HI..i am new here and plz help me

christopher95
christopher95 Member Posts: 6
in Anal Cancer #1

I was worried that i might have anal cancer for about a month. so last week, i went to the doctor who put his finger into my anal and examin the area and then put a big rounded metal thing into my anal again and said that there is nothing round and i still have some symptons such as change in size of the stool. He just told me to be some fiber. should i trusted the doctor or do i need any more futher exams.. thank you

Comments

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #2
    christopher95

    I'm sorry you have this worry and that you didn't really get any good answers from this doctor.  Other than the narrowing of your stools, what other symptoms have you been experiencing?  I will share with you what I experienced prior to my diagnosis.  Along with narrowing of my stools, I had severe constipation, bloating, a feeling of never being completely emptied out even after a bowel movement, fatigue, weight loss, and lastly, rectal bleeding (however, all the other symptoms were present prior to the bleeding).  If all or some of this sounds familiar to you, then I would strongly suggest getting a second opinion.  The problem with anal cancer is that it is so often missed or misdiagnosed as a hemorrhoid, which was the case for me.  Some people go for a long period of time having symptoms but are not able to get a doctor to give them the correct diagnosis.  This, of course, delays treatment and that's not good!  I hope you can find another doctor in your area to see for a second exam and educated opinion.  Many doctors, even specialists in colorectal diseases, miss anal tumors during exams.  Anyone who is dismissed as having no findings but is still experiencing symptoms needs to continue to seek a correct diagnosis.  I would recommend seeing a colorectal specialist who is familiar with anal cancer.  Please keep us posted on what happens next for you.  I wish you all the best.

  • christopher95
    christopher95 Member Posts: 6
    #3
    mp327 said:

    christopher95

    I'm sorry you have this worry and that you didn't really get any good answers from this doctor.  Other than the narrowing of your stools, what other symptoms have you been experiencing?  I will share with you what I experienced prior to my diagnosis.  Along with narrowing of my stools, I had severe constipation, bloating, a feeling of never being completely emptied out even after a bowel movement, fatigue, weight loss, and lastly, rectal bleeding (however, all the other symptoms were present prior to the bleeding).  If all or some of this sounds familiar to you, then I would strongly suggest getting a second opinion.  The problem with anal cancer is that it is so often missed or misdiagnosed as a hemorrhoid, which was the case for me.  Some people go for a long period of time having symptoms but are not able to get a doctor to give them the correct diagnosis.  This, of course, delays treatment and that's not good!  I hope you can find another doctor in your area to see for a second exam and educated opinion.  Many doctors, even specialists in colorectal diseases, miss anal tumors during exams.  Anyone who is dismissed as having no findings but is still experiencing symptoms needs to continue to seek a correct diagnosis.  I would recommend seeing a colorectal specialist who is familiar with anal cancer.  Please keep us posted on what happens next for you.  I wish you all the best.

    I actually went to the doctor

    I actually went to the doctor who is a specialist in colorectal diseases and i did told him that i am afraid I might have anal cancer and then he perform a DER and a rounded metal tube is put into my anal canal and after all those test he told me that there is nothing wrong. And as for the symptoms I have narrowing of the stool and feeling of never being completely emptied out even after bowel movement other then that i have no fatigue or weight loss or bleeding.

  • christopher95
    christopher95 Member Posts: 6
    #4
    mp327 said:

    christopher95

    I'm sorry you have this worry and that you didn't really get any good answers from this doctor.  Other than the narrowing of your stools, what other symptoms have you been experiencing?  I will share with you what I experienced prior to my diagnosis.  Along with narrowing of my stools, I had severe constipation, bloating, a feeling of never being completely emptied out even after a bowel movement, fatigue, weight loss, and lastly, rectal bleeding (however, all the other symptoms were present prior to the bleeding).  If all or some of this sounds familiar to you, then I would strongly suggest getting a second opinion.  The problem with anal cancer is that it is so often missed or misdiagnosed as a hemorrhoid, which was the case for me.  Some people go for a long period of time having symptoms but are not able to get a doctor to give them the correct diagnosis.  This, of course, delays treatment and that's not good!  I hope you can find another doctor in your area to see for a second exam and educated opinion.  Many doctors, even specialists in colorectal diseases, miss anal tumors during exams.  Anyone who is dismissed as having no findings but is still experiencing symptoms needs to continue to seek a correct diagnosis.  I would recommend seeing a colorectal specialist who is familiar with anal cancer.  Please keep us posted on what happens next for you.  I wish you all the best.

