waiting for appointment

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  • sandysp
    sandysp Member Posts: 868 Member
    sissy310 said:

    Hello...I'm sorry you are in
    Hello...I'm sorry you are in here with the diagnosis of anal cancer but as you will find, this group and this forum is awesome for helping you get through what needs to be done. You sound like you have a good attitude about it (which is a plus). I was diagnosed a year ago on May 21st. I remember hearing squamous cell cancer and not knowing what it was about. Being a 'googler' I decided to look everything up I could find. The best information I got was from the NCCN guidelines suggested to me by Martha from this group. I was staged at IIIa because my tumor was over 5mm (or cm? I confuse them all the time) and in some lympth nodes. In a few weeks I go for my 9 month scan and so far my scans have been good. While the treatment did not melt harvey (named my tumor so I could have something to yell at) right away, it did melt him down to nothingness after awhile. Hang in there and come in here as often as needed while you go through this. I honestly believe the group here helped me get through my diagnosis, treatment and even now when I have concerns or am scared or just need a *hug* -- oh, and yes, I was uncomfortable for over a year before I was diagnosed because the thought was I had hemmi's. Keep us posted. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Marilyne

    Hi and thanks. Harvey lol I
    Hi and thanks. Harvey lol I like that.

    Sloan assigned Dr Weiser to me. I see him May 31. I have a very hot burning lower abdomen and pain down my legs. Hoping this will improve after treatments and yes I thought many of my problems were hemmeroids and increased preparation h stock value no doubt. In some ways the diagnosis is a relief although I am not very brave about the upcoming treatments.

    So happy HARvey is in your past. I will sleep tonight with a smile.

    Thanks again
    Sandy
  • z810840b
    z810840b Member Posts: 207 Member
    sissy310 said:

    Hello...I'm sorry you are in
    Hello...I'm sorry you are in here with the diagnosis of anal cancer but as you will find, this group and this forum is awesome for helping you get through what needs to be done. You sound like you have a good attitude about it (which is a plus). I was diagnosed a year ago on May 21st. I remember hearing squamous cell cancer and not knowing what it was about. Being a 'googler' I decided to look everything up I could find. The best information I got was from the NCCN guidelines suggested to me by Martha from this group. I was staged at IIIa because my tumor was over 5mm (or cm? I confuse them all the time) and in some lympth nodes. In a few weeks I go for my 9 month scan and so far my scans have been good. While the treatment did not melt harvey (named my tumor so I could have something to yell at) right away, it did melt him down to nothingness after awhile. Hang in there and come in here as often as needed while you go through this. I honestly believe the group here helped me get through my diagnosis, treatment and even now when I have concerns or am scared or just need a *hug* -- oh, and yes, I was uncomfortable for over a year before I was diagnosed because the thought was I had hemmi's. Keep us posted. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Marilyne

    harvey??
    i love that you named your tumor harvey...At times you need to laugh in the midst of it all....Hugs ...alyse
  • sandysp
    sandysp Member Posts: 868 Member
    z810840b said:

    harvey??
    i love that you named your tumor harvey...At times you need to laugh in the midst of it all....Hugs ...alyse

    Tumor naming
    Anyone want to help me name my 10.8cm tumor yet to be zapped?
  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    sandysp said:

    Tumor naming
    Anyone want to help me name my 10.8cm tumor yet to be zapped?

    Lamar
    How about Lamar? I've known a couple of men with that name and they were both weak and wimpy. There's no way they could have survived chemo and radiation! :)
  • z
    z Member Posts: 1,414 Member
    mp327 said:

    Lamar
    How about Lamar? I've known a couple of men with that name and they were both weak and wimpy. There's no way they could have survived chemo and radiation! :)

    Lamar
    I like that name Martha and how weak it sounds. Lori
  • sissy310
    sissy310 Member Posts: 300
    sandysp said:

    Hi and thanks. Harvey lol I
    Hi and thanks. Harvey lol I like that.

    Sloan assigned Dr Weiser to me. I see him May 31. I have a very hot burning lower abdomen and pain down my legs. Hoping this will improve after treatments and yes I thought many of my problems were hemmeroids and increased preparation h stock value no doubt. In some ways the diagnosis is a relief although I am not very brave about the upcoming treatments.

    So happy HARvey is in your past. I will sleep tonight with a smile.

