive. But as it went days became weeks and soon weeks became a full half through the course. Yes, I slept A LOT!! And that's okay because your body is working so hard to repair itself as the chemo and whatever else takes place is messing with it, so sleep is a good thing. I had all my hair buzzed off because many patients having chemo lose their hair (although there is a new method of saving your hair which I'm sure they have mentioned the CAP! I'll tell you a little story about the CAP in another post. Anyway, I don't know if I lost hair or not, hard to tell being so cropped!! Lol. I just didn't want to have to run off to the hairdressers at any time so I took a pro-active stance and had it cut before I even started treatment. When you get home from seeing a doctor or having a treatment, the only thing you want is a quick meal and bed or the sofa in front of the TV. Yes, stay good and hydrated throughout the course. I didn't enjoy plain water very much, so I would consume Mushroom Broth and that made me feel more hydrated than water. The candies I had mentioned, I bought off of Amazon. The name is ELAN, organic, and they are cubes of ginger with a crystal sugar coating. I would cut the cubes in half and suck on those constantly - all day and even getting in bed. Ginger is not only anti-nausea but also anti-microbial. When they mention mouth sores from having Chemo, I believe the ginger prevented those sores from developing. But what I did find was that weeks of sucking on ginger cubes, my mouth couldn't handle the Fluoride toothpaste and alcohol based mouthwash anymore. I found an herbal fluoride free toothpaste on Amazon called "Super Leaves" by the company called Attitude. A small price to pay to be nausea free throughout my course. Where there's a will, there's always a way. I hope these next two weeks fly so that treatment can start doing battle against the cancer - put that ugly toad in it's hole where it belongs. God be with you.

mak1970

Hello Cinderthistle, just wanted to send ❤️❤️❤️. You are so strong and brave!
I just wanted to suggest nunn electrolyte tablets- they will replenish you and might help if you have trouble drinking plain water. Enterade from Amazon was also helpful if you find you have trouble with nausea and diarrhea, it it is a bit pricey and less than pleasant but it will help keep food in.

cinderthistle

Hi mak1970!—-I was glad to see your post because I wondered how you're doing. Thank you for all your kindness. Also, I've looked at electrolyte tablets and am ordering some. You and kittpugh have made recommendations that I've explored and will use. Without your information, I'd have no idea of what to expect and how to manage it.

My chemo begins the second week of September; this Friday I get a port installed in my body. Ugh! The thought of that thing! I'm afraid it will get infected. I knew someone who needed a port for dialysis. Kept becoming infected, necessitating a brief stay in a hospital, every time.

September 4 I have a biopsy of my lung. Thank goodness, a friend has to accompany me, which should make the procedure a little more bearable.

I'm glad you're there! Every nite I pray for everyone with cancer, with you and kittpugh most prominent in my thoughts. You've both been a real blessing. Cheers!

mak1970

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1724106#Comment_1724106

The port for me was the most unpleasant part of the whole thing, not to scare you, but let you know what to expect. (I know others who did not feel the same way and had no issues). For me, it just felt uncomfortable- and it really hurt when they poke it. I still have it, it seems to have settled or. Just got used to it- no one remembered to tell me it should be flushed every so often so it has not been touched since chemo finished last October. Just be careful to keep it clean and dry and you will be fine. Also, another thing you may want to have on hand is a thermometer- when you are doing the chemo, you must make sure to let your doctor know so you do not get Neutropenia and if you do, you need to get antibiotics right away. I was okay for the first round, but not as lucky for my second round (just for reference, I had mitomycin and FU5). Prayers and kind thoughts.