    ANd can I ask how did you get

    ANd can I ask how did you get correctly diagnose and what kind of test did your doctor perform when you get diagnose 

    Thank you....and congratulation about your recent test results 

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #5
    christopher95 said:

    ANd can I ask how did you get

    ANd can I ask how did you get correctly diagnose and what kind of test did your doctor perform when you get diagnose 

    Thank you....and congratulation about your recent test results 

    christopher

    It sounds like the doctor you saw did a proper exam.  However, I would not put off getting a second opinion if your symptoms continue.  As for me, I saw my internist initially when I began to have bleeding.  She did a DRE and told me I had a bleeding hemorrhoid (which was actually my tumor).  If it hadn't been for the fact that I was about 4 years past due in getting my age 50 screening colonoscopy, I probably would have accepted her diagnosis, which would have obviously been a terrible mistake.  But she gave me a card for a colorectal group and said I should see one of those doctors because they could perform my colonoscopy and also take care of the "bleeding hemorrhoid."  Upon my initial consult with the colorectal doctor, after taking down my history, she said she wanted to examine me that day (which I was totally unprepared for, as I thought this was just supposed to be an appt. to talk about the colonoscopy).  She performed a digital rectal exam then used an anoscope to view my anal canal.  After I dressed, she came back in the room and told me she was 99% sure that I had anal cancer.  I had a colonoscopy 2 days later, performed by her, at which time she took tissue samples for biopsy.  A few days later the results were in and confirmed that I did have squamous cell anal cancer.  That's how my journey began.

    Thank you for the congratulations on my clean scan.

  • rlroth
    rlroth Member Posts: 5
    #6
    Sweety get s colonoscopy

    Sweety get s colonoscopy asap. This is the best way to know for sure. Go to your Dr. and request a referal to a specialist for this procedure. My husband was 49 when he got symptoms. He thought it was no big deal. I noticed that he was loosing weight but still had a healthy appitite. He went in for a colonoscopy. He had stage three colorectal cancer. If he didn't have this done he would be gone by now. Its been 5 years and he is in remmission. It is so worth the hassle of having this one test done. Hope all is well when you do. 

  • rlroth
    rlroth Member Posts: 5
    #7
    Sweety get s colonoscopy

    Oh you got one done. Im so sorry it was cancer. I hope you get well soon. My husband is doing well with his remission. You can win this.

  • eihtak
    eihtak Member Posts: 1,473 Member
    #8
    Hi.....

    So sorry that  you find youself in this situation. Marthas list of symptoms cover it well. Please do not hesitate to get another opinion until you are satisfied. That is not to say that your first doctor may be correct its just that it is so common to miss this disease early on, even for a good doctor. Be persistent, it is your health and important. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers to get the answers you need to move forward.

  • Marynb
    Marynb Member Posts: 1,118
    #9
    Chris
    I had pain and bloating. I think the only way to diagnose anal cancer is with a biopsy with a rectal surgeon. Try not to worry. It is rare and there are a lot of more common reasons for the symptoms that you describe. That being said, keep a log of your symptoms and keep working with your doctors.
  • lizdeli
    lizdeli Member Posts: 569 Member
    #10
    Chris

    Chris,

    I was one of those who barely had any symptoms at all other than a couple of spots of bright red blood over the course of 4 weeks.  To set your mind at ease I would seek out another doctor for a second opinion. Did your doctor indicate that you had hemoroids? Or is he saying that htere is nothing there at all?

    Liz 

  • christopher95
    christopher95 Member Posts: 6
    #11
    HI Rainbowl..
    how do you

    HI Rainbowl..

    how do you cleanse your colon

  • christopher95
    christopher95 Member Posts: 6
    #12
    lizdeli said:

    Chris

    Chris,

    I was one of those who barely had any symptoms at all other than a couple of spots of bright red blood over the course of 4 weeks.  To set your mind at ease I would seek out another doctor for a second opinion. Did your doctor indicate that you had hemoroids? Or is he saying that htere is nothing there at all?

    Liz 

    Hi llizdeli
    After my doctor

    Hi llizdeli

    After my doctor did an anoscope and a and a DRE and said that i have a small hemoroids and said that it's nothing serious and let me go but I do ask him several times if it cancer or not..I ask him for like 5 or 6 times to the pont where he is annoyed.

