anal cancer

mak1970

Hello my friends! Sorry I was away for a while dealing with life stuff. I have been feeling stronger, and am in Canada (Montreal) for holiday.

The pump was not a bad experience for me- they attach it and you have tubing, the most tricky part is making sure you have enough slack to be able to function, but not too much that you get tangled. Honestly, I planned and in fact did not move too much at all for the days I had the pump- sofa party and catch up on tv shows and movies. (And since it was only a few days I did skip the shower just to be safe). Fortunately, it was planned for over the weekends so I did not have to drive back and forth to radiation with it. (It may be a good idea to get help with the driving if you have to drive anywhere on these days if possible, but like I said, I only had one trip home and one trip back to the center so I did it myself). Because it is chemo, you must take the normal precautions- drink lots of fluids, including electrolytes, protein drinks and not much else. Watch for the fever and call the oncologist nurse if it happens. Take the nausea meds beforehand if the doctor or nurse says it is okay, do NOT take the diarrhea med unless and until you have dirrahea, then take it immediately. Continue the Imodium on schedule until it ends but if it is more than a few days, let your doctor know and they may ex lomitil which is a wonder drug. For me, the first round killed the tumor so it was a good thing. The second round, not so much- not to scare you but this is when I had all the side effects.

Bless my friends- I almost feel that if we all lived in the same city we would be meeting for breakfast!

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle and Mak1970; I don't mind sharing my cancer story but I'm going to hold off for tonight because I'm just as anxious to hear from Mak1970 all about this Pump business as you are. Drink lots of fluids, yes, that seems to be the order of the day. I've discovered that I'm not the only one who finds drinking straight water a turn-off. I've found a few other birds of this feather. I know it is an absolute must to be well hydrated and come to the Radiation table with a full bladder, but water never seems to make me feel hydrated at all! Very strange that. And it's just so bland! Mushroom broth does the trick for me. Even a cup, 8 oz. and I feel hydrated. Perhaps it's the salt - though it has the least salt of other broths. As for diarrhea and constipation, Restoralax vs Immodium, that situation is a cat walk on a tightrope. I still struggle to know what foods and when to eat and when not to eat, going from one condition to the other. I can say that towards the end after many Radiation treatments, my body made more runs to the toilet with diarrhea than with constipation. But I never felt like the diarrhea was going to send me to the hospital. Cinderthistle, when you get your pump, let us know the schedule of its use and how its affecting you. As cumbersome as it may be I'm quite in favour of this device delivering an exact dosage at precisely the right time in the right way. Suffice to say that Chemotherapy has come a long way since the Terry Fox Marathon. I'm stunned at how much money has been raised for research, what some 950 million I think the ad says?!! Yes to Mak1970's comment that if the three of us were in the same city we would hang out at the breakfast bar. I wish we could. God be with you Cinderthistle and Mak1970.

cinderthistle

Dear mak1970 and kittpugh—-Yes! Breakfast would be great! Or even just coffee. I'd like that very much.

Went to Chemo today, but I knew there'd be no treatments. Just fluids. Told the doctor about all the sickness; she wants me to drink even more H2O (last week I felt as if I would float away, I drank so much!). She's also sending me some meds for the nausea. But another thing: She wants me to do, instead of the pump, some medications that I'll take at home. That will begin next week. (Thank you, mak1970, for all the pump info. We'll see what happens next week.)

I'm exhausted. Between the Chemo sickness and the ongoing weakness, plus I actually took down an old shower curtain + liner and hung new ones, I'm beat! Just wanted to get back to both of you as soon as I could. You've both been so faithful to continue communicating and it means so much to me. Bye for now! You're always in my prayers.