    Thanks again
    Sandy

    harvey with a small h. He
    harvey with a small h. He didn't deserve a capital letter. I named him harvey and I believe there was another person who named hers hank. So perhaps the h symbolizes something and we should keep that commonality. I don't know why I picked harvey or why I even gave it a male name. My tumor was a little over 8 cm and part was removed by the surgeon since he thought he was removing hemmi's and this little sucker reared its ugly head - I was left with over 5cm to be treated -- and the treatment zaps the hell out of them. My son drew a picture of harvey for my blog. He's an ugly little sucker. lol. Now he's a pile of dust and ash and living with hank somewhere in Guam and I hope both of them stay there. Your bugger will be with them shortly. :-) Hugs, Marilyne
  • sissy310
    sissy310 Member Posts: 300
    mp327 said:

    Lamar
    How about Lamar? I've known a couple of men with that name and they were both weak and wimpy. There's no way they could have survived chemo and radiation! :)

    Lamar is a good one...I like
    Lamar is a good one...I like that name. I told one of my friends the name of the tumor harvey and she said 'oh, my dad and brother's names are harvey' and I said do not take offense, I did not know that. It just felt right to name mine harvey. can't please everyone.

    Hector might be a good one in keeping with the H theme, although when I think of Hector I think strength - I guess I saw Troy too many times - ...or Horatio...like on tv's CSI miami he can be called simply 'h'

    Whatever name is chosen, you will know if it is the right choice - then picture that sucker being obliterated and while in radiation you can do what I did and keep saying "take that harvey, you ^%$#@!D@#$" -- if nothing else, it will make the radiation techs laugh.
  • sandysp
    sandysp Member Posts: 868 Member
    sissy310 said:

    harvey with a small h. He
    harvey with a small h. He didn't deserve a capital letter. I named him harvey and I believe there was another person who named hers hank. So perhaps the h symbolizes something and we should keep that commonality. I don't know why I picked harvey or why I even gave it a male name. My tumor was a little over 8 cm and part was removed by the surgeon since he thought he was removing hemmi's and this little sucker reared its ugly head - I was left with over 5cm to be treated -- and the treatment zaps the hell out of them. My son drew a picture of harvey for my blog. He's an ugly little sucker. lol. Now he's a pile of dust and ash and living with hank somewhere in Guam and I hope both of them stay there. Your bugger will be with them shortly. :-) Hugs, Marilyne

    same size!
    Wow, mine is 10.8 centimeters. You are the first who posted one close to the size of mine. yessss! I would love to see harvey's picture. Good idea no capital letter. I have to pick up my biopsy slides and have them sent to Sloan. My husband went out of town. Was feeling a little blue. You and your post cheered me up. Thanks so much. I feel like I know all you and all these people posting. You are such a comfort:-)
  • sandysp
    sandysp Member Posts: 868 Member
    sissy310 said:

    harvey with a small h. He
    harvey with a small h. He didn't deserve a capital letter. I named him harvey and I believe there was another person who named hers hank. So perhaps the h symbolizes something and we should keep that commonality. I don't know why I picked harvey or why I even gave it a male name. My tumor was a little over 8 cm and part was removed by the surgeon since he thought he was removing hemmi's and this little sucker reared its ugly head - I was left with over 5cm to be treated -- and the treatment zaps the hell out of them. My son drew a picture of harvey for my blog. He's an ugly little sucker. lol. Now he's a pile of dust and ash and living with hank somewhere in Guam and I hope both of them stay there. Your bugger will be with them shortly. :-) Hugs, Marilyne

    same size!
    Wow, mine is 10.8 centimeters. You are the first who posted one close to the size of mine. yessss! I would love to see harvey's picture. Good idea no capital letter. I have to pick up my biopsy slides and have them sent to Sloan. My husband went out of town. Was feeling a little blue. You and your post cheered me up. Thanks so much. I feel like I know all you and all these people posting. You are such a comfort:-)
  • sandysp
    sandysp Member Posts: 868 Member
    sissy310 said:

    harvey with a small h. He
    harvey with a small h. He didn't deserve a capital letter. I named him harvey and I believe there was another person who named hers hank. So perhaps the h symbolizes something and we should keep that commonality. I don't know why I picked harvey or why I even gave it a male name. My tumor was a little over 8 cm and part was removed by the surgeon since he thought he was removing hemmi's and this little sucker reared its ugly head - I was left with over 5cm to be treated -- and the treatment zaps the hell out of them. My son drew a picture of harvey for my blog. He's an ugly little sucker. lol. Now he's a pile of dust and ash and living with hank somewhere in Guam and I hope both of them stay there. Your bugger will be with them shortly. :-) Hugs, Marilyne

