Anyone diagnose without any bleeding?

Hi Dottie--
How are you doing, we haven't heard from you in awhile?

As for some people being diagnosed without symptoms, that was not my case, but I know some people have been. There are cases where someone goes in for a routine colonoscopy with no symptoms and comes out learning that they have anal cancer. I think more often than not, though, most people have some type of symptoms before diagnosis. In my case, I had symptoms but was unable to connect the dots, so to speak. I was shocked, needless to say.

No symptoms
I too had no bleeding, but had the aforementioned ribbon stools and the feeling of not fully emptying my bowels. I would go very often, but just a little bit at a time. As far as being shocked, yes very much so. My colo-rectal doctor said I probably had an impaction when I described my symptons as he had done a colonoscopy on me just three years before and then when he examined me he found a 4 cm tumor. I really don't know who was more shocked; him or me. A woman I spoke to from my same onc. office that had AC did not have symptoms, but as Martha said, it was found when she had her colonoscopy at 50, so it does happen. But as you'll read in the varying posts, if you have to have cancer, this is a relatively good one to get due to the high cure rate and the relatively short treatment time frame.

wiveliscombe said:

No symptoms
I did not have any symptoms the only thing was I had what looked to me like a wart near my anus. I had my Oby/gn look at it during my pap test and she sent me to have it biopsed and the result was squamos cell carcinoma. It was a total shock to me.

Symptoms
This is some dirty biz this anal cancer. So here it goes

For a long time maybe 3 years my anus felt wet. I would pat it dry with tp no blood
Year 2 I have always slept naked, but I had these creepy crawly feelings in that area, so I started wearing underwear at night
Year 3 occasional blood on tp and achy legs

I knew something was wrong everyday of those ..3 years and would go to the doctor with the most absurd things.

Every time I had dre and she said hemorrhoid

Dxed via colonscopy.

Follow your heart!

my only symptom was too often diarrhea-no blood in stool. first colonoscopy at age 77 showed stage 2 tumor in rectum.
2010 brought me radiation/chemo then surgery with ileostomy. Reversal of ileostomy brought fistula. thus 6 mor weeks with bag.
Fistula healed itself from inside out, 2011 colonoscopy showed cancer free. Currently living normal life with occasional diarrhea.
All in all A great outcome. don't be afraid!!! you too can get through it.