anal cancer

Jal2

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

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

sandlynn

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/329426/anal-cancer

sandlynn

I am so sorry you feel alone. I was just diagnosed with anal cancer also. I just joined this group to see if there are others going through the same thing. I too am scared and uncertain. I do have a strong faith in God and my prayer was for God to lead me to others facing the same thing. I will pray for you and if there is anything I can do to help you as I attempt to help myself let me know.

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle: Please forgive me for taking so long to respond!! It's now Monday morning and I should have written days ago!! Last week I was besought with a new printer that wouldn't set up, or connect, or do anything and it took all my time and strength to dialogue with every possible customer service from the manufacturer to the internet provider, a computer geek who does house calls, my security provider and Amazon who later in the week sent me a replacement when I thought they wouldn't. I also had bought an older pre-owned Apple laptop (experienced as only a Microsoft Windows user who doesn't know the first thing about Apple's OS) and it was locked and unable to function. The eBay seller had to direct me to a You Tube video for restoring it via the Internet. You are not alone when it comes to trusting others to meet at the level of seriousness that I feel I'm facing! Some times I wonder if our cancer relates to our general lack of trust and faith in ourselves, God's love, outsiders' willingness to help, and so on. Or does God, knowing our greatest need for Him, use that to show the world that He is willing and able to out-perform in His Glory, thereby proving His Existence. At any rate, I was happy to read your post, the update of news of a stronger connection with your Cancer doctor. The fact that she did a full examination suggests that she is seriously invested in you. Even so, don't hold back on the idea of being an inpatient if you find that the Chemo, though reduced at the start, is still proving too much for you to handle. One thing that this journey has shown me is that we are truly individual when it comes to our cancer, our reaction to our treatment and our recovery. I'd still like to know the details, will it be a weekly session, will it be a portable pump? Whatever you care to share. And whenever you care to share since I truly understand that not every day will we feel like posting especially throughout treatment!! God be with you!

kittpugh

Dear Sandlynn: I'm glad to see you have joined the site and are willing to shine a light on your own unique experience along with the rest of us! Would it echo if I asked outloud, "why me?" "why cancer?" and "why there?" (anal) in the most sensitive part of our bodies!! What did we do to bring this on?? Dare I suggest that our environment is polluted with toxins from the over use of pesticides and nuclear bombing/testing, decades of chrome-plating automobiles, the production of plastics, the list is endless. The thing I can say about joining this messageboard is finding whole bunches of Christians out there in the same predicament - we are not alone and a single post can be a day brightener! God is with us.

cinderthistle

It's nice to be back! Had my first chemo after a month's hiatus on Tues. But it left me so shaky I couldn't type! So finally today (Thurs) I can make my hands do a little at the keyboard, but not much. The treatment, however, was enormously better. No sickness or headache; just a little dizziness. Kittpugh, I'll be doing it once every 3 weeks while taking capecitabine tablets at home. The doctor says that, at 25% concentration, we'll need to watch if it's affecting the cancer adequately. We can go up slowly, I think, but if the side effects get bad again, I certainly will go in as an inpatient.

(Kittpugh, I hate breaking in a new printer! Ugh! Frustration!)

Sandlynn—-Thank you for your post. I had a similar thought when I came here: My friends and I knew very little about cancer, and I live alone. I was scared, too. So far I've experienced feelings and situations that are totally new and often jarring. I came to this messageboard feeling isolated in terror, rage, mistrust, and utter desperation. And I found wisdom, solace, and love. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Thank you everyone for posting. I keep rereading them; they get me thru difficult days. God bless!