    same size!
    Wow, mine is 10.8 centimeters. You are the first who posted one close to the size of mine. yessss! I would love to see harvey's picture. Good idea no capital letter. I have to pick up my biopsy slides and have them sent to Sloan. My husband went out of town. Was feeling a little blue. You and your post cheered me up. Thanks so much. I feel like I know all you and all these people posting. You are such a comfort:-)
  • sandysp
    sandysp Member Posts: 868 Member
    sissy310 said:

    Lamar is a good one...I like
    Lamar is a good one...I like that name. I told one of my friends the name of the tumor harvey and she said 'oh, my dad and brother's names are harvey' and I said do not take offense, I did not know that. It just felt right to name mine harvey. can't please everyone.

    Hector might be a good one in keeping with the H theme, although when I think of Hector I think strength - I guess I saw Troy too many times - ...or Horatio...like on tv's CSI miami he can be called simply 'h'

    Whatever name is chosen, you will know if it is the right choice - then picture that sucker being obliterated and while in radiation you can do what I did and keep saying "take that harvey, you ^%$#@!D@#$" -- if nothing else, it will make the radiation techs laugh.

    Lamar is cool
    harvey with a capital was my grandfather's given name, but I still thought it was funny. Lamar is cool. I knew a kid in my class whose name was Lamar though so I don't want to think of him when I think of this. Maybe oz? The great, powerful oz?
  • patacz
    patacz Member Posts: 64
    sandysp said:

    Lamar is cool
    harvey with a capital was my grandfather's given name, but I still thought it was funny. Lamar is cool. I knew a kid in my class whose name was Lamar though so I don't want to think of him when I think of this. Maybe oz? The great, powerful oz?

    Sandy, I never thought of
    Sandy, I never thought of giving it a name, but now you got me thinking, and laughing at the same time. Have a great weekend!
  • melbas2
    melbas2 Member Posts: 108
    sandysp said:

    How did you find out what
    How did you find out what stage you are? Was it on the Biopsy report? I only heard from the doctor the biopsy is Squamous cell cancer. I haven't seen the report and don't know if the staging is on there. He just told me to call Sloan.

    Stage of cancer
    They told me when they told me my diagonis. I would call my doc and ask him. It is curable, it is also very painful and so many changes take place in your body, but having a positive attitude and learning all u can about what to expect makes a huge difference. Make sure your husband reads up on it also. You will be relying on him alot. Good luck!!! Mellodie
  • melbas2
    melbas2 Member Posts: 108
    sandysp said:

    Lamar is cool
    harvey with a capital was my grandfather's given name, but I still thought it was funny. Lamar is cool. I knew a kid in my class whose name was Lamar though so I don't want to think of him when I think of this. Maybe oz? The great, powerful oz?

    names
    I named mine howard...that is my ex-husband, and he was truly a pain in my ****. LOL Melodie
  • lizdeli
    lizdeli Member Posts: 569 Member
    melbas2 said:

    names
    I named mine howard...that is my ex-husband, and he was truly a pain in my ****. LOL Melodie

    Hi Sandy
    Sorry I'm late to welcome you. Glad you are going to Sloan, I heard good things about them from a fellow anal cancer survivor. My tumor was 2.5 cm. Same thing as others with the lymph nodes...not really sure. They lit up as faint and moderate on PET but were treated anyway with radiation. Because of suspicious lymph nodes I was staged as III. Given the size of your tumor that could be reason for the pain in your leg. It's probably putting pressure on a nerve or muscle or something.

    As for the tumor name, I had a name for mine but I can't say it here because I don't want to be kicked off the forum for vulgarity! lol. I'm thinking Wilbur for yours.

    Wishing you well and please know the people on this forum are awesome and will be here to support you every step of the way.

    By the way, I'm 19 monts post treatment and so far all is well. On my my to MD Anderson for a check up on Tuesday. Just bloodwork and general exam. Next CT scans and other probes that redefine embarrasing are in August.