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle, I was thinking about you and haven't written all week long - The son of a friend has been saddled with a tense week of negotiations with the Lawyers handling the Will and Estate of his Dad who tragically passed in 2023 (a very long story here, but I won't burden you). Anyway, it looks like your Treatments will be starting this Monday coming up. I was given pills of Chemo to take at home too. There were 28 days of Treatments so I got myself a big pill organizer, big enough for all 28 days (a month's worth really) with each day's comparment split in 2 halves for A.M. and P.M. (Amazon, of course! ) It was a nice shade of rose Pink. I had to take 2 Tablets in the morning and 3 Tablets around Supper (within 30 minutes after having a meal) Spaced approximately 12 hours apart . They were called Capecitabine 500 mg. I also did two sessions of 40 minute injections with the drug Mitomycin. The first was on the first day of Treatment and the 2nd was 9 days away from the End. On those two days, I was also given 2 Tablets of Apo-Dexamethasone 4 mg. for nausea. My cousin Gina was with me that first day and strange as it sounds, she and I laughed and chatted all the way through the Injection time. I hadn't laughed like that for a long, long time and boy it felt good! But then, I wasn't stricken with nausea. This is not what prompted me to write you. What it was was a verse from one of the many cards I received (not to envy me because the bulk of them came from one sister but no matter, it was heart warming to gaze at a shelf full of Best Wishes. This card was from my Church family in Windsor and it said "Praying for you on this path to better health. The One who made us knows how to mend us - gently, wisely, patiently." I thought that would appeal to you. How I wish you had an in-house caregiver. I'm so sorry your husband can't be there and provide that. A shoulder to cry on, an arm and chest to hug you, a voice of strength to steady you, a distraction when it all feels so scary and isolated. God be with you Cinderthistle.

indianamatt

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1723585#Comment_1723585

Thank you for posting b3strong.

66 years old here. I just finished 28 radiation treatments and 8 chemo sessions for stage 2A colon rectal cancer. One Oncologist said he was going to save my anus, another one (he left the hospital for another one) said removing my anus was standard protocol. I am going for the Wait and Watch and see where I am at in 2 months. I wore my knees out praying for relieve during this treatment, I can only hope the cancer is gone.

Thank you for sharing your story, Matt…

mak1970

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1724589#Comment_1724589

Hi Matt- I will add my prayers for you as well.❤️❤️❤️

cinderthistle

I have been sick all week and haven't felt like posting anything. Monday's chemo was my 2nd treatment, and it was horrible. I was sick and intensely uncomfortable the whole time, and when it was time to leave I couldn't walk. Every day since then I've been taking chemo pills that leave me sick and enervated.

I wanted to post something to let you all know what's happening and to say I'm not too sick to pray for everyone. God bless you!

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle: I had a hunch that you hadn't felt well through the week and your post confirmed it. I'm so sorry the nausea has been so adverse! Good that you shared your pains, how I wish it weren't so! Each of us are different in how we react to the drugs, that is for sure, but I have to say that at least you haven't chosen the path that a friend of mine took and for that I'm relieved and you deserve a medal for that!! My friend declined Chemo treatment and maybe God will work a miracle in her life? Her doctor eventually had to throw in the towel which means no more scans and no telling how the cancer is progressing. Apart from sleeping most of the day away, my friend says that she is going about business as usual without discomfort. She gets called upon to lead church services and that is still happening. She's lucky to have a husband to make the meals and do the laundry, God Bless him! But that is a decision that you can feel strongly about making one day and the next day have regrets. I would regret that choice more and more as days turn into months. It is bound to be a see-saw stressor and who needs that? My cancer clinic has a program aimed at raising funds and they call it "Lock Out Cancer". A very talented artist in metal constructed 3 iron hearts where vintage padlocks were found to adorn the hearts. And a few people who were likely patients themselves have attached various ribbons, crosses and beads to the padlocks. My sister's client and friend wanted to donate her talents and fashioned 4 Intarsia kitty heads which I strung together, took a tool and burned names on the backside of people such as yourself and a couple of friends battling cancer, and I hung these up as you can see in the photos. I did that on Tuesday when I saw the 3rd and last doctor who, by the way, gave me an ALL CLEAR prognosis. So I hope it cheers you on. S

ee the attached photos.

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle. It has been a week and I haven't posted! I know you aren't feeling up to posting and that is 100% A-Okay. If I were in your shoes I know that I wouldn't feel like posting either!! So fear not! I haven't a lot to post about, but just to let you know that I'm praying for you - God strengthen her in mind, body, and spirit! Strength is what you need now. The strength to not quit, not give up, not give in. He is going to make All things Beautiful in His Time. He won't remove the hardships, but He will walk that same path staying as close to you as your next breath. You are as a rose in my garden. God be with you!

cinderthistle

Dear kittpugh—-Your garden is lovely and so inviting! Thank you! And thank you, too, for my username on the intarsia cat. I feel honored and included in the positive drive to get thru cancer. Today is the first day in a long time that I'm even close to my old self. But I haven't taken the meds for 2 weeks and haven't gone to Chemotherapy. I was so messed up (not just physically ill) that I couldn't function. It scared me.