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle: It's so nice to have you back!! - back to reading your posts, back on the road of treatment, back to the fight of our lives!! Capecitabine, yes that's what I was prescribed too. 500 mg, 2 pills in the morning and 3 pills around dinner time each of the 28 days that I had Radiation treatment. Weekends were free and any holiday was free from having to take the pills. I bought a lovely pill box from Amazon in a shade of pink that held 30 individual compartments, so I never lost track. Your doctor is really invested when you tell us that she'll be watching to learn if 25% concentration is adequate for your cancer. In a weird but wonderful way, the doctors and the friends and family that we have all want us to get better, they are all routing for us!! It should give us a warm and cozy feeling to realize that they care so much. And we want to succeed as much for ourselves as for them. You inspire me because you have returned to fight on even when the war on your body might take a little longer to Victory because of the reduced Chemo concentration. You are a soldier and a trooper Cinderthistle! You must tell me about the little things that help to keep your moral up, for instance, does music help? Do flowers spark an inner peace? Are you a fan of romance or comedies such as the movie "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles" with Steve Martin and John Candy? Do you have a pet (s)? God be with you and Sandlynn and everyone facing this mountain and valley situation!!

cinderthistle

Wednesday a.m. —- Mornings are best for posting because I'm not shaking as much. But typing is still awkward. The medication is sometimes bad with nausea, headache, and an awful malaise that leaves me feeling depressed. Doesn't last long, usually a few hours, then back to feeling generally out of it but not sick.

Yuk! As horrible as it sounds, it's tolerable, a little bit at a time, and I have the belief that I can maintain this thru the length of the treatment, which is what I think matters. I return to the clinic Nov 25.

Kittpugh, thank you, as always, for your greetings and support. The warmth radiates from your posts. You asked a question that I'd like to answer later, because right now the typing is getting harder

So goodbye until then. Hugs!

kittpugh

Dear Cinderthistle: Thank you for your kind words from your last post which I've read and re-read! I can't imagine tying to type with shaking hands!! You have taken such a bold stand in your fight and it's moved me to pray more that God see you through this trial! I've mentioned how much music has been a constant strength - and being alone has one distinct advantage - that I can listen repeatedly to the same tune, ad nauseum to anyone else, but not to me. Around this time of year I start listening to my Christmas CD's and this particular piece sung by Celine Dion from her album "This Are Special Times" summed up the perfect message for you and your situation. I'll just give you the chorus here, from the song, "I am your angel" (not Me, but our Christ). "I'll be your cloud up in the sky/ I'll be your shoulder when you cry/ I'll hear your voice when you call me/ I am your angel. And when all hope is gone, I'm here/ No matter how far you are, I'm near/ It makes no difference who you are/ I am your angel/ I am your angel." I wish I was present with you. Two things that have "jumped off the page" regarding our cancer and our age, are an awakening to the people who bring real value to our lives and a determination to make more room for them. Speaking of which, my sister gave an open invitation to friends and family to join her in Puerto Vallarta in January at a beach house suite she has booked for several weeks there. I'm no jet setter, more a home body type and would agree with the image below of funny tea towel, Lol, but I owe her big time! She was the sister who came to stay with me in the second half of the 28 day treatments, plus 2 weeks following which reportedly are the worst. She drove me Monday to Friday to the clinic which was an hour away. She made the meals, cleaned and corrected home issues like a shower rod that wouldn't stay put, a smoke detector that was useless, eaves that needed attention and windows that needed washing. So, God willing and the creek don't rise, (and no Government shut down cancelling flights) I'll be flying out to spend a week with her early in January. God be with us Cinderthistle and everyone with cancer. Hugs in Return!

tcvetnic

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1723586#Comment_1723586

I have only recently been diagnosed and expect to start treatment in the next 2 weeks. Like you, it took almost a year until I was diagnosed but that was, in part, because we all got sidetracked by an unrelated ovarian tumor and surgery to remove it and a hysterectomy. The MRI should show them exactly where it is and a biopsy should tell the doctors what it is. In my case, a biopsy of my lymph nodes happened 2 weeks before the colonoscopy plus biopsy. You need a medical oncologist as surgery is not often part of initial treatment. Did they biopsy during the colonoscopy? I really like my care team (medical oncologist, surgical oncologist and radiology oncologist and a regular old gastroenterologist who did a biopsy of the mass during a colonoscopy) but I’m still getting a 2nd opinion. All of my doctors have been supportive of the 2nd opinion. The James at Ohio State charges a flat rate of $800 for an online 2nd opinion. Dana Farber in Massachusetts does, too, but theirs costs several thousand.