    Liz
  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    lizdeli said:

    Hi Sandy
    Sorry I'm late to welcome you. Glad you are going to Sloan, I heard good things about them from a fellow anal cancer survivor. My tumor was 2.5 cm. Same thing as others with the lymph nodes...not really sure. They lit up as faint and moderate on PET but were treated anyway with radiation. Because of suspicious lymph nodes I was staged as III. Given the size of your tumor that could be reason for the pain in your leg. It's probably putting pressure on a nerve or muscle or something.

    As for the tumor name, I had a name for mine but I can't say it here because I don't want to be kicked off the forum for vulgarity! lol. I'm thinking Wilbur for yours.

    Wishing you well and please know the people on this forum are awesome and will be here to support you every step of the way.

    By the way, I'm 19 monts post treatment and so far all is well. On my my to MD Anderson for a check up on Tuesday. Just bloodwork and general exam. Next CT scans and other probes that redefine embarrasing are in August.

    Liz

    Good luck Liz!
    Have a safe trip to MDA and I hope all goes well with your check-up. Please let us know.
  • sissy310
    sissy310 Member Posts: 300
    sandysp said:

    same size!
    Wow, mine is 10.8 centimeters. You are the first who posted one close to the size of mine. yessss! I would love to see harvey's picture. Good idea no capital letter. I have to pick up my biopsy slides and have them sent to Sloan. My husband went out of town. Was feeling a little blue. You and your post cheered me up. Thanks so much. I feel like I know all you and all these people posting. You are such a comfort:-)

    Don't feel blue, although it
    Don't feel blue, although it is easy for me to say right now. Come in here and 'talk' to those of us who have been there and know what you are going through. The picture of harvey my son drew is on my blog (mvhjourney.blogspot.com). If you look on the side there are dates of postings and on one I think it says harvey's picture.

    I remember when they told me the size of the tumor (mine also went upwards towards my rectum like a slithering snake - the Pet scan copy I have shows a very very large tumor and even my oncologist and radiologist (after the post treatment scan came back clear) said "we couldn't tell you before but that was a very large tumor...like I didn't know. The chemo and rads melted that sucker down to nothing. I did have some residual after the treatment and with the last scan, they did a biopsy but that came back clear (whew). I go for my 9 month scan in a few weeks. Hang in there, come in here when you feel the need to - for me it was quite often during treatment and the group in here was always there for me, pushing me forward, giving me hope, telling me what to expect...it certainly is a blessing.

    Hugs, Marilyne
  • sissy310
    sissy310 Member Posts: 300
    melbas2 said:

    names
    I named mine howard...that is my ex-husband, and he was truly a pain in my ****. LOL Melodie

    Good one Melodie...I'm sure
    Good one Melodie...I'm sure it was not difficult yelling at that tumor at all. lol
  • sissy310
    sissy310 Member Posts: 300
    lizdeli said:

    Hi Sandy
    Sorry I'm late to welcome you. Glad you are going to Sloan, I heard good things about them from a fellow anal cancer survivor. My tumor was 2.5 cm. Same thing as others with the lymph nodes...not really sure. They lit up as faint and moderate on PET but were treated anyway with radiation. Because of suspicious lymph nodes I was staged as III. Given the size of your tumor that could be reason for the pain in your leg. It's probably putting pressure on a nerve or muscle or something.

    As for the tumor name, I had a name for mine but I can't say it here because I don't want to be kicked off the forum for vulgarity! lol. I'm thinking Wilbur for yours.

    Wishing you well and please know the people on this forum are awesome and will be here to support you every step of the way.

    By the way, I'm 19 monts post treatment and so far all is well. On my my to MD Anderson for a check up on Tuesday. Just bloodwork and general exam. Next CT scans and other probes that redefine embarrasing are in August.

    Liz

    Hmmmmm, Liz, I really like
    Hmmmmm, Liz, I really like the name Wilbur! Also congrats on 19 months post treatment! Just had to pipe in... hugs, Marilyne
  • Angela_K
    Angela_K Member Posts: 374 Member
    sandysp said:

    Tumor naming
    Anyone want to help me name my 10.8cm tumor yet to be zapped?

    Tumor name
    I could never give my tumor a human name for whatever reason. But I did call it a son-of-a-b**** (and even worse)and sometimes during my radiation treatment would calmly talk to it (yes, out loud) and tell it that it was not welcome and to get the hell out of my body.

    And it apparently listened! ;~)