So now I need to find my way back into Chemo. I've gained a new understanding of how having family with me can help; they would see just how the meds affect me. They would know something was wrong. My fear is that anyone I tell about the past 2 weeks will hear it as an old woman (I'm 75), alone, who's afraid about having cancer, overreacting to normal side effects. That's not what happened.

I want to be able to sit with my doctor and discuss finding a way thru Chemotherapy that I can do. I'm normally an intelligent, articulate, independent person who isn't feeling that way now. The cancer and the meds are weakening me to not being able to take care of myself. Am thinking of talking to the social worker in Chemo. I hear what your friend did when she decided not to do Chemotherapy; that's not what I want.

I'm posting this now because I want to know what anyone who's been thru it thinks. Thank you. And I've prayed thru every day for everyone with cancer. God bless!

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle: It's wonderful to read your post of your courage to soldier on - and that to me is proof positive that God is strengthening you. How often it is that we are only satisfied with large and overt proof of His existence and then fail to acknowledge the smaller footprints. You are educating me too regarding your needs for someone, preferrably family, to accompany your journey through the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy. I don't know if I've said this, but I can relate to the nausea and brain fog when I was given those painkillers for getting through the two hard weeks after Radiation stopped. The capsules were called Hydromorphone. I thought, "this is ridiculous!" These are supposed to make me feel better and I've never felt so nauseous and dim witted in my life! I let the doctor know immediately and she agreed to provide something else. Maybe there's another, better anti-nausea pill you could be taking? I just did a quick online search and found a list of 77 anti-nausea medications! Below is a link to that page - if it copies correctly for you. I never needed the Teva-Olanzapine that was prescribed to take as needed, so I can't comment on it, but it's in this list.

List of 77 Anti-Nausea/Vomiting Medications Compared

I'm 72 and I'll tell you briefly of my cancer story. It began after at least a year of chronic constipation that brought on a hemorrhoid and fissure in July of 2024. That fissure never healed and I had never had a hemorrhoid in my life before then. I tried every over-the-counter preparation that exists and nothing helped the fissure, although one medication helped to reduce the size of the hemorrhoid. I held back from seeing my doctor out of embarrassment. Four months passed. Finally in November I went to see him. He prescribed an antibiotic cream and three weeks later I was back in his office asking for antibiotic pills which helped but still the fissure persisted. December I saw a General Surgeon who also prescribed a cream, again no help there. January 9th, 2025, this Surgeon takes a biopsy of the fissure and confirms there is squamous cell carcinoma. More testing with a colonoscopy in February and scans in March. Finally on April 30th, the Windsor Cancer Clinic began the regiment of 28 days Radiation and Chemotherapy of 28 days of pills with 2 injection sessions. My appetite was nil and the pounds started to fall off, but that was okay because on my 4'10" frame, I had lots to give away, Lol! I went from 160 down to 130 (and happy about it!) I slept a great deal and the drives Monday to Friday through May and June, first half by my cousin's husband and second half by my sister who came to stay in the house, were with me in the back seat fully reclined. It wasn't until approximately week 6 after Treatment stopped that I could once again actually sit on my butt with relative comfort. So that was a complete year out of my life with a lot of discomfort.

Cinderthistle, I've been praying that God grant you His strength, but now, I will push on to pray that God will provide physical help because you need that. You need a physical caregiver! I feel you being alone is doubling the battle. It was totally out of the blue that my cousin's husband was able to step up and become my driver, I had no expectations whatsoever. God provided. Then my sister returned from an excursion that had started early March and she came to stay, making meals, driving me to the clinic, even did some awesome cleaning around the house and yard when I couldn't even sit on my riding lawnmower to cut the grass. She's 74! Again, God provided. May God provide for you and your needs to stay strong and soldier on! God be with you!

Jal2

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1724589#Comment_1724589

Thank you for sharing your story.🙏🙏

Jal2

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1724522#Comment_1724522

Thank you for sharing your story 🙏🙏🙏

mak1970

Thank you @Jal2 for the kind words! @kittpughyou are a great inspiration! @cinderthistle my prayers are with you!