  • Marynb
    Marynb Member Posts: 1,118
    #13
    christopher95 said:

    HI Rainbowl..
    how do you

    HI Rainbowl..

    how do you cleanse your colon

    Christopher
    I would not do anything like that at all until you are sure that there is no cancer. If you haven't seen a colorectal surgeon, I would do that first. The surgeon is the one that can take a look and do a biopsy if needed. I saw 2 specialists before going to see a surgeon out of desperation. He took a look anf told me right away that he thought it was cancer. I had been told for years that it was just hemmie. Years.
  • NYinTX
    NYinTX Member Posts: 64
    #14
    christopher95 said:

    Hi llizdeli
    After my doctor

    Hi llizdeli

    After my doctor did an anoscope and a and a DRE and said that i have a small hemoroids and said that it's nothing serious and let me go but I do ask him several times if it cancer or not..I ask him for like 5 or 6 times to the pont where he is annoyed.

    hemorrhoids

    I contracted HPV somehwere in my 60+ years, and then was exposed to a toxic level of air pollution - formaldehyde - while abroad for 2 years, returned 2008....no symptoms....I had 2 small bright red bleeds once every year x 2 years, then felt gnawing feeling in stomach which wouldnot go away with antacids or food...internittent feeling....went to internist who sent me for an endoscopy (not colonoscopy), which I never did as didnot like specialist. Internist then Rx Tagamet 40mg prn.....did not really do any good. In early 2011 developed "hemorrhoids" which I have never had previously in my 60+ years....these would not go away but were very small and unproblematic, so I did not go to MD (I hate MDs generally) thought they would resolve spontaneously and due to my sitting on my butt all the time.....suddenly in 2012, the "hemorrhoids"   started growing, and growing......finally got a colonoscopy in 12/2012 and got my photo of disgusting 4 cm external tumor, and Dx of invasive squamous cell carcinoma of anus....the rest is history with radiation/chemo at MDAnderson Jan-April 2013. I had no other symptoms............so have your hemorrhoids biopsied by an oncologist, another MD than the one you originally saw....get that biopsy no matter what any MD says!

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #15
    NYinTX said:

    hemorrhoids

    I contracted HPV somehwere in my 60+ years, and then was exposed to a toxic level of air pollution - formaldehyde - while abroad for 2 years, returned 2008....no symptoms....I had 2 small bright red bleeds once every year x 2 years, then felt gnawing feeling in stomach which wouldnot go away with antacids or food...internittent feeling....went to internist who sent me for an endoscopy (not colonoscopy), which I never did as didnot like specialist. Internist then Rx Tagamet 40mg prn.....did not really do any good. In early 2011 developed "hemorrhoids" which I have never had previously in my 60+ years....these would not go away but were very small and unproblematic, so I did not go to MD (I hate MDs generally) thought they would resolve spontaneously and due to my sitting on my butt all the time.....suddenly in 2012, the "hemorrhoids"   started growing, and growing......finally got a colonoscopy in 12/2012 and got my photo of disgusting 4 cm external tumor, and Dx of invasive squamous cell carcinoma of anus....the rest is history with radiation/chemo at MDAnderson Jan-April 2013. I had no other symptoms............so have your hemorrhoids biopsied by an oncologist, another MD than the one you originally saw....get that biopsy no matter what any MD says!

    NYinTX

    I agree that no one should take an initial diagnosis of bleeding hemorrhoids as the final word.  A second opinion from a specialist, such as you suggest, is the only way to be reassured that they are indeed only hemorrhoids and not something more sinister.  If I had taken my internist's diagnosis and not done anything further, I don't know if I'd be here right now.

  • Phoebesnow
    Phoebesnow Member Posts: 600 Member
    #16
    Marynb said:

    Christopher
    I would not do anything like that at all until you are sure that there is no cancer. If you haven't seen a colorectal surgeon, I would do that first. The surgeon is the one that can take a look and do a biopsy if needed. I saw 2 specialists before going to see a surgeon out of desperation. He took a look anf told me right away that he thought it was cancer. I had been told for years that it was just hemmie. Years.

    Hemmies

    I was seeing the dr for 3 yrs for the hemmie.  Stage ii cancer was the dx.

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